Complaints Procedure

Open Law – Complaints Procedure

We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service, we have provided then you should inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.

In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues. If you would like to make a formal complaint, then please read the below procedure. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

If you have a complaint, please contact us in writing with the full details.

What will happen next?

• We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within 7 days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure.

• We will then investigate your complaint. This would be undertaken by Lisa Rowell (Lisa@open-law.co.uk),  who is a Director and Solicitor. Lisa will review your file and speak to the fee earner who acted for you. If the complaint relates to Lisa Rowell then another member of the firm’s management will write to you.
• We may want a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. This may be by video chat or in person. If such a meeting is to take place it will be within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
• Within 7 days of the meeting, we will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions that have been agreed.
• If no meeting is to take place then we will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
• At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will, if possible, arrange for someone unconnected with the matter at the firm to review the decision.
• 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.
• If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.
•  We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time you may complain to the Legal Ombudsman.

What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. 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. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

• Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint and
• No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or
• No more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them.

Contact details

Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9.00 to 17.00.

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help 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.

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.