Introduction
We are committed to providing high quality legal services to all of 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 is intended to identify the cause of any problems complained of, and where appropriate, to offer redress and take corrective action regarding any unsatisfactory service or procedures.
We will give serious consideration to any concern that you raise about our level of service or our fees, and will endeavour to address your concerns objectively and in a timely manner.
Making a Complaint
In the first instance, you should raise any concerns that you have about our service or fees with the person dealing with your matter. If you are uncomfortable doing so, or if you remain dissatisfied by their response, you should send your complaint in writing, setting out your reasons, to Caroline Parsons, who is responsible for client care. Miss Parsons may be contacted by post at 51 New Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 2PH, or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Alternatively, she can be telephoned on 01722 410664.
Our Response
We will send you a written acknowledgement of your complaint within three working days of receiving it and inform you of the name of the person who will be responsible for handling your complaint. We will provide a copy of our complaints procedure upon request.
The person handling your complaint will carry out a thorough investigation.
We will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including suggestions for resolving your complaint, usually within 20 working days. If we are unable to do so within this timescale, we will provide a written explanation for being unable to meet this deadline and indicate when our investigations will be completed and our full response provided.
If you are dissatisfied with our response to your complaint, you should contact the person handling your complaint to request a review. We will arrange for another person within the firm to review our response to your complaint. We will write to you within 10 working days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position in response to your complaint and explaining our reasons.
What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint
The Legal Ombudsman can 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 your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:
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- Within six months of receiving our final response to your complaint and
- No more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about or
- No more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint
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For more information about the Legal Ombudsman contact: www.legalombudsman.org.uk , call 0300 555 0333 between 09:00 to 17:00, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6167 Slough SL1 0EH.
What to do if you are happy 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. Should we be unable ot resolve such issues with you directly, you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Address: Solicitors Regulation Authority The Cube 199 Whafesdale Street Birmingham B1 1RN
Online: www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/