Whilst we are confident that you will be happy with the level of service we provide, if you are not happy with any aspect of our service including our costs, please speak initially to the individual with overall responsibility for your matter. If that fails to resolve the issue to your satisfaction, please contact John Fletcher either by telephone (01565 755 411) or email (johnfletcher@jfsolicitors.co.uk) who will investigate the complaint further. In the event that your complaint involves John Fletcher, another senior member of staff will be appointed to deal with your issue.
What will happen next
- We will acknowledge your complaint in writing within 5 working days of receipt.
- We will review your file and discuss matters with the person with conduct of your case and discuss your concerns.
- If necessary we will invite you to attend a meeting to discuss the issues.
- We would normally expect to deal with your complaint within 21 days but should it not be possible to resolve matters within that time due to complexities, we will advise you of the reason for the delay.
Under our professional regulations we have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time or alternatively if you are not happy with the outcome of our complaints procedure, you may raise the issue with the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman only accepts complaints from individuals, small businesses, charities or associations and please note that it will not deal with a complaint until our own complaints procedure has been followed.
The time limits for referring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman will be not later than:
- 6 months after the firm’s final response to the complaint;
- one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or
- one year from the date when you should have realised that there was cause for complaint.
The Legal Ombudsman will retain the ability to exercise discretion to extend the 1 year time limit if, on the evidence, it was fair and reasonable to do so.
The Legal Ombudsman contact details are:-
The Legal Ombudsman
P O Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH
Telephone : 0300 555 033
Website : www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Email : enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
You also have the right to complain about or challenge the bill by applying for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 but please note that the Legal Ombudsman may not consider a complaint about the bill if you have applied to the court for assessment of the bill.
There are alternative complaints bodies which are competent to deal with complaints about the legal services in circumstances where both you and Fletcher & Co agree to use such a scheme. Details of these bodies can be found at the European Commission’s online dispute resolution website: http://ec.europa.eu/odr However, in our experience the Legal Ombudsman is the most suitable to deal with any complaints about legal services.
Please note that we cannot and do not charge you for the cost of dealing with your complaint.
Please do not hesitate to ask for clarification about this procedure if you have any queries.