We are committed to providing a quality service to our clients. We value feedback from clients greatly because it helps us to continually improve our service. If you do not feel that you are receiving excellent client service or that something could be improved, please do tell us about it. If we have fallen short of the high standards which we have set for ourselves then we would like the opportunity to put it right.

What do I do if I have feedback or a complaint?

At first it would be helpful if you could discuss any feedback or concerns which you have about our service or how it might be improved with the lawyer dealing with your matter. If the lawyer dealing cannot resolve your concern informally, or if the issue is of such a serious nature that you do not feel comfortable raising it with your lawyer, then you may discuss this with our complaints partner as a complaint under this policy.

How do I raise a complaint under this policy?

It would help us if you could email with:

• why you feel dissatisfied with the service which you have received;
• how you would prefer to be contacted about your complaint;
• if there is anything in particular which you would like us to do to resolve your complaint.

If you would prefer not to email details of your complaint in this way then please call to discuss the best way to get an understanding of your concerns.

What happens after I have made a complaint under this policy?

We will:
• send an acknowledgement of your complaint within 7 days of receiving it;
• log your complaint on our central complaints register;
• investigate the concerns and arrange a discussion with you to try to agree how to resolve
the issues within 21 days of receiving your complaint;
• write to you within 28 days of receiving your complaint to confirm the outcome of this.

In exceptional circumstances it may be necessary to extend these timescales, but we will try to agree any variations with you first. If you remain unsatisfied after 8 weeks at the latest we will always ensure that you are reminded at that time of how to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman if you are eligible to do so.

What might the outcome of my complaint be?

We very much regret any dissatisfaction which our clients experience and will not hesitate to apologise to you where our service has fallen below our high standards. We may also agree that certain steps will be taken to improve your situation and to ensure that any problems experienced will not reoccur.

What if I remain unsatisfied?
The Legal Ombudsman may be able to help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at complaints independently and accessing the Ombudsman will not affect how we handle your case. Most ‘consumer’ clients (as opposed to large businesses) will be able to make use of the Ombudsman scheme however there are restrictions for some larger clients. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will normally check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first.

Time Limits:

If you wish to raise a complaint with the Ombudsman then you should not delay bringing it to their attention once our own complaints process has concluded as there are some time limits on when this must be done.

You must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint from us. From 1 April 2023, the Legal Ombudsman also expects complaints to be made to them within 1 year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within 1 year of you realising there was a concern. The requirement to refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you remains the same.

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

Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Call: 0300 555 0333 (between 9am to 5pm).
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Address: Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

What about complaints of misconduct? 

VS Lawyers is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (Authorisation no. 8005569). If you have any concerns about any misconduct or breach of the SRA Code of Conduct by our firm such as taking or losing your money, dishonesty, or discrimination, you can also report the matter to our regulatory body, the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Their details are:

The Solicitors Regulation Authority

The Cube
Wharfside Street
Birmingham
B1 1RN
0370 606 2555

http://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.page