Mackrell and Thomas Complaints Procedure
Our complaints handling procedure
At Mackrell and Thomas, we treat all complaints about our no win no fee solicitors and conveyancing solicitors’ services extremely seriously and value feedback from those who deal with us so that we can continue to improve and meet our clients’ expectations.
Our commitment
Our no win no fee solicitors who act on a no win no fee basis in our litigation claims and our conveyancing solicitors aim is to provide the very highest level of service to our clients at all times. As such we are committed to dealing with all complaints about the services we provide fully and fairly. We welcome your feedback as it helps us identify areas for improvement, ensuring our commitment to quality is not compromised. All our staff are fully trained in how to deal with complaints and are provided with regular guidance on how to follow the relevant procedures. This ensures all complaints are dealt with efficiently, ensuring consistency and compliance at all times.
What constitutes a complaint?
Any expression of dissatisfaction in any form from any source is identified as a possible complaint. All members of staff are trained to deal with any expressions of dissatisfaction and it is their job to take a view (in accordance with our guidelines) about whether a matter should be recorded as a formal complaint. All formal complaints are dealt with in accordance with our complaints procedure.
Instances of formal complaints could include:
- Issues concerning bills and payments
- The member of staff judges the matter to be sufficiently serious to warrant recording as a formal complaint
- The client bypasses the member of staff and takes the complaint directly to another member of staff or to the manager responsible for dealing with complaints
- Anyone notifying us, either verbally or in writing, that a complaint is being made
- Any dissatisfaction expressed concerning the way a matter is being or has been dealt with
Please note that disputes concerning bills may also be dealt with by applying to the court for assessment under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. Further details are provided in the notes which accompany every bill.
The Procedure – Making an initial complaint
Complaints should be raised with the person dealing with the matter or, if you prefer, with the Manager responsible for dealing with complaints (see contact details below)
Following notification of a formal complaint we will:
- Acknowledge your complaint within three working days
- Provide a formal response within twenty one days
- Tell you the name of the person handling the matter
- The matter will be fully investigated by the fee earner or head of department, overseen by the Manager responsible for dealing with complaints. There may be circumstances where the matter will be investigated by the Manager responsible for handling complaints for investigation and response.
- Upon receipt of the response, if you are unhappy with our decision, we will provide details of who to contact to complain further.
- Your complaint file will be retained by the Manager responsible for complaints
Further complaint
- Further issues will be acknowledged within three working days
- A full, formal and substantive response will be provided within twenty one days
- All complaints with relevant associated documentation are retained for a minimum of three years. Thereafter they will be confidentially destroyed.
The manager responsible for dealing with complaints regularly reviews all complaints made about the firm’s no win no fee solicitors and conveyancing solicitors. These findings are reviewed when examining the underlying operational procedures and, if appropriate, may lead to changes in policy and procedure.
Still unhappy?
If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your complaint by Mackrell and Thomas, you may contact the Legal Ombudsman. They can be contacted as follows:
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
E: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
T: 0300 555 0333
You have six months from the date of our substantive response to you regarding your complaint to complain to the Legal Ombudsman. Any Legal Ombudsman referral should be within six years from the act or omission occurring or within three years from the date the complainant should reasonably have known there were grounds for complaint.
Contacting us
If you have any comments or require further information, or you wish to complain, please contact the manager responsible for handing complaints:
Graham Rowe
Practice Manager
Mackrell and Thomas
144 Liverpool Road
Page Moss
Liverpool, L36 3RG
T: 0151 480 3666
E: graham.rowe@mackrellandthomas.com
The Solicitors Regulation Authority
The Solicitors Regulation Authority are able to offer support if you are concerned about the behaviour of Mackrell and Thomas Limited, in relation to such things as dishonesty, treating you unfairly because of your age, disability or any other relevant characteristic or taking/losing your money.
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