Complaints

Internal Procedure

We hope that you will not have cause for concern about the service that you obtain from the Firm, however, please see the following steps to follow if you find yourself dissatisfied:

Step 1 Please convey your dissatisfaction to the Solicitor dealing with your case and give him/her the opportunity to remedy the situation before submitting a written complaint.

Step 2 If the Solicitor is not able to remedy the situation, or you feel that you have exhausted every avenue with the Solicitor then please submit a written complaint to Michael Davies, Senior Partner, or Matthew Davies, Partner, if Michael Davies is dealing with your matter.

Step 3 We will acknowledge the complaint within 3 working days.

Step 4 Within 14 days you will be invited for a meeting to try and resolve the complaint.

Step 5 Within 3 days of that meeting we will write to you to confirm the outcome. If you are still not satisfied, then please respond to the letter outlining your reasons.

Step 6 A review of the decision will be instigated and a final written response to your complaint sent within 10 days of your letter in step 5. If you are satisfied at this stage, then we will close the case. If you are not satisfied then you are free to explore other avenues, as shown in the following clause.

External

Legal Ombudsman

Legal Ombudsman The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about service issues with lawyers. Normally, you will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint. Please note that the long-stop limitation period for complaints to the Legal Ombudsman is no more than six years from the date of act/omission; or no more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about this service, including the time limits for take a case to them, please contact the Legal Ombudsman directly. You can find out more about their service by visiting www.legalombudsman.org.uk or contacting them on 0300 555 0333.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is the Law Society’s regulatory body in England and Wales. The SRA regulates more than 100,000 solicitors. Serious complaints are referred to the SRA, and they can suspend Solicitors, levy fines, and in severe cases, the solicitor can be struck off.

The mandatory principles of the SRA and the increase in Compliance Officers have meant that there has been a huge increase in the number of complaints about solicitors.

SRA’s Principles

The SRA has ten mandatory principles for Solicitors. They must:

act with the utmost integrity
uphold the proper administration of justice and the rule of law
remain independent without compromise
act in the client’s best interests
ensure clients receive correct service standard
maintain public trust in themselves and the legal profession in general
fulfil regulatory and legal obligations, working with Ombudsmen and Regulators in a co-operative, timely, and open manner
ensure there are sound risk and financial management principles in how they operate in terms of their role and business
work in a way that ensures equal opportunities are available for all and in respecting diversity
protect client’s assets and money

Raising a complaint with the SRA

The SRA primarily deals with complaints and issues surround the conduct and behaviour of a solicitor. They can act when a solicitor:

lies or is dishonest
steals from clients
commits fraud
discriminates
closes down without informing customers
alternatively, breaks the SRA’s principles in any other way as mentioned above.

Contacting the SRA

You can contact the SRA:

by telephone: 0370 606 2555
on their website - www.sra.org.uk
completing their reporting form
by emailing contactcentre@sra.org.uk

When reporting, please

set out your concerns clearly,
identify individuals you consider responsible,
attach any evidence you have in support.

To read more about the different regulatory outcomes please visit https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/solicitor-check/#outcome-types

To find out more about this procedure - please visit https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/

A complaint can be made to the SRA at anytime.