Complaints Policy

Policy

We take very seriously all expressions of dissatisfaction from our clients. If you have received this document, it is likely that you have already expressed your concerns verbally or in writing to the solicitor responsible for your instructions or the Senior Partner, Paul Redfern. This document explains our procedures for handling complaints to ensure that each complaint is dealt with swiftly in an attempt to reach an amicable and satisfactory solution.

Reporting & Investigation Responsibilities

Informal verbal complaints about the conduct of your instructions which cannot be resolved between you and the solicitor responsible for your instructions may be addressed to the Senior Partner, Paul Redfern. The Senior Partner will either investigate and report on the complaint himself, or arrange for another suitably senior partner to do so.

It would assist investigations if you were to detail fully your concerns promptly in writing, so there is less room for misunderstanding your concerns and requirements, and so any remedial action can be taken while it is still possible to do so. Please also mention any special needs you may have which affect either the service you expected to receive, or the handling of your complaint.

Response Times

Written complaints will be acknowledged within 14 days of receipt whereby the name of the person responsible for handling the complaint will be confirmed.

A full reply will be sent as soon as the matter has been investigated and our proposals for dealing with your concerns have been agreed upon. In any case, we will always endeavour to provide a full response within 21 days of your initial written complaint. If that is not possible, an interim response will be given explaining why it is not possible to meet this deadline, when we expect our investigations to be completed and a response finalised.

Unresolved Issues

If, in the unusual event that we are unable to resolve the matter to your satisfaction, or if it is not resolved within eight weeks, you are able to take the matter up with the Legal Ombudsman. The contact details for the Legal Ombudsman are:

Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within 6 months of the date of our final written response to your complaint, but for further information you should consult the Legal Ombudsman directly as above.

Complaints regarding costs

If your complaint relates to our costs, and cannot be resolved by agreement between us, you are entitled either to refer it to the Legal Ombudsman as above, or to refer it to the Court for impartial assessment of costs pursuant to the Solicitors Act 1974. However, you must choose between these remedies: you are not entitled to both in this respect.

Management

All complaints (written or verbal) are recorded and logged centrally to enable us to detect recurring problems and trends. As necessary, we will implement corrective action in response to individual complaints and improvement measures to prevent adverse trends and correct recurring problems. In this manner, we aim to constantly improve the service we provide.

November 2022