Complaints

At Halton Law, we endeavour to offer good services at all paramount times.

However, should the lay or professional client have a complaint, the lawyer concerned will seek to resolve the matter with the client by himself first. If the client still remains unsatisfied with the concerned lawyer’s response, the below said complaints procedure should aid in resolving the complaint as effectively and as reasonably as possible.

To avoid any misunderstanding or miscommunication, all formal complaints should be made in writing.

Any formal complaint received by Halton Law will be notified to the Director, together with copies of all significant supporting correspondence etc.

The concerned lawyer shall cease acting on behalf of the complainant immediately once a formal complaint is raised.

A complaint is any material expression of dissatisfaction which is about a matter which covers negligence, incompetence or a significant shortfall in levels of service. The complaint should be made in writing to either the relevant lawyer or the practice manager.

All complaints will be acknowledged, preferably in writing, within 72 hours of receipt, and a copy of this procedure will be included in the acknowledgement.

The client will also be advised when a full reply will follow, which would be within 8 weeks. Somtimes extra time may be needed for the response to be finalised. In these cases, the complainant will be informed of the expected length of delay and the reason(s) for the delay.

If the complaint relates to the Director, it will be dealt with by an independent lawyer within the firm.

The existence of this procedure does not prohibit Halton Law from dismissing, without further investigation, complaints that are manifestly without merit.

If a complainant, having had the matter reviewed by the Director, is still unsatisfied, he/she may take his/her complaint to the Legal Ombudsman who can be contacted at :

Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

Tel : 0300 555 0333

Website: www.legalombudsmanorg.uk

In normal circumstances the Ombudsman expects the matter to be referred to his office within six months of the final letter from Halton Law regarding the complaint.

If however Halton Law does not deal with the complaint within 8 weeks of the initial contact then the matter may be referred directly to the Ombudsman’s office.