Information about our complaints process, raising concerns to the Legal Ombudsman and to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. 

  

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. 

Making a complaint 

You can register a complaint by contacting the person who is working on your case or their supervisor as detailed in the client care letter.  In the first instance, we’d prefer if you write to us with full details of your complaint so that we have a good understanding of the issues highlighted. 

Investigating the complaint 

  1. We will acknowledge the complaint within seven days which allows for any postal delays and notify you who will be handling your complaint. 
  2. We will record your complaint in our central register and open a file for your complaint. We will conduct a full investigation and an independent review of the matter. 
  3. We aim to respond in full within 28 days. However, if the complaint is of a more complex nature, we will require more time, but we will let you know when you will receive a full response. We may also invite you to meet with the Supervisor to gather more information and resolve the matter. 
  1. We will reply to you, usually in writing following the outcome of the review of the complaints investigated. 

If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome, or the way the complaint has been handled, you may write to David Sichel, Partner also at the address above, who will make such further investigations as are necessary. 

We would generally aim to do this within 14 days. This will happen in one of the following ways – 

  • The Supervisor will review his/her own decision. 
  • Partner – will review your complaint within 14 days. 

The Partner will inform you of the conclusions and any alternative proposals to resolve the complaint. 

If still unresolved at this stage, you may take the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman or, in accordance with the Alternative Dispute Resolution Regulations to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Scheme Provider.   We will issue a final letter advising you of this. 

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 1 year from the date of act/omission; or 
  • No more than 1 year 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 

What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour 

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. 

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. 

Alternative Dispute Resolution Schemes 

Alternative complaints bodies include one of the following: Ombudsman Services, ProMediate and Small Claims Mediation and the website exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme. 

However, we don’t currently agree to use this Alternative Dispute Resolution service in view of the availability of the independent Legal Ombudsman Service established under the Legal Services Act 2007.  We are bound by our Regulatory Code to comply with the Legal Ombudsman.