Policies - Complaints

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:

1. Send you a detailed reply to your concerns including suggestions for resolving the complaint within 21 days of sending the acknowledge letter; or
2. 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:

1. It is made within 6 months of the client receiving a final response from us; and
2. 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
3. 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.