Complaints Procedure

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

1. James Carmody is the Complaints Officer
2. Reculver Solicitors aims to minimise complaints by seeking the client’s agreement to invoices before they are issued.
3. If a complaint is received verbally, then the client will be asked to summarise the complaint in writing.
4. On receiving a written complaint:
5. The Complaints Officer will acknowledge receipt of the complaint as soon as possible, and within no later than 7 days. That letter will state what steps will next be taken, and enclosing a copy of this procedure.
6. The Complaints Officer will ask the solicitor about whom the complaint is made to summarise key facts in writing as soon as possible, and normally within no later than 7 days.
7. Those key facts will be sent to the Client with an invitation to make any comments upon that summary of key facts.
8. The Complaints Officer will then consider whether it is possible to reach a decision on the documents, or whether it is necessary or appropriate to arrange a meeting with the client to discuss the complaint further.
9. If a decision is reached on the documents only, the Complaints Officer will then promptly write to the client summarising the decision, but informing the Client that he or she would be happy to arrange a meeting with the client to discuss the matter further if the client is unhappy with the outcome, and informing the Client of external remedies if the Client is unhappy with the outcome.
10. Otherwise the Complaints Officer will invite the client to a meeting to take place on a date to be agreed, without undue delay.
11. Following the meeting, the decision of the Complaints Officer will be promptly provided to the Client in writing, within normally not more than seven days, and informing the Client of external remedies if the Client is unhappy with the outcome.
12. Nb. In the event that the complaint relates to the current Complaints Officer, the next most senior solicitor will be asked to stand in as Complaints Officer for that particular complaint.

If you are unhappy with our bill, please contact us to discuss it as soon as possible. If we are unable to resolve the matter, sections 70, 71 and 72 of the Solicitors Act 1974 set out the your rights in relation to having our bill assessed by the court. Please let us know if you would like a copy of those sections.

If you remain unhappy about our response to any complaints regarding either our service or our bills, you may also wish to contact the Legal Ombudsman whose web address and telephone number are:  www.legalombudsman.org.uk, tel 0300 555 0333. For further information on what to do if you are unhappy with our service, please visit the SRA report a solicitor page.