Complaints Handling Procedure

DEFINITION OF A COMPLAINT

Probably the best definition of a “complaint” is “any expression of client dissatisfaction, however it is expressed”. This means that a complaint need not include the word “complain” in it, and might be presented in writing, over the telephone or in person.

ENCOURAGING FEEDBACK

All staffs approach to complaints should be positive, as they alert the firm to problems that your clients have about your service and thereby provide an opportunity for service improvement.

The complaints process should be as open as possible (easy for the client to understand and to access) so that concerns are raised at the earliest opportunity, rather than letting them become more serious.

ONE-OFF ADVICE

Where one-off advice is given, it is not necessary to provide information about how or to whom a client should complain in all instances. Instead, caseworkers should be alert to expressions of dissatisfaction (however they may be made) and offer the relevant information wherever they feel that the client may not be happy with the service (including the advice given).

SOLICITOR ORGANISATIONS AND CODE OF CONDUCT CHAPTER 1

Code of Conduct 2011 Chapter 1, the “client care” rule sets out requirements relating to Client Care and complaints handling. Although the client does not need to be advised of the entire system when given one-off advice (including police station advice and court duty solicitor advice), they must at least be advised of the name of the person with whom they should raise any problems. Compliant practice would therefore include telling the client whom to approach in the event of dissatisfaction and/or providing them with a prepared letter/leaflet containing a brief explanation, and supplementing that with a more detailed written explanation if/once a file is opened and further work is done for them.

OUR COMPLAINTS POLICY

We are committed to providing a level of service that exceeds the level expected at the outset or our engagement with you but where something goes wrong or you do not believe we have performed to a reasonable level taking into account the circumstances of the matter you have engaged us to carry out we welcome your feedback to help us improve and do better next time. If you are not therefore happy with the service we have provided our procedure is as follows:

• Raise your concern with the person or persons (The Team) who you believe have not performed to either the agreed or a reasonable level of service so that they can review their own actions and feedback to you why they believe things did not go to the agreed plan or why something was not corrected to your satisfaction that should have been. It may well be that there were unforeseen/change in circumstances which affected the outcome that were beyond our control and /or could not reasonably have been anticipated and upon review adequately explains how the drop in service occurred.

• If the concern has not been dealt with by the Team to your satisfaction within 2 weeks of raising it then please put in writing to the Supervising Director of the Team any outstanding points. The Supervising Directors  details will be found in our initial engagement letter to you otherwise please ask the Team to refer your unresolved concern to their Superviser and the Superviser will contact you to request any further details they may need to investigate your case. This will normally be done within 7 working days after notification of escalation but is subject to any annual leave/sickness or other unknown extended absence from the office. Your concern will be registered in our Central Register in any event.

• The Superviser will investigate your complaint by reviewing the file, speaking with your team and collecting any other relevant information from 3^rd parties involved if necessary. This can take up to 2 weeks but in most cases is done within a week or less.

• Once the Investigation has concluded the Superviser will contact you with a view to resolve your matter on the telephone and/or follow up vis email their findings and decision. In some cases it may be appropriate to   invite you to a meeting at our offices.

• If the Superviser is unable to resolve your concerns then you will have a final right of appeal to our Managing Director whose details will be provided to you as part of the Supervisers determination of your case. Our Managing Director will review all communications and then contact you in writing with our final response. This will be done at the earliest opportunity but can take up to 21 days from notification of appeal.

• The whole process is aimed to be completed within 8 weeks of your initial contact in point 1 above.

• If you are still not satisfied at the end of the process you have the option of contacting the Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH. Any complaint to the Ombudsman has to be made no more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about or no more than one year from the date when you should have realised that there was cause for complaint and within six months of receiving our final response. A link to the Legal Ombudsman guide to complaints is: https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/how-to-complain/?source=817075da-41b2-4f10-a1ac-44ef39407720

ACTION AS THE RESULT OF REVIEW

Action might be directed at individuals (e.g. providing additional training in certain skills) or it might involve changes to processes and procedures (e.g. where complaints arise from what processes and procedures contain or do not contain); it might even involve considering expanding the service (e.g. where complaints arise from having to be signposted for certain advice). In extreme cases, where a complaint against a member is staff is justified, corrective action may result in a formal warning or even dismissal.

Effective and positive complaint handling is an important aspect of client care and service quality. Action following review might, therefore, also be to improve the complaints procedure or training in complaints handling, as the way in which complaints have been handled should form as much part of the review as the issues that have been their subject.

ANNUAL REVIEW OF COMPLAINTS

At a formal directors' meeting, and at least once every year, the Managing Director will review all formal complaints with the other directors so they are aware of these complaints and any new policy arising from them can be discussed and, if necessary, implemented after that meeting. Also, at the same meeting the directors will have the opportunity of discussing any complaint made in respect of the Managing Director, and again, any appropriate action arising from the same can be taken.