Our 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 Bridgitte Worth, our Complaints Partner. You can write to her at Russell Worth Solicitors, Ashleigh Way, Langage Park Office Campus, Plympton, Plymouth, PL7 5JX.

What will Happen Next
If we have to change any of the responsibilities or timescales set out below we will let you know and explain why.

1. Within three days 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 either personally or on the telephone at this stage. We will also let you know the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint.

2. We will then record your complaint in our central register and open a file for your complaint. We will also investigate your complaint by examining the relevant file.

3. If appropriate we will then invite you to a meeting either personally or on the telephone 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 either personally or on the telephone, or if we cannot arrange this within an appropriate timescale, I will write fully to you setting out my views on the situation and any redress that we would feel to be appropriate.

4. Within three 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 can 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 will generally aim to do this within 10 days. This will happen in one of the following ways:

• The person who investigated the complaint will review his or her own decision.
• We will arrange for someone in the firm who has not been involved in your complaint to review it.
• We will ask our local Law Society to review your complaint, and 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 not satisfied by our response you may refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman is an independent organisation with powers to resolve complaints about legal services when issues have not been resolved between the client and their lawyer. The Legal Ombudsman’s contact details are as follows:

PO Box 15870, Birmingham, B30 9EB (postal address); 03005550333 (telephone); enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk (e-mail); www.legalombudsman.org.uk (website).

The Legal Ombudsman’s service is open to all members of the public and very small businesses, charities, clubs and trusts; if in doubt whether you fall into one of the categories, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman.

Normally, you will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint.

In relation to costs, a client may alternatively have a right to apply to the Court for an assessment of the firm’s bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. If the services we have provided relate to proceedings in a Court or Tribunal, you may alternatively be entitled to have the amount of our fees checked or assessed under rules of Court or regulations applying to the particular proceedings, or under the inherent jurisdiction of the Court or Tribunal before which the proceedings have taken place.

If a client exercises a right to have the firm’s costs assessed by the Court, they cannot refer the issue to the Legal Ombudsman.

Russell Worth Solicitors, Ashleigh Way, Langage Park Office Campus, Plympton, Plymouth, PL7 5JX.

© 2010 Russell Worth Solicitors