Complaints Procedure

We are committed to providing a high standard of service to all of our clients. However, if you are unhappy with any aspect of the service you have received, or if you have concerns about a bill, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can try to resolve the issue.

Raising a complaint will not affect how we handle your matter.

How to raise a complaint with us

In the first instance, you may wish to contact the person dealing with your matter, as they may be able to resolve your concerns quickly.

If you would prefer to make a formal complaint, you can contact our Complaints Handler:

Complaints Handler: Saara Patel
Email: saara@helpmelegal.uk
Post: Help Me Legal Solicitors, Solomon House, Belgrave Court, Caxton Road, Fulwood, Preston, PR2 9PL
Telephone: 01772 282768

Please provide as much detail as possible about your complaint, including:

• your name and contact details;
• the matter or file your complaint relates to;
• what you are unhappy about;
• when the issue happened;
• who you have dealt with; and
• how you would like the matter to be resolved.

It is helpful if complaints are made in writing, but if you need assistance or would prefer to raise your complaint by telephone, please contact us and we will do our best to assist.

What happens after we receive your complaint?

Once we receive your complaint, we will:

1. acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days;
2. record your complaint on our central complaints register;
3. review your file and the issues you have raised;
4. speak with the person who has been dealing with your matter, where appropriate;
5. ask you for any further information we need in order to investigate your complaint; and
6. provide you with a written response.

We aim to provide a full written response within 28 days of acknowledging your complaint.

If we need more time to investigate, we will tell you why and confirm when we expect to respond. In any event, we will provide our final response within 8 weeks of receiving your complaint.

If appropriate, we may suggest a meeting or telephone call to discuss your complaint and try to resolve matters. If a meeting or call takes place, we will confirm the outcome in writing.

If you remain unhappy with our response

If you are not satisfied with our response, please let us know. We will review the matter again and confirm whether our position has changed.

If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if we have not provided a final response within 8 weeks of receiving your complaint, you may be able to ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider your complaint.

The Legal Ombudsman

The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints about poor service provided by legal service providers. The Legal Ombudsman is independent and will usually expect you to have given us the opportunity to deal with your complaint first.

You can usually ask the Legal Ombudsman to look at your complaint if:

• you have received our final written response and remain unhappy; or
• 8 weeks have passed since you made your complaint to us and we have not provided a final response.

You must usually refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

• within 6 months of the date of our final written response to your complaint; and
• no more than 1 year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or
• no more than 1 year from the date when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint.

If you do not refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within these time limits, the Legal Ombudsman may not be able to investigate your complaint.

The Legal Ombudsman’s contact details are:

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH

Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Relay UK: 18001 0300 555 0333
Overseas: +44 121 245 3050
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Complaints about professional conduct

The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints about the service you have received from us.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority, known as the SRA, deals with concerns about professional conduct. This may include concerns about dishonesty, misuse of client money, discrimination, serious breaches of the SRA rules, or behaviour which puts clients or the public at risk.

The SRA does not usually deal with complaints about poor service, delays, communication issues or fee disputes, and it cannot award compensation or reduce your legal fees. These types of complaints are usually dealt with by the Legal Ombudsman.

You can report concerns about professional conduct to the SRA through its website:

Website: www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/

There is no specific time limit for reporting concerns to the SRA, but concerns should be raised as soon as possible, particularly where evidence may be needed.