We aim to provide a consistently high level of service. However, if you do have any complaints or concerns about our service, we will try our best to sort out the problem and put things right for you as quickly and effectively as possible. We believe that a well handled complaint is an opportunity to restore and even improve goodwill as well as to provide an even better service in future. To that end, we have established the following procedure for handling complaints.
Procedure
As a first step, we recommend that you raise the complaint informally with Clive Smith
Clive will try to resolve it to your satisfaction as quickly as possible and will in any event keep any correspondence with you and a written record of any conversations with you on the file relating to the matter complained about.
If the informal complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, we ask you to summarise the complaint in a written letter. to the fi
Clive will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 48 hours of its arrival, sending you a copy of this procedure and telling you within what timescale (not exceeding three weeks) you will be given a written response to the complaint.
In the event that the complaint cannot be resolved informally Clive will forward the complaint to another practioner in Lewes wh will review your complaint and the file of the person handling the matter complained about thoroughly and fairly. Within the time mentioned above, he will write to you with a full response to your complaint, explaining whether or not in his view the complaint was justified, and why.
Where he considers that the complaint is justified, the practioner will give you an apology together with an explanation of the action we propose to take to put right the matter complained about.
We will not charge you for any time we spend in handling your complaint.
Records
A record of all complaints received will be kept in a separate file by the firm’s Practice Manager, Denise Wilmshurst, who will ensure that complaints are reviewed periodically by the partners in the firm, to make sure that any deficiencies in our service standards and in our systems are remedied.
Legal Ombudsman
If you are dissatisfied with the review and written response to your complaint, or if for any reason your complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction within eight weeks of the making of your initial informal complaint, you have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman:
by post to Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 15870, Birmingham, B20 9EB or
by email to enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk or
by phone to 0300 555 0333 (if you are calling from overseas, call +44 121 245 3050).
You can view the Ombudsman’s website generally on www.legalombudsman.org.uk.
Overall, the Ombudsman does expect you to make your complaint to him within a year of when you first realised there was a concern and within six months of your last contact with us after making the complaint (whichever is the earlier).
