COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
Our complaints 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.
Our complaints procedure
If you have a complaint, please contact Mr Tony Malia, who is the person responsible for dealing with client care issues. You can contact him by post at 58 Howard Street, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE30 1AL, or via email at tonym@hadaway.co.uk
What will happen next?
We will send you a letter or email acknowledging receipt of your complaint within a maximum of three days of us receiving the complaint, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve reviewing your file and speaking to the member of staff who acted for you. If your complaint relates to a matter where the file has been closed we may need to obtain your file from our archive storage facility, which may take 1-2 days.
Mr Tony Malia will send you a detailed reply to your complaint, including his suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for a partner who has not had any dealings with your matter to review the initial decision.
We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
If you are still not satisfied, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) at the Office for Legal Complaints on 0300 555 0333, or by writing to PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 QEH. Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
The LeO will not normally deal with complaints unless our complaints procedure has been exhausted and allows us to do this within eight weeks. The LeO asks that you contact his office within twelve months of your last contact with the firm. Please note that the LeO will not handle complaints from large businesses (see the LeO website – www.legalombudsman.org.uk)
If you think we have breached an SRA Principle. You should report the matter directly to the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) via their website at SRA consumers problems.
If a complaint cannot be resolved, you may also be able to ask for it to be referred to a process of alternative dispute resolution using a certified provider. However, we are not required to agree to such a request.
Objecting to our bill(s)
You may have the right to object to our bill by applying to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974.
Non-payment of our bill(s)
You should be aware that the firm may be entitled to charge interest if all or part of our bill(s) remains unpaid.
If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.