Our Complaints Policy
At Addlestone Keane, we are committed to providing a high quality standard in the delivery of the services to our clients but recognise that from time to time complaints may arise. We take any problems that do arise with clients very seriously and aim to ensure that any complaints are identified quickly and dealt with thoroughly in accordance with this procedure.
To whom do you complain?
In the first instance, a client should raise a complaint with the fee earner having day to day conduct of the relevant matter. If that does not resolve the complaint satisfactorily, the client should refer the complaint (in writing) to the Director responsible for overall supervision identified in the letter confirming instructions. If the complaint still remains unresolved, the complaint should be referred (in writing) to any other Director.
The individuals responsible for ensuring that your complaint is handled effectively and in accordance with this procedure are Brian Addlestone and Philip Knapton. To contact Brian or Philip, please see the “Our People” section of this website.
How do we deal with and investigate your written complaint?
We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within seven days of us receiving your complaint. If necessary, we will ask you to provide us with further details/information. We will also let you know who will be handling the matter.
We will start to investigate your complaint. This will normally involve an independent review of the matter file and speaking with the legal adviser(s)/partner(s) who acted on your behalf.
Following our investigation, we will send you a detailed response within 28 days from the date of your original complaint or, where we have asked you for further information, within 14 days of our receiving that information from you. Our final response will state the outcome of our investigation. If we require more time to investigate the matter, we will notify you and confirm when we will contact you next.
In cases where the initial investigation has been completed and you are not satisfied by our detailed response, we will refer the matter to Brian Addlestone or Philip Knapton, to review the decision. We will write to you within fourteen days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
Legal Ombudsman
If you are still not satisfied at the end of our own complaints process, you are entitled to contact the Legal Ombudsman which is an independent organisation established to deal with complaints against Solicitors. Before it will consider a complaint the Legal Ombudsman generally requires that the firm’s internal Complaints Procedure has been exhausted. If the Legal Ombudsman is satisfied that the firm’s proposals for resolving a complaint are reasonable, it may decline to investigate further. You must complain to the Legal Ombudsman within its time limits, which are:
Within six months of the date of our final written response
Within one year from the act or omission about which your complaint is regarding
The address to contact is:
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 0300 555 0333