Complaints Procedure

We want to give you the best possible service. 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 you would like to make a formal complaint, then you can read our full complaints procedure below. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

Our complaints policy:

WSP Solicitors Limited is committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we want you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards.

Our complaints procedure:

If you have a concern or a complaint, please contact us as soon as you are aware of the problem so this can be addressed. Please address your concerns in writing to Jason Roberts, Practice Manager, WSP Solicitors Limited, 3-7 Rowcroft, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 3BJ or via email to jasonroberts@wspsolicitors.com

What will happen next?

In order to progress matters efficiently we aim to observe the following timetable but ask that you treat the response dates as targets only:

Within 2 working days we will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and inviting you to confirm or explain the details by completing and returning the Complaint Form or arranging an alternate way to communicate to us e.g. a meeting at the office, if appropriate.

We will record your complaint in our Central Register and open a separate file for your complaint.

Within a further five working days of receipt of your Complaint Form or letter of complaint or your complaint having been communicated to us in an alternate agreed method, we will acknowledge it and confirm what will happen next.

We will also let you know the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint.

We will then start to investigate your complaint. This will normally involve the following steps:

• We will pass your complaint to the Director handling your complaint (“The Complaints Director”).
• The Complaints Director will ask the member of staff who acted for you to comment upon your complaint.
• The Complaints Director will then examine his or her reply and the information you have provided and if necessary, go through it with the member of staff and examine the file.
• The Complaints Director will then make contact with you within 40 working days of the acknowledgement of your Complaint to put forward the Company’s suggestions to resolve the matter. The contact may take the form of either a letter or email, or an invitation to a personal meeting or both.
• If a meeting takes place, the Complaints Director will write to you to confirm the fact and any solutions he/she has agreed with you within 5 working days of the meeting.

Review of the Decision:

At this stage, if you are still not satisfied you may write to the Legal Ombudsman (address below) or you can write to us again within 10 working days of receipt of the Company’s proposals to resolve the matter requesting another Director to review the decision.

We will then either:

• Agree to the review and pass the matter to another Director of the Company who will review the Complaints Director’s decision and write to you confirming our final position within 15 working days of receipt of your request;

Or

• Decline to review the decision and invite you to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

Our timescales are subject to be amended depending on the complexity of the matter and submission. If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.

What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint?

The Legal Ombudsman can help you, if your complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction within 8 weeks of it being made. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

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:

• Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint

From the 1 April 2023, the Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within a year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned, or within a year of your realising there was a concern.

Contact details for the Legal Ombudsman:

• Visit: http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/
• Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm.
• Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
• Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH

Please Note before contacting the Legal Ombudsman:

1. If your complaint is specifically about our bill, you have the right to object to it and apply for an assessment of it under part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. If you should choose to exercise this right, and the court is assessing our bill, you may be unable to use the Legal Ombudsman service.
2. If you are complaining as a business client, unless you are a “micro business” (as defined by the European Union), you may not be able to use the Legal Ombudsman scheme and should check the guidance on the Legal Ombudsman’s website.
3. If you refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman as a trustee/personal representative (executor/administrator) or beneficiary of the estate/trust of a person who, before they died, had not referred the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman the period runs from when the deceased should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint; and when the complainant (or the deceased) should reasonably have known there was a cause for complaint will be assessed on the basis of the complainant’s (or deceased’s) own knowledge, disregarding what the complainant (or the deceased) might have been told if he/she had sought advice.
4. If the Ombudsman considers there are exceptional circumstances (e.g., serious illness or you were still within the time limits when you made your initial complaint to them) then he/she may extend any of the above time limits to the extent that he/she considers fair.

Alternative complaints bodies such as ProMediate exist which are ADR certified and competent to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme.

We do not agree to use ProMediate as the Legal Ombudsman already works in a similar way even though not currently ADR certified.

Solicitors Regulation Authority:

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you 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 protected characteristic.

You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.