COMPLAINTS POLICY
Information for Our Clients
Effective complaints handling is central to our service ethos. We want you to be completely happy with the service you receive from Goodmans Law. If you have any reason to feel dissatisfied we want you to tell us about it. We aim to :-
* make sure you are informed about your right to complain
* provide procedures which are easy to understand and follow
* resolve complaints promptly, fairly and effectively
* act promptly to investigate and resolve your concerns
* learn from complaints and take action to improve our service in future
Routine Questions And Concerns
We aim to be as approachable as possible. We hope that you will be able to discuss any routine concerns directly with the caseworker responsible for your matter. The caseworker will respond to this in a professional and courteous manner and will take every reasonable step to address any problems and put things right.
If the caseworker is not able to resolve your concerns promptly and to your complete satisfaction, or if you prefer to speak to somebody more senior, you should complain.
How To Complain
If you have a problem with any aspect of our service, including our bill, you are entitled to complain. You should address your complaint to
Solicitor/Director and Head of Personal Injury
We will accept your complaint in any format and via any medium you prefer - phone, letter, email, fax or face to face. If you need assistance to define or make your complaint please ask. Help with complaints is always given free of charge.
Acknowledgement of Your Complaint
We will
* acknowledge your complaint in writing within five working days of receiving it.
* confirm the name and position of the person who will deal with your complaint
* let you know what steps we intend to take and when you should expect to hear from us next
* provide you with a copy of our complaint policy
Investigating Your Complaint
The steps we take to investigate your complaint will depend on the nature of the concerns you have raised.
These will normally include
* A conversation with you
* A written or oral report from the caseworker who is responsible for your claim
* Examination of our file of papers
The director responsible for responding to your complaint will decide on the necessary steps to investigate your complaint.
Responding To Your Complaint
Once we have investigated your complaint we will provide you with a written response, normally within 21 days of acknowledgement.
In this letter we will
* Respond to each and every concern that you have raised
* Apologise if we have got something wrong
* Let you know what steps we have taken to put things right
* Let you know what you should do next if you remain dissatisfied
The Legal Ombudsman
We aim to resolve every complaint amicably through the above procedure. In the unlikely event that we are unable to resolve your complaint you are entitled to refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 15870, Birmingham, B30 8EB, telephone 0300 555 0333, email enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk, web www.legalombudsman.org.uk.
Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must be made within 6 months of the date of our final written response to your complaint but within 1 year of the act or omission giving rise to the complaint or within 1 year from the date you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint, without taking advice from a third party, whichever is the later. The
If your complaint concerns our bill then you may also have a right to object to the bill by applying to the Court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974.
Our Quality Commitment
At Goodmans Law we are committed to continuous improvement across all aspects of our business. Complaints are important to us because we can learn from them and take action to improve our service to you.
All complaints are recorded centrally and monitored by the Operations Manager, who is responsible for making sure that complaints are handled properly and in line with this written procedure.
If you need more information about any aspect of this policy or help to make a complaint, please ask. Help with complaints is always given free of charge.
