We are committed to providing 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.
If you have a complaint please contact Sally Cook [email protected] , who will be responsible for recording, acknowledging and conducting the initial investigations into your complaint. If appropriate it will be passed to Norman Hartnell the Managing Director. If we have to change any of the timescales set out below, we will let you know and explain why. If you are a private client please see the reverse of your last invoice for information on your rights to complain about your bill.
What will happen next?
- We will endeavour to write to you acknowledging your complaint within five working days of receiving it. We may ask you to clarify any details in writing, with supporting evidence where possible.
- We will investigate your complaint, examine the file and speak to members of staff concerned.
- If appropriate we will invite you to a meeting to discuss the matter and, we hope, resolve your complaint. A full response will be sent to you in writing. We should be in a position to do this within 25 working days of first receiving your complaint. However complaints may take up to eight weeks to deal with.
- At this stage if you are still not satisfied please let Sally Cook know and she will arrange for Norman Hartnell the Managing Director to review the position. Alternatively we may ask our local Law Society to review your complaint. They will need to see the file. Please let us know if you have any objection to this. The Devon & Somerset Law Society offers a free independent conciliation scheme, details of which are available on their website at www.dasls.com
- We will write to you again within 15 working days of receiving your request for a review, setting out our final response to your complaint together with reasons.
Legal Ombudsman
The Legal Ombudsman may be able to help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.
Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve it with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:
- Within one year from the date of act/omission; or
- Within one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.
If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them.
Contact details
Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9.00 to 17.00.
Email: [email protected]
Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour
The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.
Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
