Complaints procedure

We value your business and do not wish you to have any reason to be unhappy with us. We are grateful to you for drawing your concerns to our attention. This helps us improve our standards.

1. In the first instance, it may be necessary to contact the person working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage. However, in the event you would like to make a formal complaint, please contact our Complaints Team who are overseen by the firm's Complaints Partner, Daniel Woodley.
   By post: DW Solicitors, Queens House, Queens Street, Barnstaple, Devon EX32 8HJ
2. We will acknowledge your complaint in writing within five days, but please note that our Complaints Procedure normally only applies to our clients, prospective clients and to beneficiaries in an estate.
3. The Complaints Team will take details of your complaint or review the details you have provided and discuss them with you, the Legal Adviser dealing with the matter, and if appropriate their Head of Department. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.
4. The Complaints Team will then review the information and, on most occasions, the case file. They will then provide you with a substantive response to your complaint, with a suggested way forward under the supervision of the nominated Complaints Partner. If you accept that this resolves your complaint, this will be the end of the process.
5. If you remain unhappy with the initial response, we would offer you the opportunity to resolve the complaint using Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) via Pro Mediate UK Limited, The Legal Complaints Service, Brow Farm, Top Road, Frodsham WA6 6SP (www.promediate.co.uk). They are competent to deal with complaints about legal services, should you and we agree to use them. If you (and we) accept their proposed resolution, that would be the end of the process. You do not have to agree to this ADR and can go straight to the Legal Ombudsman upon receipt of the firm's substantive response.
6. You also have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman, the details of which are given below. You have six months from the date of our final response to complain to the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman will only investigate complaints from certain categories of clients, prospective clients, and beneficiaries of an estate. Please see their website for further details.

   Address

   PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

   Telephone

   0300 555 0333

   Website

   www.legalombudsman.org.uk

7. There would be no charge to you at any stage of the complaint investigation, including the appointment of the ADR firm, and any involvement of the Legal Ombudsman.
8. Timescales - You will be provided with a substantive response to your complaint within 6 to 8 weeks. The Legal Ombudsman will provide you with an estimated timescale, which may vary according to the complexity of the complaint. We have no control over their timescale, save that we will comply, so far as possible, with requests made to us for information within the periods they set.

   If for good reason we are unlikely to be able to provide you with a substantive response or engage in mediation, we will inform you.

   If you feel we have delayed unreasonably in responding to your complaint, you can complain direct to the Legal Ombudsman, but they will normally allow law firms up to 8 weeks to respond to complaints.

9. Time limits - From 1 April 2023, you have 12 months from the date of the act or omission to inform the Legal Ombudsman of your complaint.

   If you wish to complain to the Legal Ombudsman because you are dissatisfied with our response, you must contact them within six months of our substantive response. The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

   Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first.

10. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.

    You can raise your concerns with the SRA by following the guidance on their website at www.sra.org.uk. You do not have to be a client of this firm in order to be able to complain to the SRA.

11. This complaints procedure is designed to address complaints of inadequate service. If you think we have made a mistake, we may have to report this to our insurers. In that event we are sometimes obliged to discuss the matter with them before we can respond. At that stage you may be advised of the need to take advice from an independent solicitor, but we will, where possible, seek to put matters right. However, sometimes our professional rules deem it to be a conflict of interest if we advise further in situations where we are alleged to have made a mistake. If you make a claim against us because you believe we have made a mistake or have been negligent, this may affect your ability to complain to the Legal Ombudsman, whilst the claim is running.
12. If your complaint is about the amount you have been charged, please note that you have the right to apply to the Court to have our invoice assessed, as set out on our invoices sent to you. This is a complex procedure on which we would suggest you seek independent advice.