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Complaints Procedure

We are committed to providing a high quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards.

If you have a complaint about our delivery of legal services to you or a bill for our services, then you must raise that complaint within twelve (12) months of matter of which you wish to complain.

Please contact Mr Simon R B Stell, our Regulatory & Projects Partner.

You can write to him at:

LCF Law

One St James Business Park,

New Augustus Street,

Bradford

BD1 5LL,

West Yorkshire

Email : ku.oc1714110616.fcl@1714110616llets1714110616s1714110616

What will happen next?

We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm or explain the details set out.  You can expect to receive our letter within three days (Date One) of us receiving your complaint.

We will record your complaint in our central register.  We will do this within one day of receiving your complaint.

We will then start to investigate your complaint.  This will normally involve the following steps:

  • We will ask the member of staff who acted for you to respond to the matters you raise within five days.
  • We will then examine their reply, the issues that you raise and your file (where appropriate).  This will take up to five days from receiving their reply and the file.
  • Thereafter, if appropriate, we will then invite you to meet in person or via TEAMS conference call to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint.

Within two days of the meeting (Date One plus 15 working days), we will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions he has agreed with you.

If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible or practicable, we will send you a detailed reply to your complaint.  This would include suggestions for resolving the matter.  We will do this within five days of completing our investigations and in any event not more than 21 days from receipt of your complaint (Date One plus 15 working days).

At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you can write to us again.  We will then arrange to review our decision.  This will happen in one of the following ways:

Another partner in the firm will review the Regulatory & Projects Partner’s decision within ten working days (Date One plus 25 working days).

We will let you know the result of the review within five days of the end of the review (Date One plus 30 working days).  At this time, we will write to you confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.  We will also give you the name and address of the Legal Ombudsman.  If you are still not satisfied, you can contact them about your complaint.

If you are not satisfied with the conclusions reached or the process of the way your complaint has been handled, you have a right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman

As of 1 April 2023, the Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them:

  • within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint.

and

  • no more than one year from the date of the act/omission you are concerned about; or
  • no more than one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

You should address your complaint to:

The Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough , SL1 0EH - Tel: 0300 555 0333

Email:  ku.gr1714110616o.nam1714110616sdubm1714110616olage1714110616l@sei1714110616riuqn1714110616e1714110616

Alternative complaints bodies exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme.

We agree to use:

ADR Group, 160 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2DQ  - Email: ku.oc1714110616.puor1714110616grda@1714110616etups1714110616id-re1714110616musno1714110616c1714110616

Website: http://www.consumer-dispute.co.uk

The following may complain to the Legal Ombudsman

  • An individual.
  • A micro-enterprise as defined in European Recommendation 2003/361/EC (broadly an enterprise with fewer than 10 staff and a turnover or balance sheet not exceeding $2 million)
  • A charity with an annual income of less than £1 million; or
  • A trustee of a trust with a net asset value less than £1 million; or a personal representative or residuary beneficiaries of an estate where a person with the complaint dies before referring it to the Legal Ombudsman.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (‘SRA’)

The SRA deals with cases where firms or those the SRA regulates have breached the SRA Principles. Most of the time, complaints about solicitors are about poor service, and therefore should be sent to the Legal Ombudsman. If the Legal Ombudsman thinks your case involves a breach of the SRA Principles, they will refer your case to the SAR. Likewise, if you report a solicitor to the SRA for poor service, they will refer you to the Legal Ombudsman; The SRA does not have the power to award compensation for poor service, or to reduce or refund your legal fees.

You should direct your communication to:

Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham B1 1RN

Or via their website: www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor