Our complaints policy
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. The term’ Complaints’ include any expressions of dissatisfaction about our service.
At first it would be helpful if you could discuss any concerns which you have about our service or how it might be improved with the lawyer dealing with your matter. If the lawyer dealing cannot resolve your concern informally, or if the issue is of such a serious nature that you do not feel comfortable raising it with your lawyer, then you may discuss this with our complaints director as a complaint under this policy.
If you have a complaint, please contact us with the details. We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time you may complain to the Legal Ombudsman or Ombudsman service (see 8 and 9 below).
What will happen next?
- We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within three days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
- We will record your complaint in our central register.
- We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to our client care partner, Mark Jones, who will review your matter file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you. Mark Jones is based at
Eagle Chambers,
17 Fenwick Street,
Liverpool,
L2 7LS
0151 286 9594.
- Mark Jones will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. S/he will do this within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
- Within three days of the meeting, Mark Jones will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions s/he has agreed with you.
- If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Mark Jones will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including his/her suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
- At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for Dominic McNabb or someone unconnected with the matter at the firm to review the decision. If the complaint is about Mark Jones, Dominic McNabb will deal with the initial complaint (2-5 above).
- 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.
- If your complaint still remains unresolved and / or you are still not satisfied,
you may have the right to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. The
Legal Ombudsman is an independent organisation which deals with
complaints about solicitors and other legal professionals. Full details of the
process are available from the Legal Ombudsman website
(www.legalombudsman.org.uk) or can be obtained by calling 0300 555 0333
or emailing enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk. The postal address is:
Legal Ombudsman,
PO Box 6806,
Wolverhampton,
WV1 9WJ
- The Legal Ombudsman can only consider complaints from a specific type of client. If you wish to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, you should do so within 6 months of our final response to your complaint, and within 1 year of the date of the act or omission about which you have complained or within 1 year of you realising there was a cause for complaint. Please refer to the Legal Ombudsman website (www.legalombudsman.org.uk) for full details on its approach to handling complaints.
- The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) can also help you if you are concerned about a solicitor’s 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. Further information is available at: www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor
- In addition, EU Directive on Consumer Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), we are required to inform you that we are willing to take part in voluntary ADR with other ADR providers as an alternative to Legal Ombudsman including
The Ombudsman Service,
3300 Daresbury Park,
Daresbury,
Warrington,
0330 440 1614
- All conversations and documents relating to the complaint will be treated as confidential and will be disclosed only to the extent that is necessary to deal with the complaint.
