Our Complaints Policy
Our Complaints Policy
We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients.
When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us improve our standards.
We will deal with your complaint promptly, fairly and free of charge.
If you have a complain, please provide us with full details. In the first instance please contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage.
If you would like to make a formal complaint - Our Complaints Procedure is as follows: -
Complaint Procedure
Please send details of your complaint to Susan Howarth at Susan Howarth & Co Solicitors Ltd, 41 Chesterway, Northwich, Cheshire CW9 5JE, Tel: 01606 48777 or email info@susanhowarthsolicitors.co.uk .
What happens next?
1. We will write to you acknowledging your complaint and may ask you to provide further details if necessary. You can expect to receive our letter within one week of us receiving your complaint.
2. We will also let you know the name of the name of the Director who will be dealing with your complaint. If your complaint is about a Director, then we will ensure that your complaint is handled by another Director of the Practice or another Solicitor of the practice.
3. We will start to investigate your complaint this will normally involve: -
- Asking the member of staff who acted for you to comment on your complaint within two weeks.
- We will, if necessary, also speak to the member of staff who acted for you.
- We will then consider your complaint, the comments of the relevant member of staff and examine your file.
- If we deemed appropriate, we may invite you into the office to discuss your complaint.
4. We will write to you with a detailed reply to your complaint. This may include our suggestions for resolving the matter We will do this within eight weeks of our acknowledging your complaint.
5. However, if you remain unhappy with our response then you can refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman (LeO), an independent complaints body established under the Legal Services Act, who can investigate complaints about the legal service you have received from us.
The Legal Ombudsman can investigate complaints up to one year from the date of the problem occurring or one year from when you should have realised there was cause for complaint.
If you wish to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman this must be done within six months of the date of our final response letter.
You can contact the Legal Ombudsman by visiting www.legalombudsman.org.uk contacting them on 0300 555 0333 or by email on enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Or you can write to them at;
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH
Your right to complain is not restricted simply to our conduct but also about the amount of our bill. In addition to your rights to complain about our bill under our Complaints Procedure and to the Legal Ombudsman, you may also have a right to object to the bill by applying to the Court for an assessment of the bill under Part 3 of the Solicitors Act 1974. We are obliged to inform you that if all or any part of the bill remains unpaid, we may be entitled to charge interest upon it.
Written: October 2022
Reviewed: March 2024