Complaints procedure

Your right to complain and the procedure to follow

In the event of a problem you have the right to complain. Below are the steps which need to be taken:

  1. Your complaint must be put in writing and sent to us by ‘recorded’ post. It must be addressed to me, Adrian Bart-Williams;
  2. Such a complaint can include a complaint about the firm’s bill;
  3. I shall set out the firm’s complaint procedure below, which is normally available on request;
  4. At the conclusion of the complaints process, you have a right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman. Here is a link to their website – http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk At the time of writing their telephone number is 0300 555 0333 and they can also be emailed at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk;
  5. You may also have a right to object to the billing by applying to the court for an assessment of a bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974; and
  6. That if all or part of a bill remains unpaid the firm may be entitled to charge interest.

Our complaint procedure is as follows:

  1. When you have a complaint, you should seek to speak to the solicitor or fee earner concerned to try and resolve it;
  2. If the above step does not resolve it or you do not wish to pursue this course, you must put your complaint in writing addressed to Adrian Bart-Williams at the firm’s
    address. All such correspondence must be sent by recorded delivery post. Please outline in your complaint what resolution you are seeking;
  3. When your complaint is received, you will normally be sent an acknowledgement within 7 days of that date. This acknowledgement letter will normally also seek to obtain any further information needed to consider the complaint. We will also seek to give an estimate as to how long it will take to investigate your complaint;
  4. Following receipt of the complaint or any requested further information, a full response will normally be sent within 8 weeks of whichever in the latter date;
  5. In appropriate situations, you may be invited to a meeting. As a general rule meetings will not be held unless they are deemed by us as necessary or would have other substantial benefit;
  6. Once you have been given the outcome of your complaint, if you are still not satisfied, you can pursue this with the Legal Ombudsman. Here is a link to their website – http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk  At the time of writing their telephone number is 0300 555 0333 and they can also be emailed at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Complaint to the SRA.

If you think that we are not behaving the way that you think we ought to as Solicitors, you can complain about us to our regulator the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Here is a link to their website which provides full and comprehensive information https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor

Bart-Williams & Co