Hammons Solicitors Complaints Procedure

Complaints Policy

1. We are committed to providing a quality service to all our clients. This is reinforced by the fact that the firm has been accredited with the Law Society’s Special Quality Mark (SQM) and the Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS).
2. We know that however careful we are in dealing with matters things can go wrong. We recognise this and take complaints from clients extremely seriously.
3. It is only by dealing with complaints promptly, systematically and efficiently that we can hope to maintain quality standards. There will There will be no charge to you for dealing with your complaint.

The Procedure

1. If you have a complaint, this must be put in writing to one of the Directors. If that changes, we will let you know.
2. The complaint will be acknowledged in writing within 48 hours and recorded internally with 72 hours. The acknowledgement will tell you who is dealing with the complaint and send you a copy of this procedure.
3. The complaint will be investigated by a Director or by a nominated colleague. The file will be examined and the Fee Earner dealing with the file will be asked for an explanation of the circumstances giving rise to the complaint.
4. We may, if necessary, invite you to a meeting or make a telephone appointment to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint.
5. Should a meeting or telephone appointment take place, we will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions agreed.
6. If a meeting or telephone appointment does not take place, we will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint including any suggestions to resolve the matter within 21 days of the acknowledgement
7. If you are still not satisfied you should contact us again and we will arrange for another Director, or someone unconnected with the matter, or the firm to review our original decision.
8. We will write to you within 14 days of receiving a request for review confirming our position on your complaint and explaining our reasons for doing so.
9. Complaining to the Legal Ombudsman. 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 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
   
   Full details of the kinds of complaints which the Ombudsman will accept can be found on their website at www.legalombudsman.org.uk. Their address and contact details are PO Box 6167, Slough,SL1 0EH, telephone no. 0300 555 0333 , telephone no. 0300 555 0333, email [email protected].
10. You may alternatively contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) if you have concerns as to whether we have breached any of their professional rules for solicitors. These will be found at www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/principles and the SRA can be contacted at The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham B1 1RN, or by email to [email protected].

Please Note

Changes to the above time-scales may take place from time to time.

We will notify you of these together with an explanation of the change.