Our complaints policy
Janet Sinden & Co are committed to providing a high-quality service to all of our clients and, in the unlikely event that something should go wrong, we want to be able to put it right.
This policy explains how we will deal with any complaint that is referred to us. Your complaint might concern the way in which you have been dealt with, the quality of advice you have received or an invoice that you have received.
Please rest assured that making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.
The Complaints Process
In the first instance please raise your concerns directly with the person dealing with your matter by email, post or over the phone.
If you feel it is too delicate to raise this directly with them, or they have not addressed all your concerns to your satisfaction you should raise your concerns with Christopher Bean or the Office Manager Deborah Stanley. When you do so please set out as much detail as possible regarding your complaint. You may find the template letter on the Legal Ombudsman’s website helpful.
There are time limits for bringing a complaint and these are set out in our Terms of Business, namely within six months of the end of the matter on which you instructed us or within three months of you becoming aware of the circumstances giving rise to your complaint, whichever is the later.
It would be helpful to receive your complaint by post or email so that we can make sure we reply to all the points you raise. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within five working days. We will tell you how long it will take us to investigate your complaint. This is normally around three to four weeks although it could be less or more (either due to the circumstances of your complaint, illness or holidays). In any event, it should not take longer than eight weeks after acknowledging receipt of your complaint.
We will review your file and if necessary, talk to the person dealing with your case. We will send you the result of our investigation by email or post, depending on how you contacted us in the first place or any preference you may have. We may also offer to meet with you to discuss your complaint and resolve it.
If we agree with you and we find that the service you have received was not as we would have liked it to be, we will work with you to try and find a way to resolve your complaint. If we find that your complaint does not support a finding of poor service, we will let you know the reasons why.
The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint. 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. You must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint and no more than one year from the date of the act/omission or within one year of you realising there was a concern.
If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman please contact them
Visit www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Call 0300 555 0333 between 9am and 5pm
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806 Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ
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 your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority here.
Our professional indemnity insurers are Law Select and we have cover of £2 million.