Nalders LLP Complaints Handling Policy & Procedure

In the first instance, it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case or transaction to discuss your concerns and they will do their best to resolve any issues. If you do not feel able to discuss your concerns with them, please contact the person responsible for the overall supervision of your matter, who will be named in the engagement letter we sent you at the beginning of your matter.

If you do not feel able to raise your concerns with either of these people, or you are unsatisfied with their response, you can contact us in writing (by letter or email) or by speaking with our Compliance & Risk Manager, Holly Kiernan.

The contact details which you will need are as follows:

Post: Nalders LLP, Farley House, Falmouth Road, Truro TR1 2HX

Telephone: 01872 241414

email: complaints@nalders.co.uk

Amy will take details of your complaint and thereafter liaise with the Client Care Team to investigate your complaint and to respond to you within the permitted timescales.  Holly Kiernan is the Client Care Manager with overall responsibility for complaints.

To help us to understand your complaint, and in order that we do not miss anything, please tell us:

• your full name and contact details
• what you think we have got wrong
• what you hope to achieve as a result of your complaint, and
• your file reference number (if you have it)

If you require any help in making your complaint we will try to help you.

We will record your complaint centrally.

We will write to you within two working days acknowledging that you have raised an issue, and enclosing a copy of this policy.

The first step we will usually take in respect of your concern is to assess whether it is a matter which we consider can possibly be dealt with quickly and with minimal formality. If this is the case, we are likely to telephone you to discuss matters and options for resolution. However, if matters look like they warrant further investigation, or if we cannot reach agreement after an initial consideration and discussion, we will confirm this is the case.

We may need to carry out a full investigation into your complaint. If this is the case, this will usually involve:

• reviewing the matters raised in detail;
• reviewing your entire file(s) and other relevant documents; and
• liaising with the person who dealt/ is dealing with your matter

We may also need to ask you for further information or documents. If so, we will ask you to provide the information within a specific period of time.

We will update you on the progress of your complaint only if we consider that there is likely to be a delay in dealing with it.

In exceptional cases, we may invite you to a meeting to discuss your complaint. You do not have to attend if you do not wish to or if you are unable to. We will be happy to discuss the matter with you on the telephone.

We will usually write to you at the end of our investigation to tell you what we have done, and/ or what we propose to do to resolve your concern.  We aim to write to you as soon as possible, but in any event no later than 8 weeks from the date we received your notification.

Legal Ombudsman

We have eight weeks to attempt to resolve your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time you may be able to complain to the Legal Ombudsman. This applies if you are an individual, a business with fewer than 10 employees and turnover or assets not exceeding a certain threshold, a charity or trust with a net income of less than £1m, or if you fall within certain other categories (you can find out more from the Legal Ombudsman). The Legal Ombudsman will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your matter.

Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

1. within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint; and
2. no more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or
3. no more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them.

• Contact details
• Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
• Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9.00 to 17.00
• Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

• Post: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

  
  

ADR

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 Ombudsman Services, ProMediate or Small Claims Mediation. We have, however, chosen not to adopt an ADR process. If, therefore, you wish to complain further, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman.

Where you remain unhappy with our charges

You may also have a right to object to our bill for work carried out on your behalf by applying to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 and if all or part of the bill remains unpaid we may be entitled to charge interest. You must be aware that the Legal Ombudsman may dismiss or discontinue all or part of a complaint made by you if, among other things, in their opinion, a comparable costs assessment, complaints scheme or a court has already dealt with the same issue.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour as distinct from the service we have provided. 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 its website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority

We will not charge you for handling your complaint.

Please note that if we have issued a bill for work done on the matter, and all or some of the bill is not paid, we may be entitled to charge interest on the amount outstanding.  This is explained in our initial Engagement Letter and Terms of Business.  This remains the case even where you have raised a complaint.

The Legal Ombudsman service is free of charge.