Help & Advice by Paul Dodds Law
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The majority of our clients are very happy with the service we provide them but in the event that you have any cause for concern, including about a bill that you have received from us, then you are entitled to make a complaint.  You can do that by contacting our designated Complaints Manager, Dominic Cassidy, who is a Solicitor and Partner with Paul Dodds Law.

We take all feedback from clients seriously and operate a complaints policy and a complaints handling procedure, copies of which are available upon request.

We are usually able to deal with any concerns you have promptly and to your satisfaction but if this is not the case then you may be able to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

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.

You should also be aware that if your complaint relates to a bill then the Legal Ombudsman will not consider your complaint while your bill is being assessed by a court.

Ordinarily, you cannot use the Legal Ombudsman unless you have first used our internal complaints handling procedure but you can use the Legal Ombudsman if:

  • The complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction within 8 weeks of first making the compliant to us; or
  • The Ombudsman considers that there are exceptional reasons to consider the complaint sooner, or, without it having been made to us first; or
  • Where the Ombudsman considers that in house resolution is not possible due to irretrievable breakdown in the relationship between you and us.

Legal Ombudsman Contact Details

Address:  PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

Telephone:  0300 555 0333 (minicom 0300 555 1777)

Email:  enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Website:  www.legalombudsman.org.uk

A complainant to the Legal Ombudsman must be one of the following. If you are not, you should be aware that you can only obtain redress by using our complaints handling procedure or by mediation or arbitration, or by taking action through the courts:

  • An individual
  • A micro-enterprise as defined in European Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 (broadly, an enterprise with fewer than 10 staff and a turnover or balance sheet value not exceeding €2 million);
  • A charity with an annual income less than £1 million;
  • A club, association or society with an annual income less than £1 million;
  • A trustee of a trust with a net asset value less than £1 million; or a personal representative or the residuary beneficiaries of an estate where a person with a complaint died before referring it to the Legal Ombudsman.

You can also complain to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.