What to do if you have a complaint

 

Spencer Legal Consulting Limited is committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need to address the problem and your concerns.
In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the member(s) of the firm acting for you. Naturally, they will do their best to resolve any issues.

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If you wish to make a formal complaint, then you may do so in accordance with our Complaints Policy (see below). Making a complaint will not affect our instructions and the services we provide to you, though it may cause a conflict. This is explained in our Complaints Policy.

 

This firm and all the solicitors in it are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. If your concern relates to compliance with our professional rules (for example, regarding matters of honesty, protecting any money we hold for you or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or another characteristic), then you can still ask us to address this directly or through our Complaints Policy. In the alternative, you are entitled to raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority directly. You can click here for the contact details of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

 

What do to if we cannot resolve your complaint

 

We will deal with your complaint in accordance with our Complaints Policy. Usually this will involve seeking to resolve the matter with you commercially or our investigating your complaint and our issuing you with our findings in the form of a complaint determination letter. Our complaint determination letter will contain the results of our investigation and explain what further steps you can take. If we do not do this, or if we do but not to your satisfaction, then subject to scheme rules, you may approach the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving our complaint determination letter, or if we fail to respond to you, within eight weeks of our receipt of your complaint. Click here for details of our Complaints Policy, which includes details as to how and when you can complain to the Legal Ombudsman.

 

Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you are eligible to make use of its services, that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first and that it is able to make a determination on the matter about which you are complaining.

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Spencer Legal Formal Complaints Policy

 

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to our clients.  When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it.  This will help us to sort out any mistakes or misunderstandings, and to improve our standards of service.

 

If you have a complaint, please raise the problem with the lawyer responsible for your matter, or if you prefer, our complaints partner, namely Jonathan Jones.  Please note that there is no charge for complaints handling.

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What will happen next?

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1. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing usually within two working days of receiving it and enclose a copy of this procedure.​

2. We will then investigate your complaint.  This will normally involve our complaints partner reviewing your file and speaking to the member of staff who acted for you.

3. Within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter our complaints partner will aim to invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint.  Our complaints partner may, in the interim period, contact you to clarify our understanding of the complaint and to ask you for copies of any relevant documents.

4. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible for you to attend one, our complaints partner may instead offer you a chance to discuss the matter by telephone. 

5. Usually within seven days of the meeting, or any telephone conversation we have with you instead of a meeting, our complaints partner will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions we have agreed with you.

6. We will keep an open mind with regard to reasonable remedies and solutions.

7. In any case our complaints partner will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including his or her suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the written acknowledgement of your complaint referred to in paragraph 1 above.

8. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for another partner, somebody unconnected with the matter at the firm or, if the firm believes it is reasonable and justified in the circumstances to do so, a solicitor from another firm to review the decision.

9. We will ordinarily write to you within 21 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.

10. If you are still not satisfied, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806,
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ 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.  Note that the Legal Ombudsman service cannot be used by businesses or most other organisations unless they are below certain size limits.  Further details are available from the Legal Ombudsman.

11. If we have to change any of these timescales we will let you know and explain why.