Duffy Fowler Gabbi 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 the person dealing with your file. If he or she cannot resolve the complaint to your satisfaction he or she will pass it to Jared Duffy.
What will happen next?
1. We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm or explain any details. If it seems appropriate we will suggest a meeting at this stage.
2. We will investigate your complaint by examining the relevant file.
3. If appropriate we will then invite you to meet us to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. We would hope to be in a position to meet with you in this way no longer than 14 days after first receiving your complaint. If you would prefer not to meet, or if we cannot arrange this within an agreeable timescale, we will write fully to you setting out our views on the situation and any redress that we would feel to be appropriate.
4. Within two days of any meeting we will write to you to confirm what took place and any suggestions that we have agreed with you. In appropriate cases we could offer an apology, a reduction of any bill or a repayment in relation to any payment received.
5. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, please let us know. We will then arrange to review our decision. We would generally aim to do this within 10 days. This will happen in one of the following ways:
- Jared Duffy will review his own decision
- We will arrange for another partner in the firm who has not been involved in your complaint to review it
- We will ask our local Law Society or another local firm of solicitors to review your complaint. We will let you know how long this process will take
- We will invite you to agree to independent mediation. We will let you know how long this process will take
6. We will let you know the result of the review within five days of the end of the review. At this time we will write to you confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons. If you are still not satisfied, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman about your complaint. We very much hope that this will not be necessary.
What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint
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. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:
within six months of receiving our 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 that there was cause for complaint.
For more information about the Legal Ombudsman contact:
www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9.00 to 17.00.
Email:
enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH
What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour
The Solicitors Regulation Authority 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. Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.