Our Complaint Procedure
We aim to provide a high standard of service. If you are unhappy or worried about the service you have received, please tell us as soon as possible so we can try to put things right.
If you are unhappy with any aspect of our service, please speak to the person handling your case about your concerns. We will do our best to resolve the issue at that stage. If you do not feel comfortable speaking to them, please contact the person supervising your matter. Their name will be in the letter of engagement we sent to you at the start of your matter.
If you do not feel comfortable raising your concerns with the person handling your case or their supervisor, or if you have already raised your concerns and are still unhappy with the response, you can contact our Complaints Manager, Duncan Nicholson, by emailing duncan.nicholson@tollers.co.uk or writing to 1 Waterside Way, Northampton NN4 7XD.
How we will deal with your complaint
We will investigate your complaint carefully, fairly and free of charge and we will take the following steps:
- We will acknowledge your complaint within 7 days of receiving it. We may also need to ask you for further information or documents before we begin our investigation.
- The next step will be to investigate your complaint. This will usually involve reviewing your file(s) and other relevant documents and speaking to the person who dealt with your matter.
- We will provide you with a written outcome following our investigation into your complaint. 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.
- If you are not satisfied with the written outcome, you may contact Duncan Nicholson within 7 days of receiving our response and setting out the reasons for your dissatisfaction.
- Duncan Nicholson or another partner will review how we have investigated your complaint and will then send you a final written response to your complaint.
What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint
If you are not happy with our outcome or we have not responded to your complaint within 8 weeks you can contact the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman’s service is free of charge and they may be able to investigate complaints about the legal service you have received from us. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first.
The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned, or within one year from when you should have known about the complaint. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.
If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them at:
- Website: legalombudsman.org.uk
- Phone Number: 0300 555 0333
- Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
- Address: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH
The Solicitors Regulation Authority 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 concerns directly with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Data protection complaints
If you have any concerns about how your personal information has been handled or used, you can contact our Data Compliance Manager, Katie Herrod, by email at katie.herrod@tollers.co.uk or writing to 1 Waterside Way, Northampton NN4 7XD.
We will acknowledge your complaint as soon as possible and, in any event, within 30 days. We will then investigate your complaint carefully and write to you with the outcome.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk. Before raising a complaint with the ICO, they recommend that you give us the opportunity to deal with your complaint in the first instance.
