Client Complaints Procedure

We are committed to providing a quality service to our clients. If you do not feel that you are receiving excellent client service or that something could be improved, please do tell us about it. If we have fallen short of the high standards which we have set for ourselves then we would like the opportunity to put it right.

What do I do if I have feedback or a complaint?

At first it would be helpful if you could discuss any feedback or concerns which you have about our service or how it might be improved with the lawyer dealing with your matter. If the lawyer dealing cannot resolve your concern informally, or if the issue is of such a serious nature that you do not feel comfortable raising it with your lawyer, then if the lawyer with conduct of your matter is Sarah Hickinbotham, please raise your complaint with Grace Cox and if the lawyer with conduct of your matter is Grace Cox, please raise your complaint with Sarah Hickinbotham. You can contact Grace on g.cox@shfamilylaw.co.uk and Sarah on s.hickinbotham@shfamilylaw.co.uk  The firm’s Complaints Manager is Sarah Hickinbotham and she has overall responsibility for any complaints made.

How do I raise a complaint under this policy?

It would help us if you could email with:

• why you feel dissatisfied with the service which you have received;

• how you would prefer to be contacted about your complaint;

• if there is anything in particular which you would like us to do to resolve your complaint.

If you would prefer not to email details of your complaint in this way then please call to discuss the best way to get an understanding of your concerns. 

What happens after I have made a complaint under this policy?

We will:

• send an acknowledgement of your complaint within 7 days of receiving it;

• log your complaint on our central complaints register;

• investigate the concerns and arrange a discussion with you to try to agree how to resolve the issues within 21 days of receiving your complaint;

• write to you within 28 days of receiving your complaint to confirm the outcome of this.

In exceptional circumstances it may be necessary to extend these timescales but we will try to agree any variations with you first. If you remain unsatisfied after 8 weeks at the latest we will always ensure that you are reminded at that time of how to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman if you are eligible to do so.

What might the outcome of my complaint be?

We very much regret any dissatisfaction which our clients experience and will not hesitate to apologise to you where our service has fallen below our high standards. We may also agree that certain steps will be taken to improve your situation and to ensure that any problems experienced will not reoccur. 

What if I remain unsatisfied?

If you are dissatisfied with the way your complaint is being handled or remain dissatisfied following conclusion of our internal complaints procedure you may be entitled to complain to the Legal Ombudsman about our service. The Ombudsman would generally expect clients to follow a firm’s internal complaints procedure first. You can find further information about the Ombudsman on the website www.legalombudsman.org.uk. You can write to the Ombudsman at Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ or by email on enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk or call on 0300 555 0333. If you wish to raise a complaint with the Ombudsman then you should not delay bringing it to their attention once our own complaints process has concluded as there are some time limits on when this must be done. For example, normally you must raise a complaint with the Ombudsman within six months of the firm’s own final decision on how to resolve your complaint.

In certain circumstances we may decide upon receipt of your complaint or following investigation into it that our internal complaints procedure is not sufficient. If that decision is made we will advise you to contact the Legal Ombudsman immediately if you wish to take matters further.

Further information is available on the Legal Ombudsman’s web site: https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/

Other organisations such as ProMediate www.promediate.co.uk also deal with complaints about legal services, should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme.

Further information

The above procedure can only be used by clients who feel that our service was in some way deficient. In certain circumstances, clients and others may also have the right to report our work to our regulator, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) if you have concerns about a solicitor’s behaviour. Examples include dishonesty or deliberate overcharging, taking or losing money or unfair treatment due to age, disability or other characteristic. More details on how the SRA can assist are available here: www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/

January 2022