COMPLAINTS HANDLING PROCEDURE & POLICY
- Coltman Warner Cranston fully complies with Rule 2 of the Solicitor Regulation Authority Rule 2 in connection with client complaints.
- Complaints shall be handled promptly, fairly and effectively in accordance with Rule 2.
- The Firms Letter of Engagement shall advise the client; (a) that, in the event of a problem, the client is entitled to complain; and
(b) to whom the client should complain;
(c) that the client is given a copy of this complaints procedure on request; and
(d) that once a complaint has been made, the person complaining is told in writing:
(i) how the complaint will be handled; and
(ii) within what timescales they will be given an initial and/or substantive response. - For the purposes of (d)(i) the complaint will be investigated by Larry Coltman who will acknowledge the complaint within 48 hours of it's receipt and unless in exceptional circumstances be given an initial/substantive response within 7 days of receipt of the complaint.
- A complaint shall be defined as a verbal or written request for an investigation into the conduct of a matter or the behaviour of a member of staff to the complainant. A person making a verbal complaint shall be asked to put the complaint in writing should this be considered appropriate.
- All complaints shall be logged and recorded by the Departmental Manager and Jasbir Rai shall report any complaint received to Larry Coltman.
- The Departmental Manager will seek to identify the cause of any problem of which a client complains correcting any unsatisfactory procedures.
- Larry Coltman will consider whether it is appropriate to offer redress to the complainant and shall convey his decision when writing to the complainant with his substantive response.
- The Firm will conduct reviews at least annually of complaints data and trends such reviews forming part of the review of risk to the Firm.
- All Staff will be given a copy of this Policy and are made aware that any complaint should in the first instance be directed to the Departmental Manager and/or Larry Coltman.
- This policy is for clients of the firm and not debtors or parties we are pursuing on behalf of clients. If you are not a client of the firm, please follow paragraphs 5 - 8.
RAISING CONCERNS TO THE LEGAL OMBUDSMAN AND THE SRA
We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service, we provided then you should inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.
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. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.
What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint
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.
Contact details
Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9.00 to 17.00.
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour
The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help 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.
Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
LARRY COLTMAN
Coltman Warner Cranston LLP
28 July 2020