COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
At Leech & Co, we are committed to providing the highest level of service to all of our clients and we hope that all clients will satisfied and be pleased with our service. However, in the unlikely event that you do have any concerns or cause for complaint about our service, you should inform us immediately in order that we may discuss any issues with you and so that we may address your concerns and/or try to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. As a first port of call, you should contact the person dealing with your matter (their name and contact details will be in your Client Care Letter.)
However, if the person dealing with your matter cannot address your concerns or resolve the issue, you will need to use our formal complaints policy. This is available on our website and will be sent to you upon request, but our complaints procedure is as follows:
- You should write to Matthew Connery, who is the Complaints Director, or by e-mail to [email protected]. The letter or e-mail should be clearly marked as “Formal Complaint” and it should outline the reason(s) for your complaint and how you wish for us to resolve the issue;
- We will record your complaint in our central register upon receipt and we will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 5 working days;
- Matthew Connery will then review the matter on the basis of your complaint and contact you in writing or on the telephone within 10 working days to discuss fully the matter with you, to confirm the basis of your complaint and to outline the proposed steps Leech & Co will take to resolve the issue;
- We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time and you remain dissatisfied with our handling of your complaint and our proposed steps to resolve the issue, you may direct your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman.
The Legal Ombudsman can be contacted at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ or by telephone on 0300 553 0333 or by email at [email protected].
N.B. You will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint or within 6 years of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring (if outside of this period, within 3 years of when you should reasonably have been aware of it).
Complaints about fees:
If you are not happy with our Bill at the conclusion of the matter, you should initially follow the above procedure, but if this does not resolve the issue, you have the right to make an application for an assessment of our charges to the High Court under sections 70,71 and 72 of the Solicitors Act 1974.
Complaints about misconduct:
If you are a client of Leech & Co and have concerns about misconduct of a member of our team, for example misuse of money, dishonesty or discrimination, you should you should initially follow the above procedure, but if this does not resolve the issue you should report the matter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority at The Cube, Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN or by telephone on 0370 606 2555 or online www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor
As we have said above, it is always our aim at Leech & Co to provide a high-quality legal service to all of our clients. If you have concerns about our service, we will aim to deal with them as quickly as possible and without the need to use the formal complaints procedure. If you would like to discuss any aspect of our service or any concerns you may have, please contact Matthew Connery on 0161 749 9000 or at [email protected]
