COMPLAINTS HANDLING POLICY / PROCEDURE
You may have asked for our complaints procedure, or you may be receiving this because you have experienced a problem with our service.
If you have experienced a problem, thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. We will do our best to address any dissatisfaction that you have experienced in using the services of this firm. Our primary objective is to put things right.
Our complaints policy
We are committed to providing a high-quality service to our clients. This includes a commitment to putting things right when they go wrong. This policy explains how we will deal with any complaint.
Our complaints procedure
First Stage
In the first instance, please raise your concerns directly with the person dealing with your case or transaction by email, post or over the phone.
If you feel that it is too delicate for you to raise this directly with them, or they have not addressed all your concerns to your satisfaction, you should raise your concerns with their supervising Partner whose name will be mentioned in our engagement letter to you, sent at the beginning of your case or transaction. Alternatively, you may simply ring us to request that information.
If neither the person with conduct of your matter nor their supervisor can resolve your concerns to your satisfaction, your complaint will reach the second stage.
Second Stage
If neither the person dealing with your matter nor their supervisor can resolve your concerns to your satisfaction, you should raise your concerns with our Complaints Manager.
Our complaints manager is Llio Phillips. You can contact her by post at Cartrefle, Bridge Street, Newcastle Emlyn, SA38 9DX or by e-mail at llio@agriadvisor.co.uk. It is helpful if you put your concerns into writing, but if you would prefer not to, or if you would find it difficult to do so, she can be contacted by phone on 01239 710942.
If you have special needs which we should take into account due to language or disability, please let us know.
To explain to you how long our process might take we have included our target times for each stage of the process. Where, for any reason, it is not possible to observe any of these limits we will let you know and explain why.
| Action | Timescale |
| FIRST STAGE
The person with conduct of your matter or supervising Partner will acknowledge the complaint in writing, send a copy of the complaints procedure to you and invite you to a meeting or arrange a telephone discussion with you. |
Within 2 working days. |
| The person with conduct of the matter or supervising Partner will write to you with the outcome of the meeting or telephone discussion. | Within 3 working days of the meeting/telephone discussion. |
| SECOND STAGE
If the issues have not been resolved to your satisfaction, please write to the Complaints Manager direct. |
Contact us within 6 months of your first stage outcome letter. |
| Upon receipt of your communication the Complaints Manager will write to you acknowledging receipt of your complaint. | Within 3 working days of receipt of your written confirmation that the matter remains unresolved. |
| The Complaints Manager will investigate the issues and write to you with the outcome. | Within 21 days of the complaint being referred to the Complaints Manager. |
| Review and close the complaint. | Within 8 weeks of receiving the complaint. |
Legal Ombudsman
If we are unable to resolve your complaint, then you can have the complaint independently looked at by the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about service issues with lawyers.
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.
The address is PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ, telephone 0300 555 0333 or email enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.
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. They cannot help with compensation, or handle disputes about fees, debts, or legal disagreements.
Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.