Achillea
& Co is committed to providing a high quality legal service to all
clients. When something goes wrong we need to know about it so we can put
things right and improve our standards.
If
you have concerns about the service provided we would, in the first instance,
like you to seek to resolve those concerns with the individual dealing with
your matter. If you are not happy with the reply provided by the person
normally dealing with your case your concerns will be investigated by the
supervising partner who will send you an acknowledgement within 5 days and
either:
- Send you a detailed
reply to your concerns including suggestions for resolving the complaint within
21 days of sending the acknowledge letter; or
- If they believe it
would be helpful contact you to try to arrange a meeting with you within 14
days to discuss your concerns and put forward a solution, and will write to you
as soon as possible, and in any event within 3 working days of the meeting to
confirm the outcome of that meeting and, if applicable, the solution agreed.
If the proposed solution is not acceptable the complaints handler will review
the matter and confirm the firms full and final position on your complaint
within 14 days.
If
we are unable to satisfactorily resolve your complaint within 8 weeks you can
ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider your complaint. The Legal Ombudsman can be
contacted at PO
Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ.
The
Legal Ombudsman will not normally consider a complaint unless:
- It is made within 6
months of the client receiving a final response from us; and
- It is made in relation
to an act or omission that took place after 5 October 2010 (or the client
should reasonably have known about the cause of complaint after that date); and
- It is made no later
than 6 years from the date of the act or omission or 3 years from when the
client should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.
A
referral to the Legal Ombudsman is generally not available to the following
clients:
- most businesses (unless they are defined as micro enterprises)
- charities or clubs with an annual income of more than £1m; or
- trustees of trusts with an asset value of more than £1m.
Further
guidance is available at: https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk
The
Legal Ombudsman can be contacted by:
Telephone: 0300
555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Post: PO
Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ
Referring a complaint to the Solicitors Regulation Authority ("SRA")
Subject to the above, complaints about poor service should be directed to the Legal
Ombudsman. You should report a matter direct to the SRA if you think a firm or
anyone regulated by the SRA has breached an SRA Principle. Details of the SRA
Principles can be found at www.sra.or.uk/consumers.
The
SRA can be contacted via their website: www.sra.or.uk/contactus or by
the following means:
Telephone: 0370
606 2555 (or +44(0)121 329 6800 for international callers)
Fax: +44(0)121
616 1999
Post: Solicitors
Regulation Authority, The Cube, 199 Wharf Street, Birmingham B1 1RN
General Points
If
we have to change any of the timescales set out in this procedure, we will let
you know and explain the reasons for the change.
The
firm is bound by the rules of the SRA and is not entitled to charge for
handling a complaint.