Complaints
We're committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need you to let us know. This helps us improve our standards.
We deal with all complaints fairly, promptly and at no extra cost to you.
What is a complaint?
A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction—whether spoken or written—which alleges that you have suffered (or may suffer) financial loss, distress, inconvenience or other detriment.
How to make a complaint
You can make a complaint to our Head of Legal Practice.
We'd prefer you to email us at [email protected] with full details of your complaint, so we have a clear understanding of the issues. However, you can also contact us by post, telephone or in person.
Special requirements
Please let us know as soon as possible if you have any special requirements. This helps us deal with your complaint effectively.
For example, if you'd prefer someone to make the complaint on your behalf, or if you need documents in large print, let us know and we'll do our best to help.
How we investigate complaints
When we receive your complaint, we will:
- Acknowledge it within seven days and tell you who will be handling it (usually the supervisor for the person dealing with your transaction)
- Record your complaint in our central register and open a file
- Conduct a full investigation and independent review
We aim to respond fully within 28 days. If your complaint is more complex and we need more time, we'll let you know when to expect a full response. We may also invite you to meet with a manager to gather more information and resolve the matter.
We'll reply to you in writing (usually by email) with the outcome of our investigation.
Where we uphold your complaint, we'll offer remedial action or redress and act on it promptly.
If you're not satisfied
If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome or how we've handled your complaint, you can take it to the Legal Ombudsman. We'll send you a final response letter explaining how to do this.
Legal Ombudsman
The Legal Ombudsman is the independent body set up under the Legal Services Act 2007 to deal with complaints against lawyers.
Before investigating, the Legal Ombudsman generally requires you to have completed our internal complaints procedure first. If the Ombudsman considers our proposals for resolving your complaint are reasonable, they may decline to investigate further.
You can also use the Ombudsman service if we haven't resolved your complaint within 8 weeks of receiving it.
Time limits
You must bring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of receiving our final response, and within 1 year of the act or omission you're complaining about (or within 1 year of when you should reasonably have known there were grounds for complaint).
Contact details
- Post: PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH
- Telephone: 0300 555 0333
- Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
- Email: [email protected]
Alternative dispute resolution
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) bodies exist that can deal with complaints about legal services if both you and we agree to use them.
However, we don't currently agree to use ADR services, given the availability of the independent Legal Ombudsman service established under the Legal Services Act 2007. We're bound by our regulatory code to comply with the Legal Ombudsman.
Learning from complaints
We review all complaints each month to identify any themes and take action to prevent similar complaints in future.