Our complaints policy
We are committed to provide a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards.

Our complaints procedure
If you have a complaint, write to us with the details.

What will happen next?
1. We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm or explain the details set out. We will also let you know the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint. You can expect to receive our letter within seven days of us receiving your complaint.

2. We will record your complaint in our Central Register and open a separate file for your complaint. We will do this within seven days of receiving your complaint.

3. We will acknowledge your reply to our acknowledgement letter and confirm what will happen next. You can expect to hear from us within seven days of your reply.

4. We will then start to investigate your complaint. This will normally involve the following steps:
1. We will pass your complaint to Mrs Yasmeen Akhter, our designated Complaints Partner, within seven days.
2. She will ask the member of staff who acted for you to reply to your complaint within seven days.
3. She will then examine the reply and the information in your complaint file. If necessary, she may also speak to them. This will take up to seven days from receiving the reply and the file.

5. Yasmeen Akhter will then invite you to meet her and discuss, and we hope, resolve your complaint. She will do this within seven days of step 4 concluding.

6. Within seven days of the meeting, Yasmeen Akhter will write to you to confirm what took place and any solution she has agreed with you. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Yasmeen Akhter will send you a detailed reply to your complaint. This will include her suggestions for resolving the matter. She will do this within seven days of completing her investigations.

7. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied you can write to us again. We will then arrange to review our decision. This will happen in one of the following ways:
1. Another partner of the firm or an independent firm will review Yasmeen Akhter’s decision within 14 days;
2. We will invite you to agree to independent mediation within 14 days. We will let you know how long this process will take.

8. We will let you know the result of the review within seven days of the end of the review. At this time, we will write to you confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.

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

10. We will also give you the name and address of the Legal Ombudsman (LEO). If you are still not satisfied, you can contact them about your complaint. The LEO will normally investigate complaints within six years from the act/omission complained of or three years from you realising the cause of your complaint. You must refer to the LEO within six months of the date of our written response to your complaint. Please be aware that the Legal Ombudsman will not accept complaints where the act or date of awareness was before 6 October 2010. The LEO may consider it appropriate to refer the matter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The address for the Legal Ombudsman is:

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ
Helpline: 0300 555 0333
E-mail: enquiries@legalombusdman.org.uk