Complaints Procedure

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. We encourage you to let us know if you have any complaint or concerns about the service we have provided or our charges. This will help us to address your concerns and improve our service.

1. How to make a complaint

1.1 You can contact us in writing (by letter or email) or by telephone.

1.2 Please contact the person who is working on your matter to discuss your concerns. If you do not feel able to discuss your concerns with them, please contact the person responsible for the overall supervision of your matter, who will be named in the Scope of Work we sent you at the beginning of your matter.

1.3 If you do not feel able to raise your concerns with either of these people, or you are unsatisfied with their response, please contact our Complaints Partner, Fiona Pearson, who has overall responsibility for complaints and whose contact details are: Fiona Pearson, Partner, Governance & Risk, Michelmores LLP, Woodwater House, Pynes Hill, Exeter, Devon, EX2 5WR, Email: complaints@michelmores.com, Tel: 0333 004 3456.

1.4 To help us to understand your complaint, and in order that we do not miss anything, please tell us:

    • your full name and contact details;
    • what you think we have got wrong;
    • how you would like your complaint to be resolved; and
    • your file reference number (if you have it).

1.5 If you require any assistance in making your complaint we will try to help you.

2. How we will deal with your complaint

2.1 We will aim to acknowledge your complaint within two working days, enclosing a copy of this policy.

2.2 We will then investigate your complaint, which will involve:

    • reviewing your complaint;
    • reviewing your file(s) and other relevant documents; and
    • liaising with the person who dealt with your matter.

2.3 We may also need to ask you for further information or documents. If so, we will ask you to provide the information within a specific period of time.

2.4 We will update you on the progress of your complaint at appropriate times.

2.5 We may also, if appropriate, invite you to a meeting to discuss your complaint. You do not have to attend if you do not wish to or if you are unable to. We will be happy to discuss the matter with you by telephone or video conference.

2.6 We will write to you at the end of our investigation to tell you what we have done and what we propose to do to resolve your complaint. Where possible, we will aim to do this within 21 days of the date of our letter of acknowledgement, although we may need additional time dependent on the details of your complaint and the time taken to investigate. We have eight weeks overall from receipt of your complaint to provide our final response. Our final response concludes our complaints procedure.

2.7 We will not charge you for handling your complaint.

2.8 Please note that if we have issued a bill for work done on the matter, and all or some of the bill is not paid, we may be entitled to charge interest on the amount outstanding. This is explained in our Terms of Business which you can view at https://www.michelmores.com/contact/termsofbusiness/.

3. What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint

3.1 If we have not resolved your complaint within eight weeks, you may be able to complain to the Legal Ombudsman. This applies if you are an individual, a business with fewer than 10 employees and turnover or assets not exceeding a certain threshold, a charity or trust with a net income of less than £1m, or if you fall within certain other categories (you can find out more from the Legal Ombudsman— legalombudsman.org.uk). The Legal Ombudsman will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your matter. The Legal Ombudsman service is free of charge.

3.2 Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

    • within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint; and
    • no more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or
    • no more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

3.3 If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them as follows:

Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Tel: 0300 555 0333 between 09.00 to 16.00

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Address: Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

3.4 Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) bodies exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme. We have, however, chosen not to adopt an ADR process. If, therefore, you wish to complain further, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman.

4. What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

4.1 The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) can help 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.

4.2 You can visit the SRA’s website at http://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems to see how you can raise your concerns with the SRA.

Last updated: 22 January 2024

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