Our complaints handling policy & procedure
If we have to change any of the timescales below, we will let you know and explain why.
Our complaints handling policy
Longden Walker & Renney is 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 handling procedure
If you have a concern or a complaint, please contact us as soon as you are aware of the problem so this can be addressed. Contact the person handling your case in the first instance to see if we can resolve the matter that way but if you wish to formally complain then you should contact our complaints Director, Mrs Laura Robinson, in writing at our office address or by e-mail law@longdens.co.uk
What will happen next?
1. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within five days of your raising your concerns, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
2. We will then investigate your complaint. If the complaint is over the way a case has been handled from a technical point of view, Mrs Robinson will register your complaint then pass the matter to a Director in the Department that handled your case who will review your matter file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you. If the complaint is a non-technical matter then Mrs Robinson will review your matter file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you.
3. You will then be invited to a meeting (either in the office or by telephone, whichever is more convenient for you) to discuss and, it is hoped, resolve your complaint. We will do this within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
4. Within three days of the meeting, Mrs Robinson will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions we have agreed with you.
5. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible or practical, or if we suggest it and you agree it, we will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including any 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 to explain why you remain unhappy with our response and we will review your comments. Depending on the matter we may at this stage arrange for another Director to review the decision.
7. We will write to you within 21 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 then contact the Legal Ombudsman at PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH or call 0300 555 0333 about your complaint. Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of your receiving a final written response from us regarding your complaint.
The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within a year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within a year of you realising there was a concern. However, the requirement to refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you remains the same.
The Legal Ombudsman has provided further guidance on its service at www.legalombudsman.org.uk.
If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.