Complaints Procedure

Complaints

Alan Curtis Solicitors Ltd has very high standards which we are determined to maintain.  If you are unhappy with any aspect of our service, please contact Mr Alan Curtis our complaints handling solicitor. Any complaint will be fully investigated free of charge. At the conclusion of any internal complaints handling procedure you also have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman, full details of this, their address and our complaints procedure is set out below:

• Any complaint received from a client is treated very seriously. All details are recorded or studied if in a letter. The person responsible for the client’s file will then notify the partner in charge of complaints. A complaint will be acknowledged within 2 days of us receiving it. The client will then be sent a copy of this procedure.
• The person involved in dealing with the matter will study the complaint in detail, referring back to the client’s file etc. They will then telephone the client to try to resolve the complaint over the telephone and propose some course of action to remedy the situation and also to try and avoid it happening again. If the client is satisfied a report is then passed to the complaints partner to consider further preventative action.
• If the client is not satisfied with the course of action proposed by the person dealing with the matter, then the complaint will be passed to the complaints partner for further investigation.
• The complaints partner will, based on the information that he has gained from the file, and discussions with the person dealing with your matter, contact the client either by telephone or letter. He will try to resolve the problem and if appropriate come to an agreement with the client on the course of action to be taken.
• Follow up action: corrective and preventative actions need to be taken to resolve the current complaint and prevent it happening again. Written confirmation should be given to the client of the final response.
• All complaints, together with associated documentation, will be filed in a complaints’ file and kept by the complaints partner.
• If a client remains dissatisfied after exhausting the internal procedure, he or she should be referred to the Legal Ombudsman whose address is: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ or email [email protected]
• The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one year of you realising there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.

What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help 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.

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.