Our Complaints Policy and Procedures

Information for Our Clients

Belmores is committed to providing a high quality legal service to all our clients.  When something goes wrong, or appears to go wrong, we need you to tell us about it.  This will help us to improve our standards.  We aim to:

• make sure you are informed about your right to complain;
• provide procedures which are easy to understand and follow;
• act promptly to investigate and resolve complaints fairly, openly and effectively;
• provide appropriate remedies, acknowledge mistakes and apologise where appropriate;
• record and monitor complaints in order to seek continuous improvement.

Routine Questions and Concerns

We hope that you will be able to discuss any routine questions and concerns with the solicitor or caseworker who has been dealing with your matter.  In order to try and prevent  any dissatisfaction you may have developing into a formal complaint, the solicitor or caseworker will respond to you in a professional and courteous manner and will take all reasonable steps to address any problems and put things right.

If the solicitor or 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

What is a Complaint?

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about the way in which we have carried out, or failed to carry out our work, which requires a response.

How to Complain

Formal complaints should be directed to Dave Foulkes, a solicitor, supervisor and director, preferably in writing. Contact details are as follows:

If your complaint is about work carried out by Dave Foulkes, the complaint will be investigated by Gina Mattioli who is also a director. Contact details are as follows:

Acknowledgement of your Complaint

We will:

• acknowledge your complaint in writing within 7 days;
• 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;
• record your complaint in our central register;
• provide you with a copy of our Complaints Policy.

Investigating your Complaint

In order to investigate your complaint Dave Foulkes (or Gina Mattioli if your complaint is about Dave Foulkes) will:

• speak to the solicitor or caseworker who has been dealing with your matter;
• examine the case file;
• invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint if it is considered that a meeting is practicable, is in the best interests of both parties and will facilitate a resolution.

Responding to your Complaint

If a meeting takes place, Dave Foulkes (or Gina Mattioli if your complaint is about Dave Foulkes) will write to you within 5 working days to confirm what took place and any solutions he has agreed with you.

If a meeting is not considered appropriate, we will explain why we do not believe that a meeting is necessary.  In these circumstances, we will send you a written response to your complaint, normally within 21 days of acknowledgement. 

In our written response we will:

• respond to each and every concern you have raised;
• make suggestions for resolving your complaint;
• 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 if you remain dissatisfied.

Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

The Legal Ombudsman

We aim to resolve every complaint amicably through our complaints procedure.  In the unlikely event that we are unable to resolve your complaint, you are entitled to refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman by letter to PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ, by phone 0300 555 0333 or by email enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.  Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first.  The Legal Ombudsman will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case. 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 6 months of our final response to you.

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 111 of the Solicitors Act 1974. If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.  You will not incur any fees for the time spent in dealing with your complaint.

Solicitors Regulation Authority

We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
If you are unhappy with our behaviour the SRA can help.  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.
Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the SRA.
https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor

Our Quality Commitment

At Belmores we are committed to continuous improvement.  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 our directors.
If you need more information about any aspect of our complaints policy and procedure or help to make a complaint, please ask.

October 2023