Complaints Policy

Policy Text

Rickards and Cleaver want to give all its clients 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 at this stage.

 

If however, you would like to make a formal complaint, then the procedure is as follows:

1. Please write or email Liz Garratt (liz@solicitorswhocare.co.uk) with the details of your complaint. If Liz Garratt is the practitioner dealing with your case then the complaint should be directed to Mark Cairns either by way of letter or by email to mark@solicitorswhocare.co.uk

2. We will within no more than 5 working days of receipt of the complaint acknowledge receipt of the complaint. We may need to ask you for further information.

3. We will then begin investigating your complaint. Ordinarily, we will respond in writing as to the outcome of your investigation although on occasion if it is felt appropriate we might invite you to attend at our offices to discuss the complaint if we feel that this may present a better opportunity of resolving the complaint. If we do invite you to attend at our offices to discuss the complaint you are not bound to do so and if you do not wish to do so then the complaint will be dealt with in the same manner as above i.e. we will provide a written response.

4. We shall use our best endeavours to provide the written response within 10 working days of acknowledging the complaint or following receipt of further information requested by us from you but if the matter is complex or there are other complicating factors the response may take up to 15 working days.

5. If you are not happy with the response to your complaint then you may ask that another solicitor with Rickards and Cleaver review the complaint and our response to it

What do to if we cannot resolve your complaint

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

• Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint

and 

• 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 the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them.

 

Contact details

Visit www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm.

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Legal Ombudsman P O Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

 

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

(https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.page) our reference number is 573707.