If our service
has fallen short.

We take your feedback seriously

We are committed to providing a high quality service, however we recognise that there may be occasions when our clients are dissatisfied with the service they have received.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of how your matter has been handled, we encourage you to let us know. Your feedback gives us an opportunity to understand what has happened, address any issues where possible and learn from your experience to improve our service.

All complaints will be considered promptly, fairly and objectively, with the aim of resolving the matter appropriately.

Raising a complaint

Many complaints can be resolved promptly and informally without the need for a formal complaints process.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of how your matter is being handled, we encourage you to raise it with the solicitor dealing with your case in the first instance. They will listen to your concerns, consider the issues raised and discuss what can be done to resolve them. Where appropriate, they may seek guidance from a senior member of the firm.

We will explain clearly how the matter can be addressed and, where appropriate, confirm the outcome or agreed next steps in writing. Raising a complaint will not affect the way we continue to deal with your legal matter.

Informal resolution

If the complaint cannot be resolved directly with the solicitor handling your matter, you may ask for it to be referred to our Complaints Manager for consideration.

The Complaints Manager will review the issues raised, consider the relevant information and, where appropriate, discuss the matter with the solicitor dealing with your case or other members of the firm.

Our Primary Complaints Manager, Reber Kamaran, has overall responsibility for complaints within the firm. Reber’s contact details are as follows:

Email: Reber@randrsolicitors.co.uk

Telephone: 07501 684 601

Postal address: Devonshire House, Manor Way, Borehamwood, WD6 1QQ

If your complaint relates to the Primary Complaints Manager, it will be referred to our Secondary Complaints Manager, Ruaa Kamaran for consideration. Ruaa’s contact details are as follows:

Email: Ruaa@randrsolicitors.co.uk

Telephone: 07501 684 601

Postal address: Devonshire House, Manor Way, Borehamwood, WD6 1QQ

Informal resolution — timescales

We aim to acknowledge your complaint within seven days of receiving it and, where appropriate, provide a written response within fourteen days of any discussion with you.

Please note, these timescales are our usual internal service targets and are not fixed deadlines. If we require further information or additional time to consider the concerns raised, we will inform you and explain when you can expect to hear from us.

Where a concern can be resolved informally, we will seek to do so promptly and without unnecessary delay.

Formal Complaints Procedure

We recognise that some complaints cannot be resolved informally. If you remain dissatisfied or notify us that you wish to make a formal complaint, we will initiate our formal complaints procedure.

Our formal investigation will be conducted objectively and, wherever possible, by someone who has not been directly involved in the matter giving rise to your complaint.

The following stages explain how we will deal with a formal complaint.

Acknowledgement

We aim to acknowledge your formal complaint within two working days of receiving it.

We will confirm that your complaint has been received and explain who will be responsible for dealing with it.

Preliminary review

The Complaints Manager will review the information provided and consider the relevant aspects of your file.

This may involve:

• reviewing your case file and relevant correspondence;
• speaking with the solicitor handling your matter;
• speaking with other members of the firm where appropriate;
• identifying the issues raised by your complaint;
• considering any supporting information or evidence; and
• identifying any further information that may be required.

We aim to write to you within seven days of the acknowledgement with our understanding of your complaint.

At this stage, we will:

• summarise the issues we understand you have raised;
• ask you to tell us if we have misunderstood or omitted anything;
• identify any aspect of the complaint that may fall outside the scope of our complaints procedure;
• ask you to explain what you would like us to do to resolve the matter, if this is not already clear; and
• provide an indication of the expected timescale for the investigation.

If we have misunderstood your complaint or omitted an important issue, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can ensure that the investigation properly addresses your concerns.

Investigation and preliminary view

The Complaints Manager will then investigate the complaint and consider the information available.

For a straightforward complaint, we aim to provide a preliminary view within approximately three weeks of our preliminary review.

Where a complaint is more complex, involves a significant amount of information or requires further enquiries, the investigation may take longer. If this is the case, we will explain the reason for the additional time and provide an updated indication of when you can expect to receive our response.

Please note, our internal timescales are intended to help us deal with complaints promptly. They do not prevent us from taking the additional time reasonably required to conduct a fair and thorough investigation.

In all cases, we will aim to provide a final written response within eight weeks of receiving your formal complaint.

Once the Complaints Manager has reached a preliminary view, we will explain the basis for that view and give you a reasonable opportunity to provide any further comments or information. We will normally allow seven to fourteen days for you to respond.

If there are circumstances that mean it would be more appropriate to discuss your response by telephone or at a meeting, we will consider this with you.

Final determination

Once you have had an opportunity to comment on our preliminary view, the Complaints Manager will complete the investigation.

We will then provide you with a written response explaining:

• the matters we have investigated;
• the information and evidence considered;
• our conclusions;
• whether your complaint has been upheld, partially upheld or not upheld;
• the reasons for our decision; and
• where appropriate, any action we propose to take in response.

Where the investigation identifies that improvements or remedial action are appropriate, these will be considered within the firm and communicated to you where relevant.

Our aim is to provide a clear and meaningful response to your concerns rather than simply reach a conclusion.

If, for any reason, we are unable to provide our final response within eight weeks, we will explain the reason for the delay and confirm when we expect to be able to provide our substantive response. We will also explain any rights you may have to refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman.

Concerns relating to professional judgment or negligence

Where a concern relates to professional judgment or alleges negligence, the Complaints Manager will consider the circumstances and information available as part of the investigation.

The Complaints Manager may take into account any conclusions reached during an earlier review of the matter and will consider whether there is any basis for reaching a different conclusion.

Where appropriate, a separate process may be required for matters involving a potential professional negligence claim. We will explain this to you if it applies.

If you remain dissatisfied

We hope that we will be able to resolve your concerns through our own complaints procedure.

If, however, you remain dissatisfied following our final response, or if we have been unable to resolve your complaint within eight weeks, you may be entitled to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

The Legal Ombudsman provides an independent service for considering complaints about the standard of service provided by legal professionals.

Generally, a complaint must be referred to the Legal Ombudsman:

• within one year from the date of the act or omission giving rise to the complaint; or
• within one year from the date on which you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint; and
• within six months of the date of our final written response.

The Legal Ombudsman’s contact details are as follows:

Telephone: 0300 555 0333

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Postal address: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

Please refer to the Legal Ombudsman's website for its current contact details, eligibility requirements and complaints process.

Concerns relating to professional conduct

If your concern relates to the professional conduct or behaviour of the firm or one of our solicitors, you may be able to report the matter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The SRA deals with concerns about whether solicitors and law firms have complied with the professional standards and regulatory requirements that apply to them.

The SRA’s contact details are as follows:

Telephone: 0370 606 2555

Website: www.sra.org.uk

Postal address: The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN

If you have lost confidence in your solicitor

We recognise that a complaint can sometimes affect the relationship between a client and their solicitor.

Most concerns can be addressed at an early stage, and we will always seek to resolve matters wherever possible. However, if you feel that you have lost confidence in the solicitor dealing with your matter and are concerned about the continuation of that working relationship, please inform the Complaints Manager.

We will consider your concerns separately from the substantive complaint and, where appropriate, discuss whether alternative arrangements can be made for the conduct of your matter. Any decision about changing the person responsible for your case will take into account the circumstances of the matter, availability, expertise, conflicts of interest and any other relevant considerations.

A request to change the person dealing with your matter will not, in itself, determine the outcome of any complaint.

Questions relating to our complaints procedure

If you have any questions relating to this policy, please contact our Complaints Manager.

Name: Reber Kamaran

Email: Reber@randrsolicitors.co.uk

Telephone: 07501 684 601

Postal address: Devonshire House, Manor Way, Borehamwood, WD6 1QQ