Our Complaints Procedure
We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service Hollingsworths have provided then you should inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority 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. You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
For complaints about our service, we have set out below important information about our Complaints Procedure and how you can raise concerns. Whilst of course we always aim to deliver a good service and ensure that we have happy clients, we appreciate that we may not always meet clients’ expectations and we appreciate and welcome feedback from our clients, whether this is positive or negative.
Policy
We take very seriously all expressions of dissatisfaction from our clients. For this reason, we publish our complaints procedure on our website.
We endeavour to handle complaints fairly and ensure that each complaint is dealt with swiftly in an attempt to reach an amicable and satisfactory solution.
Reporting & Investigation Responsibilities
Informal verbal complaints should be addressed to your solicitor in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with their proposals, then the matter should be taken up with Greg Hollingsworth or our Practice Manager, Mandy Bradbury.
If the matter cannot be resolved informally with your solicitor, it would assist investigations if you were to fully detail your concerns in writing so there is less room for misunderstanding your concerns and requirements.
Response Times
Written complaints will be acknowledged within seven days of receipt whereby the name of the person responsible for handling the complaint will be confirmed. A full reply will be sent as soon as the matter has been investigated and our proposals for dealing with your concerns have been agreed upon. In any case, we will always endeavour to provide a full response within 21 days of our acknowledgement. If that is not possible, an interim response will be given explaining why it is not possible to meet this deadline, when we expect our investigations to be completed and a response finalised. We should provide a response to all complaints within eight weeks.
Unresolved Issues
If, in the unusual event we are unable to resolve the matter to your satisfaction and/or we have not resolved it to your satisfaction within the timescales referred to above, you may be able to take the matter up with the Legal Ombudsman. At the same time as providing our full response and/or at the conclusion of all steps taken to deal with your concerns, we will remind you of this right. Please note that you must make a formal complaint against us before you can take it to the Legal Ombudsman.
You can obtain more information about complaints, and what the Legal Ombudsman service can do, on their website at: http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk under the tab ‘Information for Consumers’. The website also sets out contact details for the Legal Ombudsman, which are as follows:
- Address: PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
- E-mail: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
- Telephone: 0300 555 0333.
- If your complaint relates to our bill, then you may have the right to have the bill assessed under the Solicitors Act 1974 (Part III). All complaints (written or verbal) are recorded and logged centrally to enable us to detect recurring problems and trends. In recording such information we will comply with our obligations under the Data Protection legislation. As necessary, we will implement corrective action in response to individual complaints and improvement measures to prevent adverse trends and correct recurring problems. In this manner, we aim to constantly improve the service we provide.
- If you wish to involve the Legal Ombudsman, you should do so no later than six months after the date of our final written response to your complaint, or within a year of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring (or you becoming aware of it). This should be 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. Please note, this is due to change from 1 April 2023 and the Law Society guidance on this change appears at Changes to the Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules | The Law Society -the time limit for referring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman will change to one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about, or when the complaint should have realised that there was cause for complaint.
- Please note that the service provided by the Legal Ombudsman is only available to certain types of clients, and in broad terms these will be individuals or micro businesses.
We take complaints seriously - we try to do our best, but we recognise there may be times that we may fail to meet expectations.
Should you wish to contact the SRA, you may use the following link: SRA | Find us | Solicitors Regulation Authority