If you have a concern or a complaint which you have been unable to resolve with the fee earner, please contact our complaint manager as soon as you are aware of the problem so this can be addressed.

What will happen next?

1. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within five days of your raising your concerns, enclosing a copy of this procedure.

2. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to our client care partner, Petronilla Aghaeze, who will review your matter file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you,

3. Petronilla 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.

4. Within three days of the meeting, Petronilla will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions she has agreed with you.

5. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Petronilla will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including her suggestions for resolving the matter, within 24 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.

6. We endeavour to provide final response within 8 to 10 weeks of receiving full details of your complaint.

7. 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 person within the firm to review the decision.

8. We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.

9. If you are still not satisfied, you can then contact the Legal Ombudsman at PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH , email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk, Telephone: 0300 555 0333 about your complaint. Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of your receiving a final written response from us regarding your complaint. The Legal Ombudsman has provided further guidance on its service at www.legalombudsman.org.uk.  

10. The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about service issues with lawyers. The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within a year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within a year of you realising there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.

11. Please note that the Legal Ombudsman may consider complaints from prospective clients in certain circumstances but may decline to deal with complaints from certain types of clients. For further information you should contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333 or at www.legalombudsman.org.uk/.

12. You may also complain to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) which is the organisation regulating the activities of solicitors and their practice. 

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