What to do if you are unhappy about our service
We are confident that we will provide a good service, but on rare occasions, things can go wrong. If that happens, we encourage you to raise the issue with the person acting for you as soon as possible, because our priority is to put the problem right if we can.
If that is not possible, our Directors are available to help try to resolve your concerns.
Who can complain to us?
We will investigate any issues we find out about.
However, to protect our clients’ confidentiality, we can only accept complaints about our service from clients or, in limited circumstances, beneficiaries.
Who should you contact if you have a concern?
If you are unhappy with what is happening, the best way of sorting it out is to tell the person working for you. Most issues can be quickly resolved in this way. Alternatively, ask for their supervising manager.
We expect all of our staff to be helpful if you tell them you’re not happy – to deal with the issue as sympathetically, promptly and effectively as possible, and to try to understand why you are unhappy.
If you prefer, contact our Director Idris Natha:
· by email to idris@gowlingslaw.co.uk
· by post – Derby House, Lytham Road, Preston, PR2 8JE
· by phone – 01772 251 287
What will we do?
If it seems that we can promptly resolve the issue, you are entitled to expect that we will try to resolve it informally and we will try to do so.
If an informal resolution is not appropriate, we will follow our formal complaints procedure. You may request a copy of this if you wish, either from the person working for you or from our Director Idris Natha.
What if we cannot resolve your complaint?
You may refer any complaints about our service to the Legal Ombudsman, if we have been unable to agree a resolution. This is an independent service and will not affect how we handle your case.
The Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first, and you then must refer the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:
· Within six months of receiving our final response to your complaint
and:
· no more than six years from the date of the act or 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:
· through their website – www.legalombudsman.org.uk
· by email to enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
· by post – PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
· by phone – 0300 555 0333.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority do not deal with problems about our service, as this is an issue for the Legal Ombudsman, but will consider more serious conduct issues. In the unlikely event that your concern is of this nature, you can contact the SRA through their website – www.sra.org.uk.