We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service, we have provided then you should inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.

In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage.

If you would like to make a formal complaint, then you can read our full complaints procedure (see below). Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

How do I make a complaint?

In the first instances, you should raise your complaint in writing or by speaking to the person you have been dealing with.

To help us make sure we have properly understood your complaint, please tell us:

• Your full name, contact details and any reference number you may have for your case;
• What you think we have done wrong;
• What you think we should do to put things right.

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.

You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

How will we deal with your complaint?

In most cases, the best person to respond quickly to your complaint is the person you have been dealing with.

We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days of receiving it and we will respond to you within 10 working days of acknowledging your complaint. This may take up the 20 working days where time for investigation is required. We will advise you the length of time it will take when acknowledging your complaint. A complaint can arise merely through a misunderstanding of the advice given or through inadequate communication with you.

We may be able to deal with the matter in a telephone call or through a face to face meeting rather than by correspondence. In all cases we will write to you to tell you the outcome of your complaint and to give you the opportunity to consider and revert to us should you remain dissatisfied.

What if I am not satisfied with the response received?

If you are still unhappy with our response, you can ask an independent reviewer to review your complaint. The independent reviewer is independent of us, and you can either tell us that you would like to refer your complaint and we can do this for you, or you can do it yourself. You must do this within 20 working days from the date of our response to you.

The independent reviewer will only be able to investigate your complaint after we have completed all the stages of our complaints procedure. They have specific conditions for accepting a complaint, and will decide whether to carry out a full review by considering, among other things, whether:

• We have already dealt with your complaint fully and responded appropriately
• It would be unreasonable to carry out a full review, for example if the complaint is a minor one
• There is an opportunity for you and us to sort out the complaint.

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:

• Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint And
• No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or
• No more than three years 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: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

If your complaint relates to our bill you may have the right to apply to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. Please also note that if part or all of a bill remains outstanding we may be entitled to charge you interest.

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