We regard a complaint as any expression of dissatisfaction whether expressed verbally or in writing.
SA Law is committed to providing a high quality service. If, however, you have a complaint or are dissatisfied with our service, please tell us about it. This will help us to resolve your difficulty and improve our standards.
SA Law's Complaints Procedure
If you have a complaint, in the first instance please speak to the person handling your case. If an issue arises which cannot be resolved, please then discuss the problem with the person with overall responsibility for your matter as set out in our Terms and Conditions of Engagement. If your matter still remains unresolved, please then contact Robert Ryall, our nominated Compliance Officer for the Legal Practice (COLP). You can contact him by telephone on 01727 798092, by email at robert.ryall@salaw.com or write to him at:
Gladstone Place
36-38 Upper Marlborough Road
St Albans
Hertfordshire
AL1 3UU
We set out below what will then happen.
What will happen next?
- We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm or explain the details as set out (if necessary). You should receive an acknowledgement of your complaint within 5 working days.
- Upon receipt your complaint will be recorded in our central register.
- We will acknowledge your reply if any, and will confirm what will happen next. You can expect to hear from us within 5 working days of our receiving your reply.
- We will then start to investigate your complaint and inform you of the timescale within which we anticipate being able to respond. This may involve one or more of the following steps:
• Examination of your file
• Discussion with the member of staff and supervising Partner - We will then either write to you (see paragraph 7 below) or within 21 days of the date of receipt of your letter of complaint, invite you to meet the supervising Partner and/or Robert Ryall to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint.
- If we meet with you we will, within 14 days of the date of that meeting, write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions that we have agreed with you.
- If you do not want a meeting or it is not convenient, we will send to you within 35 days of the date of receipt of your letter of complaint, a detailed reply to that complaint. This will include our suggestions for resolving the matter.
- At this stage, if you are still not satisfied please let us know. Robert Ryall will then arrange to review the decision and may place the matter before SA Law’s Client Care Group. If for any reason we are unable to resolve the problem between us or you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint then you may refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman: PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH.
The Legal Ombudsman provides a non- judicial means of dispute settlement for those cases that fall within his remit.
Please note that ordinarily you must refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months from the date of our final written response to your complaint and within one year from the dates of the act or omission about which you are complaining occuring or within one year from when you should reasonably have realised there was cause for complaint. However, the Ombudsman has a discretion to accept complaints outside of these time limits in exceptional circumstances.
Whilst the Legal Ombudsman is able to deal with most complaints you should contact his office to confirm whether or not he is able to deal with your particular issue (0300 555 0333 or enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk) or refer to www.legalombudsman.org.uk - You should be aware that, when your complaint relates to a bill the Legal Ombudsman will not consider your complaint while your bill is being assessed by the Court.
- If we have to change the timescales above we will let you know and explain why.