Complaints Proceedure

RHJ Devonshire Solicitors is committed to providing high quality legal advice and client care. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service we have provided then you should inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.

 

In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage. If we are not able to resolve your complaint, you may contact the Complaint’s Partner identified in the client care letter.

 

If you would like to make a formal complaint, then you can contact the Partner, Miss Monique Ramsey, who deals with any complaints. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

 

Our complaints procedure

 

  • We will acknowledge the complaint within seven days.

 

(2) We will conduct a full investigation and an independent review of the matter.

 

(3) We aim to respond to your complaint, in full, within 28 days. However, if the complaint is of a more complex nature and we require more time, we will let you know together with a timeframe when we propose to respond in full.

 

(4) If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, or the way the complaint has been handled, you may write to the Complaints Partner (identified in the client care letter) who will make such further investigations as are necessary.

 

(6) The Complaints Partner will inform you of the conclusions and any alternative proposals to resolve the complaint (usually within 28 days of this being referred to them).

 

(7) If still your complaint is still unresolved at this stage, you may refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of receiving a final response from us and within 1 year of the date of the act or omission giving rise to the complaint or within 1 year of you realising there are grounds for complaint.

 

 

Legal Ombudsman

 

The Legal Ombudsman is an independent body established by the Office for Legal Complaints under the Legal Services Act 2007 to deal with complaints against Solicitors.

 

 

The Legal Ombudsman may:

 

  • Investigate the quality of professional service supplied by a solicitor to a client.
  • Investigate allegations that a solicitor has breached rules of professional conduct.
  • Investigate allegations that a solicitor has unreasonably refused to supply a professional service to a prospective client.
  • Investigate allegations that a solicitor has persistently or unreasonably offered a professional service that the client does not want.

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.

 

The Legal Ombudsman’s contact details are as follows: