Complaints Procedure
The practice aims to give every client a careful, honest service. If something has gone wrong, this page explains how to complain, what will happen, and how a complaint can be escalated to the Legal Ombudsman and the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
1. How to make a complaint
Please raise your concern in writing, by email to info@kevinsmithlegal.com or by post to Kevin Smith Legal, 84 Sandston Drive, Whiston, Liverpool, Merseyside, L35 7NJ, England. Mark it clearly as a complaint and include your matter reference if you have one, what went wrong, and what you would consider a fair resolution.
2. What happens next
- Acknowledgement: your complaint will be acknowledged in writing within three working days of receipt.
- Investigation: Kevin Smith will review the file and the concerns raised. Because this is a sole practice, the review is conducted personally by the solicitor, with fresh eyes and, where appropriate, external input.
- Response: you will receive a full written response within eight weeks of the complaint being made, setting out the findings and any proposed remedy.
3. The Legal Ombudsman
If you are not satisfied with the response, or if eight weeks have passed without a resolution, you may be able to take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, an independent body that investigates complaints about legal services in England and Wales.
- Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
- Telephone: 0300 555 0333
- Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
- Post: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH
Time limits apply. Normally you must bring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final response from the practice, and within one year of the act or omission you are complaining about (or within one year of when you should reasonably have known about it). The Legal Ombudsman can confirm the current limits that apply to your case.
4. The Solicitors Regulation Authority
Concerns about professional conduct, honesty, or integrity can be raised at any time with the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which regulates this practice (Practice SRA No. 8011060; Solicitor SRA No. 319685).
- Website: www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor
- Telephone: 0370 606 2555
The Legal Ombudsman deals with the quality of service. The SRA deals with professional conduct. Some complaints belong with both, and either body will direct you if you start in the wrong place.
5. Alternative dispute resolution
Where a complaint cannot be resolved directly and falls outside the Legal Ombudsman's remit, approved alternative dispute resolution bodies exist, such as ProMediate or Ombudsman Services. The practice will confirm whether it agrees to use such a scheme in the circumstances of the complaint, as the law requires.