Complaints Policy
The firm’s aim is to offer all our clients an effective service and we are confident that we will do so. However, if there is any aspect of our service with which you are unhappy, please contact Rosaleen Hubbard in the first instance.
The rules of the Solicitors Regulation Authority can be accessed at sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/code/content.page. Certain client complaints about the firm’s service or a bill can be made to the Legal Ombudsman but note that this does not generally apply to businesses. In some circumstances you will have the right to apply for assessment of our bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. Please contact us if you have any questions about this right
We are committed to providing a quality legal service to all our clients. Consequently, it is essential when something goes wrong or any client believes they have reason to complain that we have an effective procedure to assist the complete and early resolution of the problem. Only by doing so can we hope to maintain the quality standards we have set and improve them by learning from what may have gone wrong and what our clients tell us.
The Procedure
Complaints should be made to Rosaleen Hubbard. Although not essential, in making your complaint it would be helpful to us if you could provide details of your concerns in writing (if you have not already done so). If you would prefer not to have to do this, please arrange to see Rosaleen Hubbard or to speak to her by telephone and she will be pleased to take details from you.
What will happen next and timescales
1. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint, set out our understanding of it and request your confirmation or seek any necessary clarification. We will also confirm who will deal with your complaint.
2. We will register your complaint in our Central Register (for monitoring and management information purposes) and open a separate file
3. We will acknowledge receipt of your confirmation letter or telephone call and confirm what will happen next.
4. We will then commence investigating your complaint. This may involve one or more of the following steps:-
a) We will consider your complaint in the light of what the file reveals and the details of your complaint. We will then write to you with our detailed response or invite you to a meeting to discuss the matter.
or b) We will then examine the response and the file as against your complaint and, if necessary, speak further to the person who acted for you.
or c) As an alternative to a) or b) above, we may in a serious case ask another independent solicitor to investigate your complaint using the steps set out at a) above and then to report his findings to us.
5. We will then write to you inviting you to meet with us to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint.
6. If a meeting is declined or is for some reason impractical we will write to you with a detailed response to resolve it to our mutual satisfaction.
7. If a meeting between us takes place we will still write to you to confirm what took place and detailing any agreed solution that was arrived at.
8. If, at a meeting or from your written reply to our detailed written response, you remain dissatisfied with what we have said and how we propose resolving your complaint, we will arrange for my decision to be reviewed.
This may happen in one of the following ways:-
a) Our own review of the handling of your complaint and why you are dissatisfied with our decision,
or b) By asking our Local Law Society or another firm of solicitors to review our handling of, and the decision on, your complaint (if they are willing to do this).
or c) By inviting you to agree to a process of formal mediation through an independent mediator (if this is available)
Note: The timescale for concluding the review process at b) and c) above will need to be agreed with the individuals involved but you will be told how long the process will take.
9. After the review has taken place you will be informed of the outcome. This will review our initial handling of the complaint and our decision on it.
10. If you still remain dissatisfied with how your complaint has been handled and the decision on it, we will write to you confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining why we consider our handling of, and decision on, it (and of any review) was reasonable.