I, Alex Watts, as principal solicitor of the firm, will deal with all formal complaints in the first instance where it has not been possible for you to resolve you concerns directly with the person handling your matter or you are uncomfortable discussing any issues with them.
On receiving your complaint, I will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and ask you to confirm my understanding of your complaint or I may ask you to explain further the details of your complaint. You can expect to receive my letter acknowledging your complaint within ten working days of me receiving your complaint.
To help me to understand your complaint, and so that I do not miss anything, please tell me:
- your full name and contact details;
- the details of your complaint;
- how you would like your complaint to be resolved; and
- your file reference number (if you have it).
Having clarified any matters with you and on receipt of full details of your complaint, I will start to investigate your complaint within 10 working days (If you agree I may ask another independent solicitor to investigate your complaint and report to me). The investigation of your complaint will usually involve:
- a review your complaint;
- a review your file(s) and other relevant documents; and
- speaking with the person who dealt with your matter.
I may also need to ask you for further information or documents. If so, I will ask you to provide the information within a specific period of time.
I will update you on the progress of your complaint at appropriate times.
I may also, if appropriate, invite you to a meeting to discuss your complaint. You do not have to attend if you do not wish to or if you are unable to. I will be happy to discuss the matter with you by telephone or video conference.
I will write to you at the end of my investigation to tell you what I have done and what I propose to do to resolve your complaint. Where possible, I will aim to do this within 21 days of the date of my letter of acknowledgement.
If you are still not satisfied, I will write to you and invite you to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. Within 2 working days of any discussion, I will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions agreed with you.
If you do not wish to discuss the matter or following a discussion you are still not satisfied, you can write to me explaining why you are dissatisfied with my position. I will then arrange to review my decision.
If you are still not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, I will, with your consent, ask the local Law Society if they might appoint a solicitor to review your complaint.
I will let you know how long this process will take. I will let you know the result of the review within 14 days of the end of the review. At this time, I will write to you confirming my final position on your complaint and explain my reasons.
If you are still not satisfied you can contact the Legal Ombudsman about your complaint at:
- Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH
- enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk; or
- 0300 555 0333
The Legal Ombudsman will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your matter.
Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must be made:
- within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint; and
- no more than six years from the date of act/omission; or
- no more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was
cause for complaint.
The Legal Ombudsman has provided further guidance on its service at www.legalombudsman.org.uk.
You can also contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) if you are concerned about the firm’s conduct in handling your matter. For more information, please visit the SRA website at: https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/
Gatling Solicitors
14 West Cliff, Preston PR1 8HU | 01772 978 269
© 2024 Gatling Solicitors Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority SRA NUmber 816564.