At Family Law Made Easy we pride ourselves on the levels of service, and value proposition, we offer our clients which is reflected in the positive feedback we often receive from clients.
That said we understand that there can be times when a client may feel that we have not met their expectations, and the following procedure has been drafted to ensure that in those instances the client can raise their concerns with us in a manner enabling us to deal with them promptly, fairly, openly and effectively.
In any case where the client feels unhappy with the work we carry out for them we would wish to apologise unreservedly to them for that.
We must make clear at this stage that no charges will be levied in dealing with a client’s complaint whether that is raised to us informally or formally.
Initial discussions – stage 1
- Where a client is dissatisfied with any aspect of our work we invite them to raise their concerns as soon as possible with the fee-earner dealing with their case.
- Concerns can be raised either in discussions or in writing. In either instance the fee-earner will confirm any action agreed to be taken as a result of their consideration of the client’s concerns within 7 days.
Formal complaint – stage 2
- If the client does not feel that the fee-earner dealing with their concerns has been able to address them satisfactorily we invite the client to write to our complaints officer, currently Oliver Beyret-Powell – Complaints Manager, who can be contacted at 70 Westgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 2NZ or at .
- Wherever possible we kindly ask the client to set out in their formal complaint specific factors, incidents of communications which give rise to their disatisfaction, and where possible what action they would like the firm to take to redress their concerns. The Legal Ombudsman has produced a guide complaint letter which can be found on their website details of which are below.
- Within 7 days the client’s complaint will be acknowledged in writing, summarising where necessary issues raised and asking the client to confirm that they have set out all matters for complaint. This is required to ensure our investigations will be effective and we have the best possible chance of addressing concerns raised.
- The complaints officer will then carry out a full investigation of the issues raised by the client and respond in writing with their report on outcome at the first possible opportunity setting out the outcome of their investigation.
- If the client remains unhappy despite the complaints officer’s investigation report we would invite the client to confirm that to the complaints officer in writing, setting out the manner in which the client considers that the report on outcome fails to satisfy their concerns.
- The complaints officer will respond within 7 days with a final response to the client’s complaint.
Whilst it is difficult to specify a time-frame for this stage we must provide a final response to your formal complaint within 8 weeks of having received it
Mediation – (optional)
In some instances the limitations of written correspondence may hinder either the client or the complaint officer’s understanding of the other’s point of view.
In cases where the client would find it useful, we are always happy to arrange a meeting with the complaints officer (or another partner in the firm where the client is a client of the complaints officer) should the client feel that would be beneficial to them.
Legal Ombudsman – stage 3
We will try to resolve all complaints within a maximum period of 8 weeks. After that time, or if you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman (who investigates complaints about service issues with lawyers) to independently look at your complaint. Doing so 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 our final response to your complaint, and
- No more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about, or
- No more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint.
For more information about the Legal Ombudsman contact:
Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH.
Call 0300 555 0333 between 9am and 5pm
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour
The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help 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.
Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.