We hope that You will never have cause to complain either about the work We are doing for You or our charges and We will do our utmost to ensure that that is the case. However, if You are not happy about anything that We do or any aspect of the service We provide please tell us in the first instance and give us an opportunity to look into things.
If You have any concerns with the service We have provided for You, You may raise the matter with Melanie Potts, the Complaints manager who will investigate your concern and will report back to the Compliance Officer, Tasleem Riaz. You will then be sent a letter acknowledging your complaint and asking You to confirm or explain the details. Your complaint will be recorded in our central register and a file will be opened to deal with it.
We ask that your complaint is made in writing or email and addressed to:
Melanie Potts – Complaints manager
email: complaints@curtislaw.co.uk
Curtis Law Solicitors
Belthorn House
Walker Office Park
Walker Road
Blackburn
BB1 2QE
What will happen next?
1. We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint, where necessary asking you to confirm or explain the details. We will tell you who will be dealing with your complaint and also provide you with the contact details for the Legal Ombudsman. You can expect to receive our letter within 2 working days of receiving your complaint.
2. We will open a file for your complaint and record it in our complaints register. We will do this within 2 working days of receiving your complaint.
3. Melanie Potts will then investigate your complaint, which will normally involve examining your file and (if she did not act for you personally – in default of which another Associate Solicitor will undertake the investigation) speaking with the person in the firm who acted for you. She will do this within 10 working days.
4. If you would like to have a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint, we will arrange this within 3 working days of your request. Within 2 working days of the meeting Melanie Potts 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 if it is not possible for any reason, Melanie Potts will send you a detailed response to your complaint, including suggestions for resolving the matter.
6. At this stage, if you remain dissatisfied, you can let us know. We will arrange for Tasleem Riaz, a Director of the Limited Company, who is not connected with the complaint, to review the decision.
7. We will let you know the result of this review within 2 working days of its conclusion. At this stage Tasleem Riaz will write to you confirming the firm’s final position on your complaint (taking into account the views of the second investigator). The whole internal complaints process should be completed within 8 weeks
8. If you are still not satisfied with the firm’s decision at the conclusion of the complaints procedure you may refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6167 Slough SL1 0EH; telephone 0300 555 0333; enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk; www.legalombudsman.org.uk.
The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one year of you realising there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.
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 dishonestly, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of age, a disability or other characteristic. You can raise your concerns with the SRA | Reporting an individual or firm | Solicitors Regulation Authority