We are committed to continuous improvement and providing the best service possible for our clients. We hope that you will never have reason to complain about our services, however, should something go wrong we need you to tell us about it.
We hope that you will initially be able to resolve any problem or complaint that you have with your lawyer on an informal basis. However if that is not possible, please contact our Compliance Team on compliance@lawlanesolicitors.com who coordinate your complaint with the director in charge of the department involved in your case. Our Client Relations Director, Salman Shah, will also oversee the matter.
It is important that you contact us promptly with any concerns that you have as there are deadlines for making complaints that may have to go to the Legal Ombudsman. They expect complaints to be made to them within a year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within a year of you realising there was a concern. Complaints relating to invoices need to be made within six months of the date of such invoice. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you if it remains the same.
What Will Happen Next?
- We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and we may ask you to confirm or explain the details set out.
- We will record your complaint in our central register and open a file for your complaint.
- We will then start to investigate your complaint. This may involve one or more of the following steps:
- We will ask the member of staff who acted for you to comment on your complaint.
- Their response and the details of your complaint will be examined along with your case file.
- We will send you a response to your complaint.
- This should be done within 21 days of receiving your original complaint.
- If we feel it appropriate, rather than providing a formal written response, we may invite you to meet the team director to discuss your concerns and try to resolve them in person, or we may telephone you to discuss them. We are likely to do this if we feel that matters may be concluded more swiftly and amicably by this route.
- At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you can write to us again. We will then arrange to review our decision or, if appropriate, another director who has not been involved in the investigation so far, will review your complaint and will write to you confirming our final position and explaining our reasons.
- We hope to complete the different stages outlined above well within reasonable timescales and within 8 weeks of first receiving your complaint, however some complaints take longer than others to resolve.
What To Do If We Cannot Resolve Your Complaint
In the event that we are unable to address your complaint ourselves, The Legal Ombudsman can assist you. Your complaint will be examined by them separately, and it will not have an impact on how we handle your case.
The Legal Ombudsman will verify that you have attempted to resolve your issue with us first before accepting it for investigation. If so, you need to file a complaint with the Legal Ombudsman:
- Within six months of receiving our final response to your complaint
AND
- No more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or
- No more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint.
For more information about the Legal Ombudsman contact:
Legal Ombudsman
Address: PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
If you would like to provide any other feedback, please email compliance@lawlanesolicitors.com
What To Do If You Are Unhappy With Our Behaviour
If you have concerns about our behaviour, you can get assistance from the Solicitors Regulation Authority. This can be due to dishonesty, stealing your money, losing it, or treating you unfairly due to your age, a disability, or another trait.
To learn how to address your issues with the Solicitors Regulation Authority, go to their website here.
Disclaimer
Law Lane Solicitors Ltd has provided the materials on this website for informational purposes only which does not, and cannot, constitute a legal advice. The use of this site does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Additionally, email or other communication with our representatives through this site should not be considered confidential or privileged.