Complaints policy and procedure

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong you need to tell us about it. This will help us improve our standards. We treat complaints seriously and, in most cases, we can resolve any issues within a period of eight weeks from the date on which the complaint is first made.

This policy and procedure are intended for clients of this firm. If you are not a client but wish to make a complaint, then we will use this policy and procedure at our discretion.

How to make a complaint

Please contact the person dealing with your matter or, if you prefer, his or her supervisor. Their names and contact details will appear in the letter of engagement which you received at the outset of our relationship.
If that is not appropriate, or if you are still dissatisfied then you can contact Robert Levy (Executive Partner) or Steve Eccleston (Managing Partner). They are our Client Care Partners.
You can write to them at: 7th Floor, Blackfriars House, Parsonage, Manchester, M3 2JA or e-mail them at [email protected] or [email protected].

Please set out your complaint in writing including:

• Your full name and contact details,
• What you think we have got wrong,
• What you hope to achieve from our complaints process.

What will happen next?

1. We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and if necessary, we will ask you to confirm, clarify or explain the details of your complaint in writing. We will also let you know the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint. You can expect to receive our acknowledgment within ten days of us receiving your complaint.
2. We will then start to investigate your complaint. Responsibility for that investigation will be assigned to a member of the firm best placed to carry out that investigation. He/she will normally review your matter and speak to those who carried out the work. We may need to ask you for further information or further documents. If so, we will ask you to provide the information within a specific period of time.
3. We will write to you by letter or email at the end of our investigation to tell you what we have done and what we propose to do to resolve your complaint. Where possible, we will aim to do this within 28 days of the date of our letter or email of acknowledgement.
4. If we need to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.
5. The Legal Ombudsman allows us 8 weeks to try and reach a resolution to your complaint.

What if you are not satisfied with the outcome?

If you are not satisfied, then you can write to us again and we may arrange for someone who has not been involved in your complaint to review it. If this is appropriate, we will let you know within seven days who is overseeing the review and the timescale for a response.

If you are still not satisfied with our response to your complaint, you may have a right to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

The Legal Ombudsman is an independent organisation with powers to resolve complaints about legal services when issues have not been resolved between and individual and their lawyer.

You can contact the Legal Ombudsman by post, telephone or email:
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
E-mail: [email protected]
Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
For minicom call 0300 555 1777

Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of the date of our final written response to your complaint and within one year of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring (or within one year of you becoming aware that you have cause for complaint). Further details are available on the Legal Ombudsman’s website www.legalombudsman.co.uk.

What will it cost?

We will not charge you for handling your complaint.
Please note that if we have issued a bill for work done on the matter, and all or some of the bill is not paid, we may be entitled to charge interest on the amount outstanding.
The Legal Ombudsman service is free of charge.