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.
Our complaints procedure
If you have a complaint, please contact us with the details.
What will happen next?
Step 1
We will send you a letter
acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm or explain the details set out.
We will also let you know the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint. You can expect to receive our letter within two working days of us receiving your complaint.
Step 2
We will record your complaint in our
central register and open a separate file for your complaint. We will do this
within one working day of receiving your complaint.
Step 3
We will then start to investigate your complaint. This will normally involve the following steps.
- we will pass your complaint to our Client Care Partner (the ‘CCP’), within three working days. If the complaint concerns our Client Care Partner, then it will be passed to another designated Member of the firm
- The CCP will ask the member of staff who acted for you to reply to your complaint within 5 working days.
- The CCP will then examine their reply and the information in your complaint file. And, if necessary, he may also speak to them. This will take up to three working days from receiving their reply and the file.
Step 4
The CCP will then invite you to a
meeting and discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. He will do this
within three working days.
Step 5
Within two working days of the
meeting the CCP will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions
he has agreed with you. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, the
CCP will send you a detailed reply to your complaint. This will include his
suggestions for resolving the matter. He will do this within five working days
of completing the investigation.
Step 6
At this stage, if you are still not
satisfied you contact us again. We will then arrange to review our decision. This will happen in one of the following ways.
- Another Member of the firm can review the CCP’s decision within 10 working days.
- We can ask our local Law Society or another local firm of solicitors to review your complaint within five working days. We will let you know how long this process will take.
- We can invite you to agree to independent mediation within five days. We will let you know how long this process will take.
Step 7
We will let you know the result of
the review within five working days of the end of the review. At this time, we
will write to you confirming our final position on your complaint and
explaining our reasons. We will also remind you of the name and address of the
Legal Ombudsman. If you are still not satisfied, you can contact them about
your complaint.
If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.
Contact Details
T C Smith Solicitors LLP:
Legal Ombudsman:
Solicitors Regulation Authority:
t: 01289 301280
mail: 9 Church Street, Berwick upon Tweed TD15 1EF
e: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
t: 0300 555 0333
Mail: PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ
t: 0370 606 2555
mail: The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham B1 1RN