Informal Feedback
We know that any legal proceedings can be stressful and daunting. Our aim is to provide you with the support you need and provide you with an efficient and friendly service. We welcome all feedback that we receive and always pass on any positive feedback to the individuals concerned. However, in the event that you feel that our service has not met your expectations, we also encourage you to let us know how we can improve. As well as helping us to identify how the firm can improve the service it provides, your feedback will also afford the firm the opportunity to address your concerns.
Complaints Procedure
In the event that you have a matter that you feel is more significant that you wish to raise as a formal complaint we have set out below the procedure that we will adopt.
Step 1 – Contact the person in conduct with your Case
If you have concerns that you wish to raise with us, please address them to the person with supervision of your case in the first instance.
Step 2 – Contact the Complaints Manager
If you remain dissatisfied with their response, you should contact our complaints handling manager Brain Craig at brian@carterssolicitors.org.uk
We would normally be required to deal with a complaint within 8weeks of it being raised. However, the timeframes that he will normally work to are:
Acknowledge receipt of the complaint – 5 working days.
Investigation – 20 working days.
He will undertake a review of the file and decide if in his view the complaint is justified or whether there is objective evidence on the file to refute the complaint. As part of this process, he may request further information from the complainant or the fee earner with conduct of the file.
Either the evidence on the file will justify the complaint, show the complaint isn’t justified or there will be insufficient evidence to determine the validity of the complaint.
Notification of Outcome
If the complaint is not deemed to be justified a letter will be sent notifying the complainant of that decision and the reasons why within 5 working days of the conclusion of the review. If the complaint is justified or partly justified the client will be contacted to discuss the proposed resolution and if it can be resolved at this stage then a letter outlining the complaint, why the complaint was justified and the actions to be taken will be sent to the client within 5 working days of the resolution being agreed.
The complaints handling process will not normally extend beyond 6 weeks but in complex matters, of if additional information is requested that delays the process these time limits may not be complied with.
Step 3 – Contact the Legal Ombudsman
If we are unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you can refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman in circumstances where the complaint relates to the quality of the work we did for you or if you believe our charges are unjustified.
The details for contacting the Legal Ombudsman are as follows:
Address: PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
Telephone number: 0300 555 0333 (+44 121 245305 overseas)
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Contact the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority (SRA)
Alternatively, the SRA may be approached in the event that your complaint relates to an issue of honesty or in the event that you believe a solicitor has acted in contravention of the regulations governing solicitor’s behaviour.
You can make a complaint to the SRA by navigating to https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/.