Our Complaints Procedure

We are committed to providing a high quality legal service to all our clients. If, however, you have any complaints, queries or concerns about our work or our charges, please raise them initially with the person carrying out your work.

If that does not resolve the problem to your satisfaction, or you would prefer not to speak to the person or persons concerned, then please contact the Senior Partner, Nigel Godsiffe or in his absence, the Managing Partner, Nick Guinness.

A copy of this complaints procedure is available should you request this. All firms of solicitors are obliged to attempt to resolve problems that clients may have with the service provided. It is therefore important that you raise any concerns at the first opportunity.

What will happen next?

1. We will record your complaint in our central register.
2. Within five days of receiving your complaint (either verbally or in writing) we will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and, if appropriate at that stage, asking you to provide more details. If it seems appropriate we will suggest a meeting at this stage. We will also let you know the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint.
3. We will investigate your complaint by following the steps below:
   • Discuss the complaint and your matter with the relevant individual who has had conduct of your file to establish the extent of your complaint and to consider if it is justified.
   • Consider and review the relevant file to see if something has gone wrong and if your complaint can be substantiated, and if so to what extent.
4. Within 28 days after first receiving your complaint, we will write fully to you setting out our views on the situation and any redress that we feel to be appropriate. Reviewed September 2017
5. If you are still not satisfied, please let us know. We will then arrange to review our decision. We would generally aim to do this within 14 working days. This will happen as follows:
   • The Senior Partner will review his own decision.
   • He will then arrange for someone in the firm who has not been involved in your complaint to review the matter.
6. We will let you know the result of our review within five days of the end of this process and write to you confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.

If you are still not satisfied and the complaint remains unsettled, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman. You can do so by writing to PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ, email website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk tel: 0300 555 0333.

You must make your referral within 6 months of our final response or no later than 6 years from
when the problem occurred or 3 years from when you should reasonably have become aware of
the problem.