We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards.

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If you have a complaint about our delivery of legal services to you or a bill for our services then you must raise that complaint within twelve (12) months of matter of which you wish to complain.

Please contact one of our Partners, either Simon Blakeley or Stephen Fleming.

You can write to them at:

Blakeley Solicitors, 506 Thornton Road, Thornton, Bradford, BD13 3JD

Policy

We take very seriously all expressions of dissatisfaction from our clients.  If you have received this leaflet, it is likely that you have already expressed your concerns verbally or in writing to your advisor, the Principal responsible for dealing with complaints, Simon Blakeley.  This leaflet explains our procedures for handling complaints to ensure that each complaint is dealt with swiftly in an attempt to reach an amicable and satisfactory solution.

Reporting & Investigation Responsibilities

Informal verbal complaints should be addressed to your lawyer in the first instance.  If you are not satisfied with their proposals, then the matter should be taken up with Stephen Fleming.  If the matter cannot be resolved informally with your lawyer, it would assist investigations if you were to fully detail your concerns in writing so there is less room for misunderstanding your concerns and requirements.

Response Times

Written complaints will be acknowledged within 7 days of receipt.  A full reply will be sent as soon as the matter has been investigated and our proposals for dealing with your concerns have been agreed upon.  In any case, we will always endeavour to provide a full response within 21 days.  If that is not possible, an interim response will be given explaining why it is not possible to meet this deadline, when we expect our investigations to be completed and a response finalised.

Unresolved Issues

If we are unable to resolve the matter to your satisfaction, you are able to take the matter up with the Legal Ombudsman. 

The complainant must refer the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving the final response to the complaint and no later than:

• Six years from the act/omission, or
• Three years from when the complainant should reasonably have known there was cause for compliant.

The contact details are:

The Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ
Tel: 0300 555 0333

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Management

All complaints (written or verbal) are recorded and logged centrally to enable us to detect recurring problems and trends.  As necessary, we will implement corrective action in response to individual complaints and improvement measures to prevent adverse trends and correct recurring problems.  In this manner, we aim to constantly improve the service we provide.

The following may complain to the Legal Ombudsman

• An individual;
• A micro-enterprise as defined in European Recommendation 2003/361/EC (broadly an enterprise with fewer than 10 staff and a turnover or balance sheet not exceeding $2 million)
• A charity with an annual income of less than £1 million; or
• A trustee of a trust with a net asset value less than £1 million; or a personal representative or residuary beneficiaries of an estate where a person with the complaint dies before referring it to the Legal Ombudsman.

If you have a complaint about our behaviour
The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour.

The SRA deals with cases where firms or those the SRA regulates have breached the SRA Principles. Most of the time, complaints about solicitors are about poor service, and therefore should be sent to the Legal Ombudsman. If the Legal Ombudsman thinks your case involves a breach of the SRA Principles, they will refer your case to the SRA. Likewise, if you report a solicitor to the SRA for poor service, they will refer you to the Legal Ombudsman; The SRA does not have the power to award compensation for poor service, or to reduce or refund your legal fees.

You should direct your communication to:

Solicitors Regulation Authority
The Cube
199 Wharfside Street
Birmingham
B1 1RN Or via their website : www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.page/