Complaints about our services
We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service we have provided, or about the bill, then you should inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem. In the first instance, it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage.
Initial concerns
If you are not happy with the service provided to you, you should contact the lawyer dealing with your case, or their manager, who will try and resolve your concerns for you. They may suggest a telephone call or meeting to discuss matters.
Complaints process
If your lawyer or their manager is unable to resolve your complaint, and you remain unhappy, you can escalate your complaint in the following ways:-
By email to info@harrisandgreensolicitors.com
By telephone on 0113 270 7002 asking to speak to the Compliance & Operations Administrator.
By post to 169 Dewsbury Road, Leeds, LS11 5EG
To deal with your complaint correctly, it would be helpful when contacting us if you could provide the following information:
- Your name, contact details and preferred method of contact
- File reference number(s)
- Details of your concerns
- How you would like us to put things right
What happens after I have made a complaint under this policy?
We will:
- Send a written acknowledgement of your complaint within 14 working days of receiving it.
- Investigate your concerns diligently, impartially and fairly. This may include reviewing your matter file and related records and discussing the issues with the team who have been working on your matter.
- Let you know promptly if we need any further information from you to assist our investigation.
- Write to you to provide a formal Final Response to Complaint setting out the conclusion of our investigation and any proposals to rectify or resolve the matter.
- Although this information is set out in this complaints procedure, at the end of our complaints process we will remind you of what you can do if you are unhappy with the outcome, that you may be entitled to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, and how to do so.
- We will ask you to let us know whether we have succeeded in resolving your concerns and, if you accept any proposals made, we will fulfil the proposals promptly.
There is no fee for making a complaint and we will not charge you for investigating and responding to your concerns.
Your complaint will be investigated and handled independently of your legal matter. This means that if your legal matter is ongoing it will continue to progress as normal and will not be affected or disadvantaged by the complaints process, assuming no conflict of interests has arisen and that you continue to comply with the terms of our engagement as set out in our engagement letter and terms of business
How long will it take?
We will aim to conclude our investigation and provide our Final Response as quickly as possible. Although we will always aim for sooner, the process may take up to eight weeks from receipt of your complaint.
In exceptional circumstances it may be necessary to extend these timescales. If this occurs, we will let you know in writing and will try to agree any variations with you first.
If your complaint is not resolved within eight weeks, you may be entitled to refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman at that time.
What might the outcome of my complaint be?
We regret any dissatisfaction which our clients experience and, if our investigation concludes that our service has fallen below our usual high standards, we will not hesitate to apologise. We may also make any proposals that we consider appropriate to resolve or improve your situation. Depending on the circumstances this may include, for example, an offer of compensation, reduced fees, further assistance or other proposals. These are only examples and may not be relevant or appropriate in all cases.
We will also take steps internally to ensure that any problems that you have experienced will not reoccur.
Referrals to the Legal Ombudsman
If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the complaint. Their website is at: www.legalombudsman.org.uk.
This organisation is the statutory body to whom you may refer your complaint once we have concluded our professional obligation to try and resolve it.
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.
Contacting the Legal Ombudsman
You can contact the Legal Ombudsman, or find further information about who can use their service and when, via the details set out below.
https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/
Legal Ombudsman: PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH
Telephone number: 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Complaints about your bill
In the case of a complaint about a bill, there might also be a right to object to the bill by applying to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. However, we would point out that if all or part of a bill remains unpaid, we may be entitled to charge interest – any such entitlement being set out in the Billing Arrangements section of our client care letter.
What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour
The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour, or that we have not adhered to the SRA rules and regulations. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.
Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Alternative complaints bodies, such as Ombudsman Services, ProMediate and Small Claims Mediation exist which deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme.
It is not our policy to make any charges for assisting in resolving client care issues.