CLIENT FEEDBACK AND COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
We are committed to providing high-quality legal advice and client care at all times. We value feedback from clients greatly because it helps us to continually improve our service. If at any point you become unhappy or have any concerns, we encourage you to bring this to our attention as soon as possible so that we can work together in addressing any issues. We will then do our best to resolve the problem.
What do I do if I have feedback or a complaint?
We very much hope that a complaint will not arise however if you feel you have cause for complaint or wish to discuss any concerns you have about our service or how it might be improved, in the first instance, please contact the solicitor handling your matter. If your concern cannot be resolved informally, or if the issue is of such a serious nature, then please contact our Complaints Officer and Director, Gemma Keats, where required it will be raised as a complaint under this policy.
How do I raise a complaint under this policy?
It would help us if you could email our Complaints Officer and Director, Gemma Keats, at gemma@keatsfamilylaw.co.uk setting out:
- why you feel we may have got it wrong. Please include full details of any dates, relevant documents and/or specific events.
- how you would prefer to be contacted about your complaint.
- if there is anything in particular you would like us to do to resolve your complaint.
If you would prefer not to email details of your complaint in this way then please call Gemma Keats on 07874349555 to discuss the best way for us to get an understanding of your concerns.
What happens after I have made a complaint under this policy?
Within one week: We will log your complaint in our central complaints record. You will receive a letter acknowledging your complaint with a copy of this policy. You may be asked to confirm or explain the detail of your complaint to help us better understand your complaint.
Within three weeks: We will acknowledge any reply and confirm what will happen next. We will then investigate your complaint. This will usually involve us speaking with you to discuss your concerns and to try to agree how to resolve the issues. Alternatively, we may communicate with you in writing.
Within four weeks: We will provide a full written response to confirm the outcome of our investigation.
Within eight weeks: We will provide a final written response to confirm the conclusion of our complaints process.
In exceptional circumstances it may be necessary to extend these timescales, if we need to do so, we will try to agree on any changes with you first.
What might the outcome of my complaint be?
Wherever possible we are committed to resolving complaints amicably. We very much regret any dissatisfaction which our clients experience and we will not hesitate to apologise to you where our service has fallen below our high standards. We may also agree that certain steps will be taken to improve your situation and to ensure that any problems experienced will not reoccur.
What if I remain unsatisfied?
If your concerns are not resolved through our complaints process, you may be entitled to:
- Complain to the Legal Ombudsman about our service.
The Legal Ombudsman is an independent and consumer-focused ombudsman established under the Legal Services Act to investigate complaints about lawyers in England and Wales.
Please note that the Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one 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.
You can find further information about the Legal Ombudsman on their website at www.legalombudsman.org.uk. They can also be contacted by telephone on 03005550333, in writing to the Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ or by email to enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.
2. Make a report to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) 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. Further details can be found on the SRA’s website: https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/
What will it cost?
We will not charge you for handling your complaint. The Legal Ombudsman service is also free of charge.