Complaints procedure

If you would like more information about our complaints procedure, please contact us:

01782 577000

info@myerssolicitors.co.uk

Committed to providing excellent service

Every member of the team at Myers & Co Solicitors is committed to providing the highest quality legal service to all our clients.  But we are only human, and mistakes can happen.

If something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it and give us an opportunity to put things right for you and ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

We take every complaint seriously, and the following steps set out our procedure for handling a complaint.

Step 1

If you have a complaint about the service you have received, or about a bill, in the first instance you should speak to the lawyer who has conduct of your matter.

Step 2

If the lawyer does not resolve matters to your satisfaction, then please contact our Compliance Manager David Vaughan-Birch:

• Telephone 01782 577 000
• Email david.vaughan-birch@myerssolicitors.co.uk

Step 3

We will write to you acknowledging receipt of your complaint within 5 working days of receiving it setting out how the complaint will be handled and in what time you will be given an initial response.  If the precise nature of the complaint is unclear from the details given, we may ask you for clarification.

Step 4

When we have established the nature of the complaint, we will then investigate it.  This will normally involve passing your complaint to the relevant head of department who will then review your file with the lawyer who acted for you.

Step 5

According to the circumstances we will either:

• write to you with a written decision on your complaint and suggestions (if any) for resolving the matter; or
• contact you to invite you to a meeting to discuss (and hopefully resolve) your complaint.

You should receive this response within 21 working days of receipt of the full details of the complaint.  You will be notified in writing if a period of more than 21 working days is required.

Step 6

Where a meeting is held, the person who investigated your complaint will discuss any proposed solutions.

Step 7

We will write to you within 7 working days of the meeting to confirm what took place and any solutions which were agreed with you.

Step 8

If you are still not satisfied, you should write to the person who dealt with your complaint within 10 working days of the date of receipt of the decision letter indicating why you are dissatisfied and requesting a review of the outcome.

Step 9

Our Compliance Manager will then decide whether to arrange for the Managing Director to review the outcome or arrange an appropriate alternative such as review by another local solicitor.  You will be informed of this decision.

Step 10

The person undertaking the review will write to you within 14 working days of receiving a request, confirming the final position on your complaint and explaining the reasons. You will be notified in writing if a period of more than 14 working days is required.

Step 11

If you are still not satisfied, you have a right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman.

The Legal Ombudsman is an independent complaints body, established under the Legal Services Act 2007, which deals with legal services complaints.

You have to bring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of receiving a final response from us about your complaint, and within:

• 6 years from the date of the act or omission giving rise to the complaint; or alternatively
• 3 years from the date you should reasonably have known there are grounds for complaint (if the act or omission took place before 6 October 2010 or was more than 6 years ago).

The Ombudsman can be contacted at:

The Legal Ombudsman,

PO Box 6806,

Wolverhampton,

WV1 9WJ

Tel:  0300 555 0333

Website:  www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Email address:  enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

The Legal Ombudsman may:

• Investigate the quality of professional service supplied by a solicitor to a client;
• Investigate allegations that a solicitor has breached rules of professional conduct;
• Investigate allegations that a solicitor has unreasonably refused to supply a professional service to a client;
• Investigate allegations that a solicitor has persistently or unreasonably offered a professional service that the client does not want.

Before it will consider a complaint, the Legal Ombudsman generally requires that the firm’s internal Complaints Procedure has been exhausted, and that it falls within the Ombudsman’s rules.

If the Legal Ombudsman is satisfied that the firm’s proposals for resolving a complaint are reasonable, it may decline to investigate further.

To make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, you must be one of the following:

• An individual;
• A business that was a micro business (European definition) when the complaint was made to the regulated firm;
• A charity, club or association that had an annual income net of tax below £1m at the time the complaint was made to the regulated firm;
• A trust that had an asset value of less than £1m net of tax at the time the complaint was made to the regulated firm;
• A personal representative or beneficiary of the estate of a person, who before he/she died, had not referred the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

Solicitors Regulation Authority

If you are concerned about anyone’s behaviour at Myers & Co, you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Last updated: 22 November 2023

A documented review of this Procedure will take place at least annually to verify its effective operation across our firm.