Complaints Procedures
Posted 4 years ago by rachelbird
My complaints policy
I am committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all my clients. When something goes wrong I need you to tell me about it. This will help me to maintain and improve my standards.
My complaints procedure
If you have a complaint, please contact me with the details. If I have to change any of the timescales set out below I will let you know. If you make a complaint by telephone, a complaints form will be completed. You will be asked and best advised to follow up a telephone complaint in writing.
If no written complaint is received within 5 working days from the date of the telephone call, I will then simply log the complaint and place it within the complaints handling folder. If I feel that further investigation is warranted I shall undertake a full investigation without a written complaint.
If the complaint has been received in writing or once you have sent a letter detailing your complaint, the original letter will be placed on your file and then a copy should be with me within 24 hours of receipt.
What will happen next?
- Within three days I will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm or explain the details. I may suggest that we meet to clarify any details.
- I will then record your complaint in my central register and open a file for your complaint and investigate your complaint. This may involve one or more of the following steps.
- If I acted for you, I will consider your complaint again. I will then send you my detailed reply or invite you to a meeting to discuss the matter.
- If someone else acted for you, I will ask them to give me their reply to your complaint. I will then examine their reply and the information in your complaint file. I may also speak to the person who acted for you.
- I may ask another independent local solicitor to investigate your complaint and report to me.
- I will then write inviting you to meet me and discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint.
- At this stage I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you. I would aim to be in a position to be able to meet with you within 14 days of first receiving your complaint. If you would prefer not to meet, or if we cannot arrange this within an agreeable timescale, I will write fully to you setting out my views on the situation and any redress.
- Within three days of the meeting I will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions I have agreed with you. In appropriate cases I could offer an apology, a reduction of any bill or a repayment in relation to any payment received.
- At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, please contact me again. I will then arrange to review my decision within the next 10 days. This may happen in one of the following ways.
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- I will review the decision myself.
- I will arrange for someone who is not connected with the complaint to review my decision.
- I may ask my local law society or another local firm of solicitors to review your complaint. This may take longer than 10 days in which case I will let you know how long this process will take.
- I may invite you to agree to an independent mediation. This again may take longer than 10 days and I will do my best to let you know how long this will take.
- I will let you know the result of the review within five days of the end of the review. At this time I will write to you confirming my final position on your complaint and explaining my reasons. If you are still not satisfied, I will assist you where possible to communicate with the Legal Ombudsman or you can contact them on 0300 555 0333 or by writing to Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton VW1 9WJ or via the Internet at www.legalombudsman.org.uk . There are two relevant time limits to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman: the ’12 month rule’ and the ‘6 month rule’. Generally speaking, your complaint should be brought to the Legal Ombudsman no later than 12 months from when the problem occurred or from when you should reasonably have become aware of the problem. Plus, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of receiving a final response from us to your complaint.
Matthew Trusch
Managing Partner
Aequtias Legal