Our complaints policy

We hope that you will never have reason to complain about our service to you or a bill of costs that we send to you..  However, if something does go wrong or the bill appears to be incorrect, please bring it to our attention as soon as you can.  We will try to resolve the matter fairly and quickly.  We will apologise if need be and do our best to offer a practical solution.

There is a body called the Legal Complaints Service (LCS), an independent body that handles complaints on behalf of the Law Society.  The LCS are at Victoria Court, 8 Dormer Place, Lemington Spa, Warwickshire CV32 5AE.  

You can ask the LCS to become involved at the end our internal complaints procedure, if you are unhappy with the outcome.  The LCS has a helpline on 0845 608 6565 if you need to speak to them about how to make a complaint.

The LCS will investigate if we have provided a poor service to you.  There are limits on what the LCS will be able to help you with – see the LSC website for more detail.   For example, if you have concerns about professional misconduct then you must tell the LCS and they will report the matter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.  If there has been professional misconduct then the LCS will take this into account when considering the service that was given.

A preliminary point

The relationship with your lawyer is built on trust and openness.  You should be able to talk to your lawyer frankly about all sorts of things so that some complaints (and these are likely to be minor issues) might lend themselves to be resolved between by a simple phone call with your lawyer.  However, if you are not comfortable speaking to your lawyer about the problem then speak to either their supervisor of the complaints partner (see below).

You are encouraged to try to resolve a complaint with us before you contact the LCS.  Only in exceptional circumstances will the LCS deal with your complaint first. Call the LCS helpline for further information.

How do I complain?

We much prefer that substantial or complicated complaints are dealt with in writing – we do not have any set forms that we use for this purpose.  However, we realise that not all clients may be able to formulate a detailed letter.  In such cases, a telephone call will do, during which we will make a note of the issues and then send that to you for comment.  This document will then form the basis of the complaint.   
 
Who do I complain to?

Our system is that, wherever possible, complaints are resolved within the department handling your case.  You should look at the “Client Care” letter that you were sent at the start of your case.  It will name the person in the firm to whom you should address your complaint.  If your case is being handled by a solicitor who is not a partner then the complaint should be made to the partner that oversees your case.  However, if your case is being run by a partner, the head of that department will deal with it.  If the case is being run by a head of department another partner will be named in your letter to deal with your complaint.

Although you should know the name of the person dealing with your case, the reference in the top right hand corner of our letters will tell you the name of the fee-earner who deals with your case (the first initials).  If there is a partner overseeing the case, these will be the second set of initials.  Sarah Leigh retired in March of 2002.  Her cases are being managed by other solicitors.   If you have a “Client Care” letter that bears her name as the partner in charge of complaints you should write to Henry Dyson instead.  He is designated to be the partner in charge of complaints handling and will review the matter.

We hope that your complaint will be resolved at this level. However, if you are still unhappy, you should write to Henry Dyson.  Of course, if the complaint concerns a matter under his control he will not deal with it and we will tell you which of the partners will act in his place.

If you have a complaint about any of the people that we employ who are not solicitors then you should write to Adrian Cole, our Practice Manager who manages the firm’s support staff. 

How do we deal with complaints?

When we receive a written complaint we will acknowledge receipt of the letter in three working days.

The person dealing with your complaint will inform Henry Dyson that a complaint has been made for our complaints file and so that he can monitor progress of the complaint.

The person dealing with your complaint will retrieve your file and address your concerns in a letter to be sent to you within a further 10 working days.  A copy of the letter will be sent to Henry Dyson for his file.

We hope that this simple procedure will deal with your concerns, however, if it does not you should write to Henry Dyson.  He will review the complaint.  He will acknowledge receipt of your letter within three days and investigate the matter and write to you within a further 10 working days. 

Henry Dyson’s review will represent the firm’s final position on the complaint and will contain the reasoning behind any conclusions. 

LCS Time limits

Please see the LCS website for details.

You should be aware that the LCS if you want to complain to the LCS abut poor service you must contact them within six months of the end of our work, within six months of the final response to your complaint or within six months of what you regard as unsatisfactory conduct on behalf of one of our solicitors.

There are special rules about your right to apply for a remuneration certificate.  You have either one month from the date of the bill to apply in writing where the information appears on the back of our bill, or where you have not been told of your right to apply for a certificate, three months from the date of the bill.