Qualified, personal & experienced
If for any reason at any time, you are not satisfied with the service being provided to you or you have a complaint about the firm’s invoice, you should in the first instance, immediately contact the partner/consultant supervising your file and we will try to resolve any issues you may have.
If you are not satisfied with the responses received from the person named in the previous paragraph, you may refer your complaint to Ian Freeman, Managing Director of Freeman Harris Solicitors whose direct telephone number is 020 7790 7311 or email ian@freemanharris.co.uk.
Ms Freeman is responsible for ensuring that complaints are handled effectively and in accordance with this procedure. This procedure will also apply to prospective clients whom we have refused to provide a service to or persistently or unreasonably offered an unwanted service to but only if the complainant has evidence to show that we did not have reasonable grounds to do so.
We keep a file / register of all complaints. The register/file include all the required details and the register is signed off when the complaint has been finalised.
We will acknowledge the complaint within seven days.
We will then investigate the complaint.
We aim to respond in full within 28 days. However, if the complaint is of a more complex nature we will require more time but we will let the complainant know when they will receive a full response.
We will reply to the complainant, usually in writing to tell him/her of our views on the complaint and how we propose to resolve it, hopefully to the complainant’s satisfaction, including appropriate redress, this could include a reduction in fees if appropriate, compensation of a gesture of goodwill. The client will also be advised in what timescale they will be given an initial/ substantive response.
If the complainant is still not satisfied, they should contact us again and we will endeavour to arrange for another lawyer unconnected with the matter at the firm to review the decision.
We will write to the complainant within 14 days of receiving a request for a review, confirming our final position on the complaint and explaining our reasons.
If still unresolved at this stage, the complainant may take their complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. The complainant will have to bring the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within (i) 6 months of receiving a final response from us about the complaint (ii) 6 years from the date of the act or omission giving rise to the complaint or (iii) 3 years from the date the complainant should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.
The guidelines issued by the Legal Ombudsman state that you should allow Freeman Harris Solicitors at least eight weeks to resolve your complaint. If you have not done so within those eight weeks, you may approach the Legal Ombudsman but you have only 6 months from your last contact with us in which to contact them.
If we are unable to resolve your complaint, and it relates to a contract we entered into online or by other electronic means, you may also be able to submit your complaint to a certified alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider in the UK via the EU ODR platform.
The ODR platform is an interactive website offering a single point of entry for disputes between consumers and traders relating to online contracts.
The ODR platform is available to consumer clients only, ie where you have instructed us for purposes outside your trade, business, craft or profession.
The website address for the ODR platform is: http://ec.europa.eu/odr.
The guidelines issued by the Legal Ombudsman state that you should allow Freeman Harris Solicitors at least eight weeks to resolve your complaint. If you have not done so within those eight weeks, you may approach the Legal Ombudsman but you have only 6 months from your last contact with us in which to contact them.
If we are unable to resolve your complaint, and it relates to a contract we entered into online or by other electronic means, you may also be able to submit your complaint to a certified alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider in the UK via the EU ODR platform.
The ODR platform is an interactive website offering a single point of entry for disputes between consumers and traders relating to online contracts. The ODR platform is available to consumer clients only, ie where you have instructed us for purposes outside your trade, business, craft or profession.
The website address for the ODR platform is: http://ec.europa.eu/odr.
The Legal Ombudsman’s contact details are:
Address: PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
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 characteristic.
You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority >
