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Our Complaints Policy
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 consider you need to make a formal complaint, then please contact us and we will instigate our complaints handling procedure in full, details of which are set out below. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.
Philip Avery & Co is committed to providing a high quality legal service to all our clients. If something goes wrong, we need 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 to Katrina Cartwright-Harwood Philip Avery & Co 9 Murray Street, Llanelli Carmarthenshire, SA15 1AQ.
What will happen next?
We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If for any reason we are unable to resolve the problem between us within that timeframe, then you may ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the complaint. The Legal Ombudsman may be contacted at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ.
The steps in our complaints procedure as follows;
1. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within five working days of our receiving the complaint, enclosing a copy of this procedure. If you have special requirements due to a disability please let us know and we shall do our best to accommodate any alternative arrangements you may require.
2. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to our complaints handling officer, Katrina, who will review your matter file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you. ( If the complaint is regarding Katrina we will discuss with you an appropriate person such as a locum Solicitor to investigate the complaint and follow our complaints procedure.)
3. Katrina Cartwright-Harwood will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and, it is hoped, resolve your complaint. She will do this within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
4. Within 7 days of the meeting, Katrina will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions she has agreed with you.
5. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Katrina will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including her suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
6. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again to explain why you remain unhappy with our response and we will review your comments. Depending on the matter we may at this stage arrange for another solicitor or appropriate person to review the decision.
7. We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
8. If you are still not satisfied, you can then contact the Legal Ombudsman using the details shown below .
9. If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.
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 characteristics.
You can raise your concern with the Solicitors Regulation Authority:
www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.page
What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint
The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. 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:
Please be aware that any Complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of you having received a final written response from us about your Complaint. Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within one year of the act or omission about which you are Complaining occurring; or within one year from when you should have known about or become aware that there were grounds for complaint.
For further information you should contact the Legal Ombudsman as follows;
Call: 03005550333 between 9am to 5pm
Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
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 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 it is fair and reasonable to do so (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.