Frederick Rine Solicitors: COMPLAINTS HANDLING PROCEDURE

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 below. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

Our procedure is as follows:

Step One:

Complainant is asked to provide full details of the nature of the problem, preferably in writing by email or letter.  The complaint is then passed to the Partner, Ms Yemisi Oladeji, who oversees the procedure and ensures that the following steps are followed.  (If the complaint is about Ms Yemisi Oladeji, then the procedure will pass to the second Partner, Mr Frederick Twum Barima to deal with).

Step Two:

Letter of acknowledgement of complaint is sent within three working days.  This letter confirms what happens next.

Step Three:

Complaint is investigated by reviewing the file and speaking to the person concerned within 7 days of acknowledging receipt of the complaint.  If, for some reason, the matter cannot be investigated in this timeframe, then complainant is notified of this together with the reason why and giving a revised timescale. Once the investigation has been completed, a letter is sent setting out the responses to the issues raised.

Step Four:

Complainant may request a meeting to discuss the issue(s) and the written response, and hopefully resolve the complaint.  This meeting will take place within 14 days of sending the written response.  Following the meeting, written confirmation of the outcome and solution agreed will be sent within 3 days of the meeting.

Step Five:

If satisfied with the response in either Step Three or Four above, that will be the end of the matter.  However, if not satisfied, client should ask for another member of staff who is unconnected with the matter to review the response.   They will write within 14 days of receiving this request with confirmation of our final position in relation to the complaint, outlining the reasons and any final redress that is offered.

WHAT TO DO 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 as below.

Contact details

Visit:                www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Call:                 0300 555 0333 between 9.00 to 17.00.

Email:              enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

By post:           Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ