COMPLAINTS HANDLING POLICY
We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service we have provided then you should inform us immediately so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.
In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues.
If you would like to make a formal complaint, then you can read our full complaints procedure here.
Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case and we will not make a charge for dealing with your complaint.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you 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.
You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
This Complaints Handling Procedure tells you how we will deal with your complaint and how long it is likely to take. It also provides important information about what you can do if you are not happy with the way in which we are dealing with your complaint, or about our final decision.
If at any point you become unhappy with the service we provide to you or our charges please inform us immediately so that we can do our best to resolve the problem for you.
You should discuss these first with the individual who has day-to-day control of your matter. If this person cannot satisfactorily address your concerns and you wish to make a complaint, please contact our Designated Complaints Handler, Jacqueline Rafferty.
You can write to her at:
THOMPSON & CO. SOLICITORS,
9 GREEN TERRACE,
SUNDERLAND,
TYNE & WEAR, SR1 3PZ
Or send an Email to:
jrafferty@thompsonandco-solicitors.co.uk
Please be assured that making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case and we will not make a charge for dealing with your complaint.
STEP ONE : Acknowledging your Complaint
Within two working days of receiving your complaint, your complaint will be recorded in our
Complaints Register and a separate file will be opened in which we will store any correspondence
and other documents relating to your complaint. Within two working days we will also send you a letter acknowledging your complaint.
STEP TWO : Investigating your Complaint
Within five working days of receiving your complaint, we will review your file(s) and any other relevant documentation and send you a letter telling you how we propose to deal with your complaint. Examples of what we might say in this letter are as follows:
- If your complaint is straightforward we might make suggestions as to how we can put things right or we may offer you some form of redress;
- If your complaint is more complicated we might ask you to confirm, explain or clarify any Issues;
We may ask to meet with you to discuss things face-to-face and we would hope to be in a position to meet with you no longer than fourteen working days after first receiving your complaint. If you would prefer not to meet, or if we cannot arrange this within an agreeable timescale, we will write to you fully setting out our views on the situation and making suggestions as to how we can put things right, or asking you to confirm, explain or clarify any issues. Within three working days of any meeting, we will write to you again to confirm what took place and to confirm any offer of redress that we have made.
Whichever form our investigation takes, we will aim to give you our final decision within six weeks of receiving your complaint (or sooner if possible).
STEP THREE : Appealing against our Final Decision
If you are not satisfied with our final decision, please let us know and we will review our decision again. We will let you know the result of any appeal within five working days of receiving your Appeal.
STEP FOUR: The Legal Ombudsman
If we are unable to resolve your complaint, then you can have the complaint independently looked at by the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about service issues with lawyers.
The Legal Ombudsman Scheme rules can be found at:
https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/information-centre/corporate-publications/scheme-rules/
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 written response to you.
Ordinarily, you cannot use the Legal Ombudsman unless you have first attempted to resolve your complaint using our internal Complaints Handling procedure, but you will be able to contact the Legal Ombudsman if:
The complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction within eight weeks of first making the complaint to us; or;
The Legal Ombudsman decides that there are exceptional reasons why the Legal Ombudsman should consider your complaint sooner, or without you having to use our internal Complaints Handling Procedure first; or;
The Legal Ombudsman considers that your complaint cannot be resolved using our internal Complaints Handling Procedure because the relationship between you and us has broken down irretrievably.
If you wish to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman you must be one of the following:
- An individual;
- A micro-enterprise as defined in European Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 (broadly, an enterprise with fewer than 10 staff and a turnover or balance sheet value not exceeding €2 million);
- A charity with an annual income less than ÂŁ1 million;
- A club, association or society with an annual income less than ÂŁ1 million;
- A trustee of a trust with a net asset value less than ÂŁ1 million; or;
- A personal representative or the residuary beneficiaries of an estate where a person with a complaint died before referring it to the Legal Ombudsman.
If you do not fall into one of the above categories you can only obtain redress by using our
Complaints Handling Procedure or by mediation or arbitration, or by taking action through the Courts.
LEGAL OMBUDSMAN CONTACT DETAILS:
Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm.
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Post: Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH