Complaints Procedure

Our Complaints Policy

We are committed to providing a high quality legal service to all of our clients. If something goes wrong, we will need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards.

Our Complaints Procedure

If you have a complaint, please contact us with the details. Our Client Care and Complaints Partner is Patrick Donaldson.

What Will Happen Next

1. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within 5 days of your raising your concerns, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
2. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to our Client Care Partner, Patrick Donaldson, who will review your matter and speak to the member of staff who acted for you.
3. Patrick Donaldson will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and, it is hoped, resolve your complaint. He will do this within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
4. Within 3 days of the meeting, Patrick Donaldson will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions he has agreed with you.
5. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Patrick Donaldson will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including his suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
6. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied you should contact us again to explain why you remain unhappy with our response and we will review your comments. Depending on the matter we may at this stage arrange for another Partner to review the decision.
7. 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.
8. If you are still not satisfied, you can then contact the Legal Ombudsman. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:
   
   • Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint, and
   • Not later than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or
   • Not later than one year from the date when you should have realised that there was cause for complaint.
   There may be circumstances where the Legal Ombudsman has a discretion to accept out of time complaints. Please refer to the Legal Ombudsman’s website for further details.
   The Legal Ombudsman can be contacted using these methods:
   Web: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
   Telephone: 0300 555 0333 between 9am and 5pm
   Email: [email protected]
   Post: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

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

(Revision April 2023)