Our Complaints Procedure

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.

Whilst we do hope you will never have cause to complain, we ask you to let us know if there is any aspect of our service with which you are unhappy.  To avoid any dissatisfaction where clients feel they need to complain formally, we ask you to tell us as quickly as possible if you are dissatisfied with any part of the service received.

If you are unhappy about any bill you receive from us, please contact Julia on the main office number or write to us at the office address. Our regulatory body allows us eight weeks to consider any complaint.  If we have not resolved any issue within this time, you may complain to the Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ.  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 or within six years of the act or omission about which you are complaining, or within three years of when you should have become aware of the complaint.

You do have a right to challenge or complain about a bill sent by the firm.  In certain circumstances, you do have a right to apply for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974.

We have developed the Practice on the foundations of effective communication between us and the clients; openness, honesty, and a genuine desire to work to the best of our capabilities and deliver a tailored service.

If you have a complaint, please contact us with the details in writing or via email to julia@ravensheadlaw.com.

What will happen next?

1. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within three days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
2. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to Julia T Betts, the principal, who will review your file and speak to any member of staff as necessary to complete the investigation.
3. Julia will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. This will be done within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
4. Within three days of the meeting, Julia will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions agreed with you.
5. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Julia will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including their suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
6. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will discuss the possibility of arranging for an independent person to review the decision.
7. 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.
8. If you are still not satisfied, you can contact: -

Legal Ombudsman

PO Box 6806

Wolverhampton

WV1 1WJ

about your complaint.

Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of the date of our final written response on your complaint but for further information, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333 or at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.  For more information regarding the Legal Ombudsman please visit https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/.

If we need to alter any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.

Complaints of Professional misconduct or regulatory breaches

If your complaint relates to any perceived professional misconduct, such as dishonesty, discrimination, loss or taking of money or anything of such a nature then please contact the office at the first instance and we shall resolve this issue and report as appropriate.

If you are not satisfied or comfortable that this will happen then you may contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority regarding your concern on:

Solicitors Regulation Authority

The Cube

199 Wharfside Street

Birmingham

B1 1RN

Alternatively you could visit:

https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/