Complaint
We aim to provide you with a high quality service at all times. However, if at any time you have concerns or are unhappy with our service, please contact us so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.
In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who has day-to-day control of your matter to discuss your concerns, If this person cannot satisfactorily address your concerns and you wish to make a formal complaint, please contact our designated complaints handler, Mr. Saad Balouch. You can write to him at Clyde Solicitors, 50 Longbridge Road, Barking, IG11 8RT or send an Email to saad@clydesolicitors.co.uk.
The firm has a complaint handling policy and procedure which you can find here. We have eight weeks to consider your complaint.
The Legal Ombudsman
If we are unable to resolve your complaint, then you can have the complaint independently looked at by the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about service issues with lawyers.
The Legal Ombudsman Scheme rules can be found at here.
The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one year of you realising there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final written response to you.
Ordinarily, you cannot use the Legal Ombudsman unless you have first attempted to resolve your complaint using our internal Complaints Handling procedure, but you will be able to contact the Legal Ombudsman if:
- The complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction within eight weeks of first making the complaint to us; or
- The Legal Ombudsman decides that there are exceptional reasons why the Legal Ombudsman should consider your complaint sooner, or without you having to use our internal Complaints Handling Procedure first; or
- The Legal Ombudsman considers that your complaint cannot be resolved using our internal Complaints Handling Procedure because the relationship between you and us has broken down irretrievably.
If you wish to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman you must be one of the following:
- An individual;
- A micro-enterprise as defined in European Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 (broadly, an enterprise with fewer than 10 staff and a turnover or balance sheet value not exceeding €2 million);
- A charity with an annual income less than £1 million;
- A club, association or society with an annual income less than £1 million;
- A trustee of a trust with a net asset value less than £1 million; or
- A personal representative or the residuary beneficiaries of an estate where a person with a complaint died before referring it to the Legal Ombudsman.
If you do not fall into one of the above categories you can only obtain redress by using our Complaints Handling Procedure or by mediation or arbitration, or by taking action through the Courts.
LEGAL OMBUDSMAN CONTACT DETAILS
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ
Phone: 0300 555 0333—from 8.30am to 5.30pm
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Solicitors Regulation Authority
For complaints that relate specifically to an alleged breach of the SRA Standard and Regulations including the SRA Accounts Rules, you should refer the matter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). This could be for things like general misconduct, losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic. The SRA will not investigate complaints about poor services provided by the Firm. They will refer such matters to the Legal Ombudsman.
Website: https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/
Phone Number: 0370 606 2555 between 8am to 5pm. Except Tuesday 9:30am to 5pm.
Contact page: https://www.sra.org.uk/home/contact-us/
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Where we are not able to settle your complaint using our internal complaints process, there are alternative complaints bodies (such as the Ombudsman Services www.ombudsman-services.org) which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme.
Please let us know if you would like to consider using an alternative complaints body to resolve your complaint.