The Bar Standards Board requires me to provide client’s with a complaint procedure. I aim to provide the best possible service at all times. If you find it necessary to raise a complaint, you are invited to let me know as soon as possible.
Useful contacts
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ
Telephone number: 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Web: http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/helping-thepublic/
Complaints Policy
1. My aim is to provide my clients with the best possible service at all times. However, I recognise that on occasion you may find it necessary to raise a complaint about my service. If you do, you are invited to let me know as soon as possible.
2. I will normally consider complaints that are made within 12 months of the act or omission of which the complaint is made.
3. I will make an initial assessment of the complaint. If I feel that the issues raised cannot be satisfactorily resolved through the complaints process, I will refer you to the Bar Standards Board.
4. You may wish to make a complaint in writing, by letter or email. I will discuss your concerns with you and aim to resolve them. If the matter is resolved, I will record the outcome, check that you are satisfied with the outcome and record that you are satisfied.
5. When writing please ensure that you give me the following details:
- your name and address;
- details of your complaint;
- what you would like done about it.
6. I will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 2 working days and provide you with details of how your complaint will be dealt with.
7. I will reply to your complaint within 14 days, setting out
- the nature and scope of my investigation
- conclusion on each complaint
- basis of conclusion
- if you are justified in your complaint, the proposal for resolving the complaint.
8. All conversations and documents relating to the complaint will be treated as confidential. The Bar Standards Board is entitled to inspect the documents and seek information about the complaint when discharging its monitoring functions.
9. If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, you may take up your complaint with the legal ombudsman, at the conclusion of my consideration of your complaint.
10. The ombudsman is not able to consider your complaint until it has first been investigated by me.
11. Please note the timeframe for referral of complaints to the Ombudsman as set out below:-
(i) The complainant must refer the complaint to the legal ombudsman no later than 6 years from the act/omission or 3 years from when the complainant should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.
(ii) The complainant must also refer the complaint to the legal ombudsman within 6 months of the complaint receiving a final response from me, if that response complies with the requirements in rule 4.4 of the Scheme rules (which requires the response to include prominently an explanation that the legal ombudsman was available if the complainant remained dissatisfied, and the provision of full contact details for the Ombudsman and a warning that the complaint must be referred to them within 6 months).
Link to the Legal Ombudsman’s decisions database https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/information-centre/data-centre/ombudsman-decision-data/