Complaints or concerns

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all of our clients. When something goes wrong we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards of service.

What happens if you are dissatisfied with the service you have received?

If you are unhappy with the service you have received, please raise this first with the Partner or member of staff concerned or, if you do not feel able to discuss it with them, the person responsible for overall supervision of the work. If you are a client (or their representative), they will have been named in the client care letter that we sent to you at the outset of the work.

If you do not feel able to speak to either of those people, or you are dissatisfied with their response, you can contact our Risk and Compliance Team (contact details below) setting out full details of your concerns.

Risk and Compliance Team, Ashfords LLP, Ashford House, Grenadier Road, Exeter, EX1 3LH

Telephone: 01392 333535 /Email: risk&compliance@ashfords.co.uk

Internal investigation

Our Risk and Compliance Team will arrange for your complaint to be investigated in accordance with the procedure set out below.

• Within two working days of contacting us, you will be sent an acknowledgement, which will tell you who will be investigating your complaint. The person investigating your complaint will not be someone who has been involved in the matter.
• We will fully investigate your complaint and will aim to conclude our investigation within 28 days of our acknowledgement, or the date by which we have agreed with you the issues of concern if clarification is needed.
• Our investigation will include a review of your file in relation to the issues you have complained about and we will also speak to those individuals who have undertaken work on your matter. At the end of our investigation we will send you a detailed reply confirming the outcome of our investigation.
• If we are unable to conclude our investigation within 28 days, we will contact you to explain why and will give you a revised date by which we hope to provide our substantive response.

Who can complain?

Most complaints are likely to come from clients. However, beneficiaries, third parties, other professionals and suppliers may also complain to us if they have received, been offered or been refused the benefit of a service.

Will I be charged?

You will not be charged for the investigation into your complaint.

What resolution can I expect?

If we find evidence of poor service we will seek to provide an appropriate remedy. This might include:

• An apology;
• Compensation for loss suffered;
• Compensation for inconvenience, distress or both;
• Putting things right;
• Reducing the bill or limiting fees.

If we find that there has been no poor service we will fully explain why we have come to this conclusion.

Legal Ombudsman

If you are dissatisfied with our handling of your complaint, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) to investigate. The LeO is an independent complaints body established under the Legal Services Act, which can investigate your complaint about the service that you have received from us.

The LeO expects complaints to be referred to them within one year of the date upon which the act or omission about which you are concerned took place, or within one year of the date upon which you realised that there was a concern. You must also refer your complaint to the LeO within six months of our final response.

You can contact the LeO by telephone on: 0300 555 0333, by email on: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk or by post at: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH .

Full details of the LeO Scheme can be found on their website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Solicitors Regulation Authority

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) can also help you if you are concerned about our professional conduct or 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. Visit the SRA’s website to see how you can raise your concerns: www.sra.org.uk