Complaints procedure

Introduction

We aim to provide a high standard of professional service but if at any time you feel that this is not being maintained, we want to know so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.

By this complaints procedure, we aim to:

• provide clear and easy to use information for those wishing to make a complaint;
• provide a prompt response and our assurance that the matter is being reviewed;
• make sure all complaints are investigated fairly and in a timely way;
• make sure that all complaints are, wherever possible, resolved;
• gather information that helps us to improve our service.

What to do if you have a complaint

Local resolution
If appropriate and if you agree, please discuss your concerns with the person with day to day conduct of your matter (or alternatively their named supervisor). 

The team will investigate your concerns by seeking information from the documents on the file and from anyone else who may be involved and will contact you with a proposal for resolution. 

Best practice resolution
If the proposal is not acceptable to you, or if you would prefer not to discuss your concerns with the person conducting your matter, you may request that the best practice team takes over. The best practice team will in any event be notified of the complaint in order that it may be recorded in our central register. The Best Practice team works with the complaints partner, Tim Palmer, who oversees the handling of complaints and can be contacted at complaints@penningtonslaw.com.

Our best practice team’s details are:

Best practice team, Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP
Matrix House, Basing View, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 4DZ
e: complaints@penningtonslaw.com

Alternatively, you may call our switchboard on 01256 407100 and ask to be put through to a member of the best practice team in order to discuss a complaint.

A member of the best practice team will contact you to acknowledge your complaint, letting you know the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint, and may ask you to confirm or provide further details.    

The team will record your complaint in our central register and will then investigate your complaint and send you a detailed reply. This will include our suggestions for resolving the matter.

If in the course of the investigation we think it would be helpful, we may invite you to discuss the matter with a member of the best practice team or the complaints partner with a view to finding out more and seeking to resolve your complaint. Following that discussion we will write to you to confirm what was discussed and propose our suggested resolution to the complaint. If you do not want to discuss the matter with us or it is not possible, we will send you a detailed reply to your complaint as above.

When can you expect to hear from us?

The best practice team aims to acknowledge your complaint and confirm who is dealing with it within two working days. Thereafter our aim is to ensure that we have properly addressed your concerns within as short a time as possible although the length of time taken will depend on the complexity of your matter and complaint. In any event we aim to provide our final response to your complaint within eight weeks of you making it.

Referral to the Legal Ombudsman

If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, you may contact the Legal Ombudsman, which is an independent and impartial scheme that deals with complaints about our work or our service.  

The Legal Ombudsman’s details are:

PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH
t: 0300 555 0333
e: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

You should contact the Ombudsman no later than:

• six months after receiving our final response to the complaint and
• one year from the date of the act/omission complained of or from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for a complaint.

Before accepting a complaint for investigation the Legal Ombudsman will usually check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first and that the complaint falls within their jurisdiction as set out in their scheme rules.    

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them or visit their website www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Misconduct allegations

If your concern is about professional misconduct, such as dishonesty or discrimination, rather than the way in which we have provided a service, please do discuss this with us, by contacting the best practice team using the above contact details. We take any such allegation seriously and would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you. If we are unable to resolve your misconduct concerns, you are entitled to refer the matter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Visit the SRA’s website at www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.page for details of how to submit a report.

Who can make a complaint under this procedure?

If you are a previous, current or prospective client, or a beneficiary of a trust or estate that we represent, you may submit a service complaint under this procedure. You may submit your complaint personally or via a representative if you would prefer.

Any person may raise an allegation of misconduct under this procedure.