Complaints Procedure

Complaints

If you are concerned about the behaviour of this firm/believe we have breached SRA principles, please contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) on https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor

Making a complaint

If for any reason at any time, you are not satisfied with the service being provided to you or you have a complaint about the firm’s invoice, you should in the first instance, immediately contact the partner/consultant supervising your file and we will try to resolve any issues you may have.

If you are not satisfied with the responses received from the person named in the previous paragraph, you may refer your complaint to Reena Popat, Managing Partner at Carter Bond Solicitors whose direct telephone number is 0203 475 2724 or email reena@carterbond.co.uk.

Reena Popat is responsible for ensuring that complaints are handled effectively and in accordance with this procedure. This procedure will also apply to prospective clients whom we have refused to provide a service to or persistently or unreasonably offered an unwanted service to but only if the complainant has evidence to show that we did not have reasonable grounds to do so.

We keep a file / register of all complaints. The register/file include all the required details and the register is signed off when the complaint has been finalised.

Please note that from April 1 2023 you must refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months from the date of our final written response to your complaint and within one year from the dates of the act or omission about which you are complaining occuring or within one year from when you should reasonably have realised there was cause for complaint. However, the Ombudsman has a discretion to accept complaints outside of these time limits in exceptional circumstances.

Investigating the complaint

1. 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 in full within 28 days. However, if the complaint is of a more complex nature, we will require more time but we will let the complainant know when they will receive a full response.

4. We will reply to the complainant, usually in writing to tell him/her of our views on the complaint and how we propose to resolve it, hopefully to the complainant’s satisfaction, including appropriate redress, this could include a reduction in fees if appropriate, compensation of a gesture of goodwill. The client will also be advised in what timescale they will be given an initial/ substantive response.

5. If the complainant is still not satisfied, they should contact us again and we will endeavour to arrange for another lawyer unconnected with the matter at the firm to review the decision.

6. We will write to the complainant within 14 days of receiving a request for a review, confirming our final position on the complaint and explaining our reasons.

7. If still unresolved at this stage, the complainant may take their complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. The complainant will have to bring the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within (i) 6 months of receiving a final response from us about the complaint (ii) 6 years from the date of the act or omission giving rise to the complaint or (iii) 3 years from the date the complainant should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

8. We will record and report centrally all complaints received.

9. The guidelines issued by the Legal Ombudsman state that you should allow Carter Bond Solicitors at least eight weeks to resolve your complaint. If you have not done so within those eight weeks, you may approach the Legal Ombudsman but you have only 6 months from your last contact with us in which to contact them..

10. The guidelines issued by the Legal Ombudsman state that you should allow Carter Bond Solicitors at least eight weeks to resolve your complaint. You must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint from us. From 1 April 2023, the Legal Ombudsman also expects complaints to be made to them within 1 year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned (prior to 1 April 2023: 6 years) or within 1 year of you should reasonably have known there are grounds for complaint (prior to 1 April 2023: 3 years).

If we are unable to resolve your complaint, and it relates to a contract we entered into online or by other electronic means, you may also be able to submit your complaint to a certified alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider in the UK.

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) bodies exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme, eg, ProMediate or Small Claims Mediation.

Legal Ombudsman

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

The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints by consumers and very small businesses. This means some clients may not have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman, eg charities

or clubs with an annual income of more than £1m, trustees of trusts with asset value of more than £1m and most businesses (unless they are defined as micro-enterprises). This does not prevent you from making a complaint directly to us about the service you have received or about the bill.

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:

Address: PO Box 6167, SLOUGH, SL1 0EH

Telephone: 0300 555 0333

Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk