Complaints Handling Procedure

Our Complaints Policy

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. If something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards.

Our complaints procedure

If you have a complaint about our service or a bill that we have rendered, please contact us in writing with the details.

What is a complaint?

The Legal Ombudsman defines a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction with a service. To come within the jurisdiction of the Legal Ombudsman, the complaint must relate to an act or omission about a service which an authorised person (or their employee) provided to:

• the complainant; or
• another authorised person who procured the service on behalf of the complainant; or
• a personal representative / trustee where the complainant is a beneficiary of the trust / estate; or
• offered, or refused to provide, to the complainant.

We would like to attempt to resolve the complaint initially with the case handler so in the first instance complaints should be sent by email to info@premiersolicitors.co.uk. The complaint will be logged and passed onto the case handler.

What will happen next?

The case handler will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within a reasonable time from us receiving the complaint, enclosing a copy of this procedure.

The case handler will then review your complaint and look to resolve it directly with you. The review stage can take up to eight weeks depending on the nature and complexity of the complaint.

The case handler may at their sole discretion invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. This will be done after completing our internal review.

After the meeting, the case handler will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions they have agreed with you.

If you do not want a meeting or a meeting does not take place, The case handler will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including his suggestions for resolving the matter.

At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us in writing with detailed reasons why you are not satisfied, and we will arrange for the supervising partner or manager of the case handler to review the decision.

We will write to you within a reasonable time after receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons. We aim to provide a final written response within eight weeks of your initial complaint.

If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.

If you are still not satisfied, you can then contact the Legal Ombudsman at:
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH
Tel: 0300 555 0333
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

There are time limits within which complaints must be made to the Legal Ombudsman, as indicated below.

Generally speaking, the Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one year of you realising there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.

Normally, your complaint needs to fall inside both rules if the Ombudsman is going to investigate it.

You also need to be aware that in addition to individuals and companies, the Ombudsman also deals with complaints from the following:

• an enterprise which, at the time that the complaint is made, is a micro-enterprise within the meaning of arts.1, 2(1) and (3) of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, as that Recommendation had effect at the date it was adopted;
• a charity with an annual income net of tax of less than £1 million at the time at which the complainant refers the complaint to the respondent;
• a club, association or organisation, the affairs of which are managed by its members or a committee or committees of its members,[JOIN]
• with an annual income net of tax of less than £1 million at the time at which the complainant refers the complaint to the respondent;
• a trustee of a trust with an asset value of less than £1 million at the time at which the complainant refers the complaint to the respondent;
• a personal representative of an estate of a person; or
• beneficiary of an estate of a person.

You may also have the right to object to the bill by making a complaint to the Legal Complaints service, and/or by applying to the court for an assessment under Part 111 of the Solicitors Act 1974.

You are also entitled to contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority about us. Please note that the Solicitors Regulation Authority does not deal with issues of poor service which, as detailed above, should be referred to the Legal Ombudsman. The Solicitors Regulation Authority will consider, for example, any concerns relating to discrimination, dishonesty, taking or losing your money or breaches of their Principles. If you wish to report any concerns to the Solicitors Regulation Authority you can do so via their website SRA | Problems with law firms and individuals | Solicitors Regulation Authority, by email contactcentre@sra.org.uk, by telephone 0370 606 2555 or in writing to Contact Centre, The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN.