Marshalls Solicitors LLP Complaints Policy

1. 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. If you have a complaint, please contact us in writing with the details. We will make every effort to reach a solution which is acceptable to all parties. The purpose of the complaints policy is to ensure that we deal with complaints fairly and within time limits.

2. We endeavour to ensure we deal with any queries at an early stage, informally, between the Client and the lawyer dealing with your transaction concerned (Stage 1). If we cannot resolve the problem informally then we will move to the formal complaints’ procedure (Stage 2).

3. We will not make a charge for dealing with your complaint.

Stage 1

4. The first stage in the procedure is to formally raise the complaint with the lawyer who conducted the work. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within seven working days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this Policy. If applicable, we will send a fuller response within 14 days thereafter. The initial response will make clear if any further response will follow. If appropriate, the response will include proposals for
resolution of the complaint and if necessary, discussions will then take place between the Client and the Solicitor to resolve the problem.

5. If the complaint is not resolved in this way, stage 2 will be implemented.

Stage 2

6. The Client should write to Alison Mouser, the firm’s Client Care Partner. She will acknowledge your letter within three working days of receiving it. She will then investigate the matter, usually involving a review of the file on the matter and she will speak to the Solicitor who conducted the work.

7. Alison Mouser will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. She will do this within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.

8. Within three working days of the meeting, Alison Mouser will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions she has agreed with you.

9. If you do not want a meeting, or it is not possible, Alison Mouser will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including her suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.

10. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for the matter to be reviewed by all the Partners in a meeting, or an appropriate alternative method of review such as mediation.

11. We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, or within 14 days of mediation taking place, confirming our final position on your complaint, and explaining our reasons. If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.

12. If you are still not satisfied, then, if you are an individual or a very small business or trust¹, you can then contact the Legal Ombudsman Service at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ about your complaint. However, if you
have applied to the Court for assessment of the bill and your complaint relates to a bill, you cannot refer to the Legal Ombudsman Service. If we take more than 8 weeks to resolve your complaint you can refer it to the Legal Ombudsman without waiting for our final response. You must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman Service within six months of you receiving a final response from us to your complaint, and no more than one year from the date of the act/omission complained about or no more than one year from when you should have realised that there was cause for complaint. For further information, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman Service on 0300 555 0333 or at www.legalombudsman.org.uk. Email enquiries should be directed to enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.

13. As an alternative to the Legal Ombudsman Service (or if you do not qualify to use that service) we agree to use Pro Mediate, an approved Alternative Dispute Resolution organization. Pro Mediate can be contacted at Pro Mediate UK Ltd, The Legal Complaints Service, Brow Farm, Top Road Frodsham WA6 6SP telephone: 01928 724630 email: enquires@promediate.co.uk.

14. You can also raise concerns about our behaviour with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. 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. Information about reporting an individual or firm to the SRA is available on the SRA website at
www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.page.

 

1 a very small business or trust is one which employs no more than nine people and has an annual turnover or balance sheet below two million euros.