Complaints policy

BP LEGAL SOLICITORS COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

We are committed to providing a high-quality level of service to all our clients.  If you are unhappy with the service you have received, we need you to tell us about it.  This will help us to address any issues, errors or misunderstandings, and to improve our standard of service to you.

If you have a complaint, please forward this directly to the solicitor dealing with your matter, or if you prefer, please forward your complaint to our complaints director of the firm –  Bhumika Parmar – 01162536856 or by email on bhumika@bplegal.co.uk.

What will happen next?

1. Once we receive your complaint, we will acknowledge receipt of the same in writing within seven working days (which shall exclude Bank Holidays) from the day of receipt. Please note – The time limits stated above are subject to change due to closure of the office during Christmas/New Year Period and/or staff annual/sick leave, and/or any other legitimate reason.
2. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve the complaints director reviewing your file and investigating the facts of the matter with the member of staff who acted for you.
3. Within 21 working days of sending you the acknowledgement letter, our complaints director will invite you to a meeting at the office to discuss your complaint with a view to resolve the same. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, our complaints director may offer to discuss the matter by telephone instead.
4. Within seven working days of the meeting / any telephone conversation we have with you, our complaints director will write to you to confirm the contents of the meeting / telephone call and any solutions agreed with you.
5. In any case she will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including her suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 working days of sending you the written acknowledgement of your complaint referred to in paragraph 1 above.
6. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for appropriate alternative such as review by another local solicitor or mediation to review the decision.
7. We endeavour to resolve your complaint within eight weeks, after which the you may refer your complaint to Legal Ombudsman for resolution.
8. If after 8 weeks, your complaint has not been resolved, you may refer your complaint to Legal Ombudsman for resolution. You can contact the Legal Ombudsman at Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH. 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 them on 0300 555 0333. 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.
9. Solicitors Regulation Authority – 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 by visiting their website at www.sra.org.uk, by writing to them at: Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN or by telephone on 0370 606 2555 (inside the UK) or from overseas on +44 (0)121 329 6800.

Remedies

Various options are available depending on the seriousness of the complaint which are listed below for your attention:

1. We may offer an apology
2. Offer compensation for specific losses or general inconvenience
3. Offer to reduce the bill
4. We may resolve the specific problem where possible.

We will consider any remedies that you have requested while managing your expectations.  We will not charge you a fee for handling your complaint.

Time Limits

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

Confidentiality

11. You must treat complaints, and any information received during the course of dealing with complaints, with utmost confidentiality.

Monitoring compliance with this policy

12. The Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP) and the complaints manager/Director of the firm is Bhumika Parmar and is responsible for this policy. All staff must be aware of and adhere to the policy. All staff will receive training on the requirements of the policy. Complaint Files will be kept under regular review. If you notice a breach with this policy you must inform Bhumika Parmar- 01162536856 or by email on bhumika@bplegal.co.uk.
13. We will review this policy regularly and will provide information and/or training on any changes we make.
14. Please note, we will treat a complaint about our bill in the same way as any other complaint.

If you remain unsatisfied, please see below

If, we are unable to resolve the matter to your satisfaction and/or we have not resolved it to your satisfaction within the timescales referred to above, you may be able to take the matter up with the Legal Ombudsman. At the same time as providing our full response we will remind you of this right. Please note that you must make a formal complaint against us before you can take it to the Legal Ombudsman.

You can obtain more information about complaints, and what the Legal Ombudsman service can do, on their website at: http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk under the tab ‘Information for Consumers’. The website also sets out contact details for the Legal Ombudsman, which are as follows:

• Address:          PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH
• E-mail:             enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
• Telephone:      0300 555 0333.
• If your complaint relates to our bill, then you may have the right to have the bill assessed under the Solicitors Act 1974 (Part III). All complaints (written or verbal) are recorded and logged centrally to enable us to detect recurring problems. In recording such information we will comply with our obligations under the Data Protection legislation. As necessary, we will implement corrective action in response to individual complaints and improvement measures to prevent future problems. In this manner, we aim to constantly improve the service we provide.

Limitation regarding complaints to Legal Ombudsman

• If you wish to involve the Legal Ombudsman, you should do so no later than six months after the date of our final written response to your complaint, or within a year of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring (or you becoming aware of it). This should be no more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint. Please note, this is due to change from 1 April 2023 and the Law Society guidance on this change appears at Changes to the Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules | The Law Society – the time limit for referring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman will change to one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about, or when the complaint should have realised that there was cause for complaint.