Complaints Procedure and Complaints Policy

Lawsons Solicitors are committed to providing Clients with high quality legal advice and client care. If you are unhappy about any aspect of the service you have received or about the bill, please contact Mr Peter Anthony Lawson (Solicitor and Principal of Lawsons Solicitors) on 01924 202000 or by post to our office. We have a procedure in place that details how we handle complaints which is set out below.

1. Within 5 working days of a request for a copy of its Complaints Procedure, Lawsons Solicitors will write to the Client enclosing a copy of their Complaints Procedure and Complaint Form;
2. Within 3 working days of Lawsons Solicitors receiving the completed Complaint Form, Lawsons Solicitors will invite the Client to a meeting with Mr P A Lawson, the Principal of Lawsons Solicitors. This meeting will take place as soon as reasonably practical.
3. After the meeting, or if the Client does not attend the meeting, Mr Lawson will investigate the Client’s complaint and within 10 working days of the meeting date he will send the Client a written reply to the complaint, at the same time he will also invite the Client to another meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve the complaint.
4. At this stage if the Client is still not satisfied or does not attend the meeting, he/she can request that Mr Lawson reviews his findings, the outcome of this review will be notified to the Client within 5 working days of the request being received.
5. If the Client is still not satisfied and if agreed by both parties (Client and Mr Lawson) we can ask a member of the Solicitors’ Sole Practitioner Group or a member of the Wakefield Law Society or indeed an Independent Barrister to review the complaint and Mr Lawson would expect a review decision to be available to the Client within 15 working days.
6. Mr Lawson will write to the Client confirming his final position on the Client’s complaint and explain his reasons. Mr Lawson will also refer the Client to their Terms of Business letter and the Client’s right to bring a complaint before the Legal Ombudsman at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ if the complaint has not been resolved.

7. If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint you can either write to the Legal Ombudsman at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ, or telephone them on 0300 555 0333, or indeed send an email to enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk and ask them to consider the complaint. Normally, you will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint.

   Please note that as from 1st April 2023 the Legal Ombudsman made changes to the rules on time limits. The new rules on time limits for the Legal Ombudsman accepting a complaint remains at six months from the end of our complaints process providing that we have given you full information about your right to take a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. However that said, the overarching time limits for the Legal Ombudsman accepting a complaint are now as follows:-

   • One year from the date of the act/omission complained of; or
   • One year from when the complainant should have known about the complaint;
   • The time limits may be extended by the Legal Ombudsman if it is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances to do so.
   • You should note that the Legal Ombudsman will not accept complaints where the act or date of awareness was before 6th October 2010.

Further Information

• Please note that we will record your complaint in our Central Register and open a file for your complaint.

The Legal Ombudsman Service

Should you wish to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman Service, they will require you to have already made your complaint to us and allowed us up to eight weeks to provide a full response. The Legal Ombudsman Service will require copies of your complaint together our response.

You can find useful guidance and resources on their website including a template and guide to making a complaint if you haven’t already done so.

SOLICITORS REGULATION AUTHORITY

• In addition we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). They work with Solicitors firms, such as ours, to ensure we comply with our principles, to ensure we behave independently, fairly and with integrity to best serve the interests of our clients and the public interest.
• If you are concerned about your solicitors behaviour the SRA can help you or take action when solicitors tell lies, steal from you, shut down without telling you or break the SRA rules.
• Should you wish to report a solicitor or firm to the SRA you can either write to the SRA at The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN or DX 720293 Binrimgham 47 or email to:- report@sra.org.uk
• If you write or email please set out your concerns clearly, identify individuals you consider responsible and attach any evidence you have to support your concern.