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.oc1780830303.fcl@1780830303llets1780830303s1780830303
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
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.oc1780830303.puor1780830303grda@1780830303etups1780830303id-re1780830303musno1780830303c1780830303
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
Data Protection Complaints
Below we detail how the firm handles data protection complaints. It supplements the firm’s existing Complaints Procedure and should be read alongside our Privacy Policy.
A data protection complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about how the firm has handled personal data, including concerns about data security, accuracy, retention, sharing, or the handling of data subject rights requests.
Where a complaint raises both service issues and data protection concerns, the data protection aspects will be handled in accordance with this annex, while service issues will continue to be addressed under the firm’s Complaints Procedure.
A complaint relating solely to service quality does not constitute a data protection complaint.
Who Can Complain
Any individual (including clients, employees, former employees, or third parties) who believes the Firm has infringed data protection legislation in the way it processes personal data may make a data protection complaint.
Complaints can be made through any channel (i.e. email, letter or telephone call).
How to Make a Data Protection Complaint
Data protection complaints may be made:
By email to: Kate McFarlane – ku.oc1780830303.fcl@1780830303enalr1780830303afcmk1780830303
In writing to: F.A.O Kate McFarlane LCF Law, One St James Business Park, New Augustus Street, BRADFORD, BD1 5LL
By telephone: 01274 848800
Complaints submitted via general complaints or correspondence channels will be recognised and treated as data protection complaints where appropriate.
Acknowledgement and Handling
The firm will acknowledge receipt of a data protection complaint within 30 days.
The 30-day period begins the day after receipt, where the 30 day falls on a non-business day, next working day will be when we issue an acknowledgement
- The complaint will be investigated without undue delay, including making appropriate enquiries.
- Where necessary, we may request further information from the complainant to help investigate the complaint.
- The complainant will be kept informed of progress where the investigation is ongoing.
Outcome
The firm will, as soon as reasonably practicable and without undue delay, inform the complainant in writing, detailing:
- The outcome of the firm’s investigation, and
- The rationale for the firm’s position, and
- Will detail either the firm’s compliance with data protection regulations, or where applicable, any actions to be taken or proposed as a result of its investigations into the complaint.
Escalation
If the complainant remains dissatisfied after receiving the Firm’s response, they have the right to raise the matter with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
ICO contact details for complaints are available at:
Via telephone to the ICO helpline on 0303 123 1113
Responsibility
Responsibility for overseeing the handling of data protection complaints rests with the firm’s Complaints Partner and Data Privacy Manager.
Updated June 2026
