Complaints policy

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong we need you to tell us about it both so that we can put it right and to help us to improve our standards. Initially we would hope that you would take up any concern with the member of the firm dealing with your matter but this policy assumes that you have not been able to resolve any issue satisfactorily. So that we can put things right, we ask that you contact as soon as possible after you feel dissatisfied; this should be within 6 months of becoming aware of the issue you wish to complain about.

Our complaints procedure

If you still have a complaint then please contact Mark Jefferies, who is one of our directors and has responsibility for complaints. You can write to him at 3 Bagdale, Whitby, YO21 1QL or if you prefer you can telephone his secretary on 01947 603465 to arrange an appointment. If we have to change any of the responsibilities or the timescales set out below we will let you know and explain why.

What will happen next?

1. If you have contacted us in writing, we will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and we may ask you to confirm or explain any details. We will also let you know the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint, normally Mark Jefferies, unless he has had personal involvement in the matter, in which case Justin Coates will deal with the complaint. He will commence investigations by calling for and examining the relevant file/s.

2. We will then record your complaint in our central register and open a file for your complaint.

3. In some circumstances it may be appropriate for us to meet to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. If appropriate we might invite you to a meeting to discuss your complaint and we would hope to be in a position to invite you to a meeting no more than twenty-one days after first receiving your complaint. If you would prefer not to meet, or if we cannot arrange this within an agreeable timescale, Mark Jefferies will write fully to you setting out his views on the situation and any redress that he would feel to be appropriate, this would normally be within twenty-one days of receiving your complaint.

4. Within seven days of any meeting we will write to you to confirm what took place and any suggestions that we have agreed with you. In appropriate cases we could offer an apology, a reduction of any bill or a repayment in relation to any payment received.

5. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, please let us know within one calendar month of our response to you. We will then arrange to review our decision. We would generally aim to do this within 14 days. This will happen in one of the following ways at our sole discretion.

• Mark Jefferies will review his own decision in light of any further comments you may have made
• We may arrange for someone in the firm who has not been involved in your complaint to review it.
• We may ask our local law society or another local firm of solicitors to review your complaint. We will let you know how long this process will take.
• We may invite you to agree to independent mediation. We will let you know how long this process will take.

We will let you know the result of the review within five days of the end of the review. At this time we will write to you confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the complaints process or if we have taken more than eight weeks to resolve your complaint, you are entitled to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about service issues with lawyers. 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. You can contact the Legal Ombudsman by:

Post: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

Telephone: 0300 555 0333

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Website: www.legalombusdman.org.uk

 Alternative complaints bodies exist which are competant to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme.

7. The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour. 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.

You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority, telephone: 0370 6062555