Barcan+Kirby Complaints Policy

Our client complaints policy

We want to provide you with the best possible service. However, if something goes wrong or you are concerned about our service, we want you to tell us about it as soon as possible. This will help us to resolve any problem and help us to maintain and improve our standards.

If, at any point, you are unhappy or have any concerns about the way your matter is dealt with, or about your bill, please raise those concerns as soon as possible with the person dealing with your matter. We will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage.

If you want to raise a formal complaint, you can read our full complaints procedure below. If you have special needs which we should take into account due to language or disability, please let us know.

Barcan+Kirby LLP does not charge for work involved in dealing with complaints using this procedure and making a complaint will not affect how we handle your matters.

Our complaints procedure – what happens next?

Our aim is to resolve your complaint as quickly and as smoothly as possible. If you have a complaint and you have been unable to resolve it informally with the person dealing with your matter, please refer your complaint to the person with overall responsibility for your matter, whose name should have been given to you in the Letter of Engagement we sent you when you instructed us. If you are unaware of their name, please telephone us to enquire.

It would be helpful when contacting us if you could provide the following:

• Your name and preferred contact details
• The reference number associated with your matter
• Your concerns and how you would like us to put them right

If you are unable to set out your complaint to us in writing, please telephone to discuss your concerns.

We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint within three working days of receiving the formal complaint and we will enclose a copy of this procedure. Your complaint will be recorded in our central register.

We will then investigate the circumstances surrounding your complaint. This will normally involve reviewing the file and speaking to the member of staff who acted for you. We may ask you to explain your complaint in more detail. This request may be by letter, telephone or email, or we may propose a meeting with you.

We will then respond to your complaint in writing. We aim to reply within 15 working days of acknowledging receipt of your complaint, but if we need a little more time to reply, we will let you know and explain why.

Appeal stage

If, after receiving our response to your complaint you are not satisfied, you should contact us again within 10 working days of our response to set out your reasons why you are unhappy. We will then review our decision. This will normally be dealt with by Gemma Geoghegan, a Partner of this firm (or, in their absence, a Partner not previously involved in your complaint) who will advise you of their conclusions and the reason for them. We will aim to do this within 10 working days of receiving your request for further review. If for any reason this is not possible we will let you know.

If you are still unhappy, you may be able to refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman.

Ombudsman’s review

We have eight weeks in total to consider your complaint unless we agree a longer period between us. If we have not resolved it within this time, you may complain to the Legal Ombudsman if you are an individual or a small business.

The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one year of you realising there was a concern.  You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.

For further information, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333; via email at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk, via their website or by post at:

PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

We are required to inform you about ADR. This is another form of mediation separate to the Legal Ombudsman. Approved ADR bodies such as ProMediate are available to deal with complaints about legal services and you can find more about ADR online if you wish. We do not agree to use any companies within the ADR scheme in all cases, but may be willing to do so in appropriate cases.  This does not prevent you from contacting the Legal Ombudsman about your complaint as set out above, and we will fully co-operate with them should you do so.

Further information

This procedure does not apply:

• To cases where you consider we have been negligent.
• Any other situation where we have a professional obligation to refer you to another Solicitor.
• If your complaint concerns dishonesty, taking or losing your money or discrimination in which case you can raise these issues with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Please see their website and go to their consumer/problems report-solicitor page.
• The Legal Ombudsman may not consider a complaint about a bill if an application has been made to the Court for assessment.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority address is:
The Cube
199 Wharfside Street
Birmingham
B1 1RN

0370 606 2555
report@sra.org.uk
www.sra.org.uk