Complaints Procedure

If you are dissatisfied with the service we have provided then you have the right to complain. The Legal Ombudsman service has been operational since October 6th, 2010 and is ultimately responsible for ensuring that complaints are dealt with appropriately. However, before you contact the Legal Ombudsman you must first register an official complaint with us. Normally, the Legal Ombudsman expects you to give us 8 weeks to try to resolve the matter. If after 8 weeks you are still dissatisfied you can then involve the  Legal Ombudsman. For more information on how the Legal Ombudsman works please  visit the Legal Ombudsman website.

Timescales

The Legal Ombudsman can investigate complaints up to six years from the date of the problem happening or within three years of when you found out about the problem. If you wish to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman this should be done within six months of the date of a final written response in relation to your complaint.

Getting Started

To register a formal complaint, please contact us either by letter or email to ahunt@mitchellplampin.co.uk  and include all the information suggested by the Legal Ombudsman – their website includes some useful checklists and sample letters.  

 What will happen next?

  1. We will write to you acknowledging receipt within three days of receiving your complaint,   enclosing a copy of this procedure.
  2. We will then investigate your complaint.  This will normally involve reviewing your matter file and obtaining the comments of the member of staff who acted for you and the head of his or her department.
  3. We will then send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
  4. If you then wish to discuss our findings you should contact Allan Hunt again and he will either discuss the matter on the phone or, if you prefer, will invite you to a meeting within the following 14 days.
  5. Within three days of the discussion or meeting, Allan Hunt will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions he has agreed with you.

  6. At that stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for another partner unconnected with the matter to review Allan Hunt’s decision.
  7. We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
  8. If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.
  9. If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman whose details are as follows:

    Telephone: 0300 555 0333
    Minicom: 0300 555 1777
    E-mail: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
    Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

    Address:
    Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806,
    Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ
  10.  You should address any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of the expiry of our complaints procedure as above.  The services of the Legal Ombudsman are not available to certain commercial clients and organisations: if this might be relevant to you, you may wish to check your eligibility by consulting their website.
  11. Alternative complaints bodies such as ProMediate (www.promediate.co.ukexist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme.  We have, however, chosen not to adopt an ADR process. If, therefore, you wish to complain further, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman   
  12. If your complaint relates to the amount of any bill you may also be entitled to apply to court for an assessment of the charges under part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. There are strict time limits for this procedure and you may wish to seek independent legal advice. We may be entitled to charge interest on any outstanding sums from any invoices that are unpaid in full or part.

 MPP Solicitors        Updated 15th March 2020