If you have a concern or a complaint, please contact us as soon as you are aware of the problem so this can be addressed. Gemma Lowe, partner, has the overall responsibility for complaints for the Leamington Spa office and will therefore be dealing with your concern and/or complaint. Severine Vincent has the overall responsibility for complaints in respect of Gemma Lowe’s files. We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time you may complain to the Legal Ombudsman.
What will happen next?
- We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within 5 days of you raising your concerns, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
- We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to our client care partner Gemma Lowe who will review your matter file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you.
- Gemma Lowe will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and, it is hoped, resolve your complaint. She will do this within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
- Within 3 days of the meeting, Gemma Lowe will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions she has agreed with you.
- If you do not want a meeting or one is not possible, Gemma Lowe will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including her suggestions for the resolution of 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 to explain why you remain unhappy with our response and we will review your comments. Depending on the matter we may at this stage arrange for another partner to review the decision.
- We will write to you within 7 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
- If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, you can then ask the legal Ombudsman at PO Box 6167 Slough SL1 0EH or call 0300 555 0333 or email enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk to consider your complaint Normally you will need to bring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of your receiving a final written response from us regarding your complaint or within one year of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring (or if outside this period, within one year of when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint). The Legal Ombudsman has provided further guidance on its service at legalombudsman.org.uk.
If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.
