We intend to give the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about our services, we have provided then you should inform us instantly, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem / issue. 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. If you would like to make a formal complaint, then you can continue to read the page below. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.
We intend to give the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about our services, we have provided then you should inform us instantly, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem / issue.
If we fail to resolve your complaint then what to do?
Once you have a final response you may have the right to take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. You should raise your complaint with them within six months of our final response to you. The legal ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.
Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the legal ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the legal ombudsman:
- Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint and
- No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or
- No more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.
If you would like more information about the legal ombudsman, please contact them:
Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9:00 AM to 17:00 PM.
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Post: Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
The Legal Ombudsman has produced three helpful booklets to guide you if you have a complaint. We can let you have copies on request, or you can find them on the Legal Ombudsman’s website. They are called Here to Help, How to Complain to your Service Provider, and Our Approach to Putting Things Right.
You can ask the Legal Ombudsman to become involved at the end our internal complaints procedure, if you are unhappy with the outcome. The Legal Ombudsman has a helpline if you need to speak to them about how to make a complaint. Calls are charged at a local rate and will be recorded. There is no charge for the Ombudsman’s services.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority can also 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.
DETAILED POLICY
Complaints Handling Procedure of Alvi Solicitors
The relationship with your lawyer is built on trust and openness. You should be able to talk to your lawyer frankly about all sorts of things so that some complaints (and these are likely to be minor issues) might lend themselves to be resolved between by a simple phone call with your lawyer. Although we strive for excellence in all we do, there is still a possibility that a client may be dissatisfied with our performance. Our complaints policy is intended to make clear our approach to client complaints as well as being designed to deal fairly, effectively and swiftly with any complaint should it arise, whilst helping us retain the client’s goodwill and continuing relationship with the Practice.
If you have a complaint, please raise it with the person responsible for your matter. If this presents a particular difficulty for you, you may raise your complaint directly with our Designated Complaint Handler, Muneeb (by email at muneeb@alvisolicitors.co.uk by post to 40 Jarrow Road, Romford, Essex, RM6 5RH or by telephone on 0203 627 7242
The person responsible for your matter (who could be initial Complaint Handler also) and our Designated Complaint Handler, Mubeen handles complaints and will report complaints data and trends to the Risk Manager for inclusion in the annual review of risk management data.
What Is Not a Complaint
Internally we regard any expression of client dissatisfaction as serious, to the extent that the Client Care Officer should be told about it. However, this does not mean the full complaints procedure is to be followed in such instances.
Examples might be: “Your solicitors are always too expensive”, or “I don’t understand why everything takes so long”.
By reporting minor grumbles that you have been able to deal with satisfactorily yourself, you help the Designated Complaints Handler and Risk Manager maintain an accurate risk profile for the Practice and to anticipate trends in client dissatisfaction. However, these are not regarded by the Practice as complaints.
What Is a Complaint
When:
- A client requests a copy of our Complaints Procedure in order to register a complaint,
- A complaint in writing is received, whether by letter, email, fax or other means,
- A complaint is made to the Designated Complaints Handler, in person or by phone or
- A fee earner is unable, on his or her own, to satisfy a client who complains in any other way,
- The Practice regards this as a complaint, and the full Complaints Procedure must be followed step by step.
Complaints Policy
Despite all our best efforts to delight our clients a complaint, whether or not justified, may arise.
Our policy is to resolve client complaints promptly, fairly, and effectively because:
- Clients are entitled to expect this from us
- Our responsiveness to a client’s complaint may well defuse an otherwise explosive situation
- There will be a better chance of retaining the client
- It saves us spending time and money on dealing with an escalating complaint
- It reduces the chances of complaints reaching the Legal Ombudsman
- It reduces the likelihood of claims against the practice that could harm our reputation as well as proving costly
For these reasons we have a written Complaints Procedure that must be followed whenever a client complaint is received.
Formal Procedure
How do I complain ?
We much prefer that substantial or complicated complaints are dealt with in writing. The Practice has a written Client Complaints Procedure document to be made available to clients on request. It explains how their complaint will be handled, including timescales for an initial and substantive response. This procedure must be followed whenever a client complaint arises.
Who do I complain to?
Our system is that, wherever possible, complaints are resolved within the department handling your case. You should look at the “Client Care” letter that you were sent at the start of your case. It will name the person in the firm to whom you should address your complaint. If your case is being handled by a paralegal, then the complaint should be made to the supervisor that oversees your case. However, if your case is being run by a Solicitor, the firm’s complaint officer Mubeen will deal with it.
Although you should know the name of the person dealing with your case, the reference in the top right-hand corner of our letters will tell you the name of the fee-earner who deals with your case (the first initials).
You will be informed in writing by the case worker having conduct of your matter if there is a change of person to whom any problem with service should be addressed.
The person dealing with your complaint will inform Mubeenthat a complaint has been made for our complaints file and so that he can monitor the progress of the complaint.
We hope that this simple procedure will deal with your concerns, however, if it does not you should write to Mubeen directly.
What will happen next?
- We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within three days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
- We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to Muneeb who will review your matter file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you.
- Muneeb will then write to you with his findings within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter. However, if the complaint is complicated further time may be needed. If so, Imran Tousif will write and tell you and set another time limit.
- If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Imran Tousif will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including his suggestions for resolving the matter.
- Within three days of any meeting, Imran Tousif will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions he has agreed with you.
- At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for another lawyer unconnected with the matter at the firm to review his decision. In some cases, an appropriate alternative at this stage might be mediation to review the decision.
- We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint, and explaining our reasons.
- If you are still not satisfied, you can contact: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ about your complaint. Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of the date of our final written response on your complaint but for further information, you should email the Legal Ombudsman or call 0300 555 0333.
If you remain unhappy after our complaint’s procedure
Once you have a final response you may have the right to take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. You should raise your complaint with them within six months of our final response to you.
The Legal Ombudsman can accept a complaint within:
- Six years from the date of act/omission,
- Three years from when you should reasonably have known there were grounds for complaint
The contact details for the Legal Ombudsman are:
The Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ. Call: 0300 555 0333 (calls are charged at local rate and will be recorded). If you are calling from overseas, please call +44 121 245 3050; for the minicom call 0300 555 1777. Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Please note the Legal Ombudsman may not deal with a complaint about a bill if you have applied to the court for assessment of that bill.
Further information can be obtained from their website at: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Alternative complaints bodies (Ombudsman Services, Pro Mediate and Small Claims Mediation) exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority can also help you if you are concerned about our professional behaviour. You can contact them at www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.page
The details of these can be found at:
www.ombudsman-services.org
www.promediate.co.uk
www.small-claims-mediation.co.uk