Complaints

Our complaints handling policy

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards. If you do not feel that you are receiving excellent client service or that something could be improved, please do tell us about it.  If we have fallen short of the high standards which we have set for ourselves then we would like the opportunity to put it right.

If you have a complaint, we have a two stage process.

Stage 1

  1. We are confident that the majority of complaints can be dealt with quickly by an open and constructive discussion. If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received, please raise your complaint with the Complaints Manager (as identified within the Letter of Engagement and the Scope of Work provided at the outset of your case).
  2. The Complaints Manager will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days of receiving details of your dissatisfaction and you will be provided with a copy of this policy. The Complaints Manager will inform our Complaints Officer that a complaint has been made.
  3. The Complaints Manager will then seek to resolve the issue in discussions and/or communication with you.
  4. The outcome will be confirmed to you in writing within 15 working days of the date on which the formal complaint has been received.

Stage 2

  1. If you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again within 5 working days to request a review of your complaint by sending an email to info@bmalaw.co.uk marked to the attention of our Complaints Officers, Gareth Williams, Director of BMA Law, and Nigel Watson, Director of BMA Law, who will arrange for your complaint to be fully investigated.
  2. The Complaints Officers will acknowledge your email within 3 working days, then review the matter and write to you within 25 working days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.

For data protection complaints, we will:

  • acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 30 days of receiving it at the latest and will endeavour to do so within 7 days of receipt;
  • where necessary, request proof of your identity and/ or authority to make the complaint if it is made on behalf of someone else;
  • provide you with a copy of our privacy notice if you have not already seen it, which can also be accessed on our website here;
  • log your complaint on our central complaints register;
  • take appropriate steps to respond to your complaint, including making appropriate enquiries and keeping you informed, without undue delay once the complaint has been received;
  • where necessary, arrange a discussion with you to obtain further information and/ or try to agree how to resolve the issues without undue delay;
  • keep you updated on the progress of the investigation without undue delay, particularly if it becomes necessary to extend any timescales provided at the outset;
  • confirm the outcome of our investigation into your complaint without unjustifiable or excessive delay. [We will aim to do this within 30 days of receiving your complaint, but it may be necessary to extend this timescale depending on the circumstances of the complaint. If that is the case, we will notify you accordingly.];
  • explain what we have done to resolve your complaint and, where appropriate, any actions we have taken as a result.

What might the outcome of my complaint be?

We very much regret any dissatisfaction which our clients experience and will not hesitate to apologise to you where our service has fallen below our high standards.  We may also agree that certain steps will be taken to improve your situation and to ensure that any problems experienced will not reoccur.

What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint

The Legal Ombudsman may be able to help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at complaints independently and accessing the Ombudsman will not affect how we handle your case.

Most ‘consumer’ clients (as oppose to large businesses) will be able to make use of the Ombudsman scheme however there are restrictions for some larger clients. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will normally check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. You must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint from us.

You must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint from us. The Legal Ombudsman also expects complaints to be made to them within 1 year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within 1 year of you realising there was a concern.

The Legal Ombudsman will look at complaints independently and accessing the Ombudsman will not affect how we handle your case.

You can find further information about the Ombudsman at:

www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm.

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

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

Please note that the Ombudsman are there to deal with concerns about the level of service received.  Where there are more serious concerns that a solicitor or solicitor’s firm have been involved in professional misconduct then reports can also be made to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the regulator of solicitors and solicitor firms. This could be for quite unusual and serious acts of misconduct such as dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic. Obviously we do not anticipate any such problems arising and would ask that you notify the matter supervisor straight away if you have any such concerns.  You can find out more about the Solicitors Regulation Authority including their contact details and professional conduct rules on their website: https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/

If your complaint relates to how your personal data has been used/ handled which we have not been able to address to your satisfaction under our complaints policy, you may be able to make a complaint to the Information Commission (IC) directly. You can learn more about the IC and personal data rights at: www.ico.org.uk and specifically about complaints in relation to the use of your personal data at: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-protection-complaints/.