COMPLAINTS HANDLING
In accordance with SRA rules the firm has a procedure for dealing with complaints from clients to resolve as many as possible internally, avoid complaints to the Legal Ombudsman and keep clients satisfied even if matters have gone wrong.
Some complaints may be well founded. Everyone can unfortunately make a mistake and should admit when a mistake has been made. All staff will in turn receive support from the firm. Any complaints must be deal with sympathetically and quickly. This is part of the firm’s “quality service”.
1. What is a complaint?
A complaint will be considered under the Complaints Procedure whether it is made in writing or orally. A complaint should be dealt with by the fee earner to which it is addressed if it is capable of being so dealt with. If this is not feasible then it should be explained to the client that the complaint will be referred to the Senior Partner. The client should be invited to put the criticism or complaint in writing to assist in clarifying the issues but the complaint can still be dealt with if the client does not render it into writing.
All complaints will be treated in the same way even if an individual complaint may at first glance appear unjustified.
The client care letters notify clients of their right to make a complaint and of the procedure. If a complaint is made which cannot be resolved by the Fee Earner the client must be informed that the matter will be referred to the Senior Partner and any letter of complaint or a note of an oral complaint must be passed to the Senior Partner without delay.
2. How the complaint will be dealt with
On receipt of notification of a complaint the Senior Partner will write to, or telephone the client immediately to acknowledge the complaint and to explain the steps which he will be taking to investigate the matter and the anticipated time scale for communicating further with the client. He will examine the file, seek any further details necessary from the client, consult with the Fee Earner involved and take any other steps necessary to obtain a full understanding of the situation.
The Senior Partner will determine the most appropriate manner in which the complaint should be handled and resolved. This may be a letter of explanation to the client, a telephone conversation or a meeting with the client. The complaint may be acknowledged as justified, in which case an apology will be given and, if appropriate, some form of redress such as a reduction in fees or a payment of compensation. If the complaint is considered unjustified, as diplomatic as possible, an explanation will be given to the client as to why the complaint is not considered justified. The aim is to ensure that the client:-
2.1 is satisfied that the complaint has been dealt with seriously and promptly;
2.2 receives an assurance that the matter has been fully investigated;
2.3 is notified as soon as possible of the outcome of the investigation and the proposed manner of resolution;
2.4 is hopefully not lost to the firm;
2.5 does not consider it necessary to refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman.
Even though a fee earner may feel that a complaint is not justified the response from the firm may be to agree with the elements of the complaint which on investigation are established and to assure the client that efforts will be made to remedy the problem. Fee earners must understand that this is not intended to undermine their position. All have to accept a certain amount of criticism, where justified.
3. Remedies
One or more of the following may be decided upon if a complaint is proved:-
3.1 An apology from the firm and an assurance that it will not happen again;
3.2 A reduction in the bill;
3.3 Agreement not to charge at all or to cancel any bill already rendered;
3.4 Payment of compensation;
3.5 Notice to the client of the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman either as a matter of professional conduct or in relation to the firm’s inadequate professional services. The Legal Ombudsman may be contacted on 0300 555 0333 or by email at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk. The Legal Ombudsman may not deal with a complaint about an invoice if you have applied to the court for assessment of that bill. Post: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ.
3.6 Notice to the client of their right to see another solicitor and obtain independent advice as to whether the firm has been negligent.
4. What happens after a complaint?
The firm hopes that the client will be satisfied and the fee earner will continue with the file. In some circumstances however it may be better for another fee earner to take over the file if the solicitor/client relationship has broken down completely. If a fee earner does continue, every effort must be made to repair any damage in the relationship with the client.
5. Central Register of Complaints
The Senior Partner keeps a central record of complaints containing a summary of the complaint, action taken and result. In addition, all correspondence and documentation relating to the complaint will be retained for 3 years.
6. Corrective Action
Fee earners and others about whom a substantiated complaint is made will receive some constructive suggestions or even training to identify what went wrong and to avoid any repetition. This may take the form of a short informal word from the Senior Partner or possibly a formal note on the personnel file where the matter may be raised in the context of the Fee Earner’s regular appraisal. Only in extreme cases might a formal warning or even dismissal have to be considered.
The Senior Partner will make recommendations of any changes in procedures or additional training of the fee earner which may be necessary as a result of a specific complaint.
Once a year the Senior Partner will review the records of complaints made during the previous year and in the light of the number and nature of complaints consider whether changes of procedures or additional training is required over the firm as a whole or in any particular department. He will request the appropriate personnel to take any necessary action.