Quality of service and complaints policy for Neil Davies and Partners
At Neil Davies and Partners, 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 and the way we work.
Our objective at all time is to deal with all complaints fairly and transparently. We take all complaints extremely seriously and monitor them ensure that they do not reoccur and to improve our performance.
We hope that before making a complaint, you will raise any issues or concerns with the solicitor /fee earner dealing with your matter or the directors who will endeavour to respond to you promptly, before matters develop into a formal complaint.
Our objective is to reach a satisfactory outcome for you at every stage of the procedure and we will consider whether there is a practical and sensible way to achieve a resolution with you.
Making a complaint
If your issues are not resolved and you wish to make a formal complaint, please contact Sukhbir Mall, the designated complaints handing officer, in writing, including by email. Complaints in writing should be addressed to our office marked for the attention of the Complaints Officer: Sukhbir Mall. If complaints are made by email, please email sukhbirm@ndandp.co.uk. If complaints are made by telephone by calling 0121 200 7040. If it cannot be resolved that way then the procedure will be as follows:
What will happen next?
- We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within seven days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
- We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to the designated supervisor named in our client care letter to you. They will review your matter file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you.
- Your designated supervisor will then send to you a detailed letter within twenty one days in response to your complaint and suggesting solutions.
- If appropriate we will invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint.
- Within seven days of any meeting, your designated supervisor will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions they have agreed with you.
- At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should write to us again and we will arrange for one of the directors to review the file and the decision made or alternatively your designated supervisor will re-review their decision.
- We will write to you within twenty one days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
What do to if we cannot resolve your complaint?
- You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority can assist 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. - 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:
- by post at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
- by telephone: 0300 555 0333, or
- by email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk or via legalombudsman.org.uk.
If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.