Complaints Policy

Our commitment 

We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or  concerned about the service we have provided, about our bill, or in relation to our handling of your  personal data, 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 at this stage.  

If you would like to make a formal complaint then please contact us by post to our office at 46 Station  Street, Burton upon Trent DE14 1AX, email admin@abbeylawsolicitors.co.uk or telephone 01283  539718. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case. 

What will happen next? 

1. We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm or explain the  details set out. We will also let you know the name of the person who will be dealing with your  complaint and enclose a copy of this procedure. You can expect to receive our letter within 5 days of us receiving your complaint.  

2. We will record your complaint in our central register and open a file for your complaint.  

3. We will investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to our Client  Care Manager, Mr Sukhwinder Ark, who will review your matter file and speak to the member of  staff who acted for you. 

4. We will then invite you to a meeting to discuss, and hopefully resolve, your complaint. We will do  this within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter. 

5. Within five days of that meeting we will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions  that have been agreed with you. 

6. If you do not want a meeting, or it is not possible, you will be sent a detailed written reply to your  complaint, including the suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the  acknowledgement latter. 

7. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for  another senior member of the firm to review the decision. 

8. 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. 

9. If we have to change any of the above timescales, we will let you know and explain why. 

The Legal Ombudsman 

If you are still not satisfied with our handling of your complaint you can ask the Legal Ombudsman  to consider the complaint. We would hope that this does not become necessary and that we can  resolve matters between ourselves. Contact details are as follows:

Legal Ombudsman 

PO Box 6167 

Slough  

SL1 0EH 

0300 555 0333 

enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk 

www.legalombudsman.org.uk 

The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the  act or omission about which you are concerned, or within one year of you realising there was a  concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final  response to you. 

Complaints about your bill 

The above complaints procedure also applies to complaints arising concerning our bill. There may  also be a right to object to the bill by applying to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part  III of the Solicitors Act 1974; and that if all, or part, of a bill remains unpaid, the firm may be entitled  to charge interest. 

Raising concerns with our regulator 

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) can 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. Further information is available at:  www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.