Complaints Procedure

Customer service is important to us. Here at Audley Chaucer we aim to deliver first class service every time and want your experience with us to be a positive one.

Sometime things don’t go as expected and you are entitled to complain if you are dissatisfied with our service. If you have any concerns, or any aspect of our service is less than what you expected, we would like to hear from you immediately. In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

First Stage

From the start of the case we will provide the name and contact details of the person responsible for you matter, together with the details of who supervises them.

 All firms of solicitors are obliged to attempt to resolve problems that clients may have with the service provided. It is therefore important that you immediately raise your concerns with us. 

If you are unhappy with any matter then please contact Kay Stewart, who is a Partner in this firm and the nominated Complaints Officer who will deal with the complaint. She can be contacted on ks@audleychaucer.com. She will consider your complaint and look to resolve matters with you informally within seven working days of your contact. For a complex formal complaint, you must allow us eight weeks to resolve the complaint.

 

Second Stage

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

You have a right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman if you are:

  1. An individual (including sole traders)
  2. Micro enterprises (less than 10 employees and a turnover of less than €2 million.
  3. Small charities and clubs / associations with an annual income net of tax less than £1 million.
  4. Trustees of a trust with an asset value of less than £1 million.
  5. Beneficiaries of an estate.

The contact details are as follows:

Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Address: PO Box 6806 Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ.

Telephone number: 0300 555 0333 between 9.00 and 17.00

Email address: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about legal services. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

Normally complaints need to be made to the Legal Ombudsman:

  • within six months of receiving our final written response to your complaint.

and

  • No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or
  • No more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them.

Complaints about a client’s rights under the General Data Protection Regulation must be submitted to the Information Commissioner’s Office – ico.org.uk.

Any disputes or legal issues arising from our Client Care and Terms of Business will be determined by the law of England and Wales and considered exclusively by the English and Welsh courts.

What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help 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.

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.