Complaints

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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 at this stage. 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 service and you will not be charged for time spent handling your complaint. 

What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint 

The Legal Ombudsman may be able to help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at complaints independently and accessing the Ombudsman will not affect how we handle your case. Most ‘consumer’ clients (as oppose to large businesses) will be able to make use of the Ombudsman scheme however there are restrictions for some larger clients. 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: 

Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk 

Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm. Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk 

Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ 

Please note that the Ombudsman are there to deal with concerns about the level of service received. Where there are more serious concerns that a solicitor or solicitor’s firm have been involved in professional misconduct then reports can also be made to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the regulator of solicitors and solicitor firms. This could be for quite unusual and serious acts of misconduct such as dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic. Obviously we do not anticipate any such problems arising and would ask that you notify the matter supervisor straight away if you have any such concerns. You can find out more about the Solicitors Regulation Authority including their contact details and professional conduct rules on their website: www.sra.org.uk. You can complain directly to them here  SRA | Reporting an individual or firm | Solicitors Regulation Authority 

Full Client feedback and complaints policy 

We are committed to providing a quality service to our clients. We value feedback from clients greatly because it helps us to continually improve our service. If you do not feel that you are receiving excellent client service or that something could be improved, please do tell us about it. If we have fallen short of the high standards which we have set for ourselves then we would like the opportunity to put it right. 

What do I do if I have feedback or a complaint? 

At first it would be helpful if you could discuss any feedback or concerns which you have about our service or how it might be improved with the lawyer dealing with your matter. If the lawyer dealing cannot resolve your concern informally, or if the issue is of such a serious nature that you do not feel comfortable raising it with your lawyer, then you may discuss this with our complaints partner as a complaint under this policy. 

How do I raise a complaint under this policy? 

It would help us if you could email  our complaints officer Jonathan Beak at admin@privacypartnership.com with: 

• why you feel dissatisfied with the service which you have received; 

• how you would prefer to be contacted about your complaint; 

• if there is anything in particular which you would like us to do to resolve your complaint. 

If you would prefer not to email details of your complaint in this way then please call to discuss the best way to get an understanding of your concerns. 

What happens after I have made a complaint under this policy? 

We will: 

• send an acknowledgement of your complaint within 7 days of receiving it; 

• log your complaint on our central complaints register; 

• investigate the concerns and arrange a discussion with you to try to agree how to resolve the issues within 21 days of receiving your complaint; 

• write to you within 28 days of receiving your complaint to confirm the outcome of this. 

In exceptional circumstances it may be necessary to extend these timescales but we will try to agree any variations with you first. If you remain unsatisfied after 8 weeks at the latest we will always ensure that you are reminded at that time of how to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman if you are eligible to do so. 

What might the outcome of my complaint be? 

We very much regret any dissatisfaction which our clients experience and will not hesitate to apologise to you where our service has fallen below our high standards. We may also agree that certain steps will be taken to improve your situation and to ensure that any problems experienced will not reoccur. 

What if I remain unsatisfied? 

If you remain dissatisfied you may be entitled to complain to the Legal Ombudsman about our service. This service is not available to all clients however such as large businesses. The Ombudsman would generally expect clients to follow a firm’s internal complaints procedure first. 

You can find further information about the Ombudsman on the website www.legalombudsman.org.uk. You can write to the Ombudsman at Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ or by email on enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk or call on 0300 555 0333. If you wish to raise a complaint with the Ombudsman then you should not delay bringing it to their attention once our own complaints process has concluded as there are some time limits on when this must be done. For example, normally you must raise a complaint with the Ombudsman within six months of the firm’s own final decision on how to resolve your complaint.  You may also raise a complaint about us with the Solicitors Regualtion Authority here  SRA | Reporting an individual or firm | Solicitors Regulation Authority