Our complaints procedure

We are committed to providing high quality legal advice and client care. We acknowledge that we may not always get it right so if something has gone wrong, including in relation to the bill, we need you to tell us. This will help us to improve our standards.

Our procedure for dealing with any concerns

All our staff members are familiar with the procedure for dealing with any concerns so please raise them with the person responsible for the day to day conduct of your matter. Please provide us with full details of your concerns on the telephone or in writing or at a meeting. We will take a careful note of your concerns and will investigate the matter and do all we can to resolve your concern.

What will happen next?

1. We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and it will be recorded in our central register. A complaint file will be opened and we will send you a copy of this procedure.
2. We will then investigate your complaint and this will involve examining the file, discussing the matter with the member of staff who acted for you within 14 working days where practicable but as soon as possible thereafter if not – for example if the fee earner is on holiday. If further information is needed, we will tell you how long it is likely to take us to complete our investigation and keep you informed of developments.
3. Within two days of the conclusion of our investigations we will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint setting out our initial views and any solution we propose. We will also invite you to discuss the matter with us if it appears that this may resolve your concerns.
4. Within 3 days of a meeting, where one is held, Mrs Velji will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions we have agreed with you.
5. Most complaints will be resolved within these procedures but if you remain dissatisfied, your complaint may be referred to a Partner to review the decision. We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.

If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome

If you are still not satisfied, you can complain to the Legal Ombudsman, telephone number 0300 555 0333, by post to: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ or email at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk  Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint or within six years of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring (or if outside of this period, within three years of when you should reasonably have been aware of it). Further details of the Legal Ombudsman are available on the website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk.

We will not charge you for handling your complaint but please note that if we have issued a bill for work done on the matter, and all or some of the bill is not paid, we may be entitled to charge interest on the amount outstanding