Complaints Handling 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, please contact us with the details. Although you may prefer to call us with your complaint on 01268 692255 , it would be very helpful if you would put your complaint in writing with all the details, either by addressing your complaint to our Senior Partner, David J. Hook at Hook & Partners, by email at Info@hookandpartners.com or by post to 92/98 High Street, Canvey Island, Essex.
We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time you may complain to the Legal Ombudsman.
What will happen next?
We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint, confirming who will be dealing with it. This will normally be our Senior Partner, David J Hook. You can expect to receive this acknowledgment within three working days of us receiving your complaint together with a copy of this procedure.
We will record your complaint in our central register and open a separate file for your complaint. We will do this within two working days of receiving your complaint.
We will then tell you what will happen next. In some cases where a matter is continuing it will not be practical to deal with your complaint fully until the matter is concluded, as otherwise the transaction could become unnecessarily delayed.
We will investigate your complaint, and this will normally involve the following steps:
a) Our Mr Hook will refer your complaint to the members of staff who acted for you and ask them for an explanation in response to your complaint within five working days.
b) Mr Hook will then examine that reply, the information in your complaint and possibly your file. He may then also interview the members of staff concerned. This will take a further three to five working days from receiving the reply and the file.
c) Mr Hook will then write to you setting out his findings. When writing to you Mr Hook will set out his proposals for dealing with your complaint, where practical and appropriate. Alternatively, you may be invited to discuss the matter further with him.
At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for another partner unconnected with the matter at the firm to review the decision.
We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
If you are still unhappy you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to look into your complaint.
You can contact the Legal Ombudsman:
- by post at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
- by telephone: 0300 555 0333, or
- by email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
You must usually refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final written response to your complaint and within one year of the occurrence of the act or omission about which you are complaining (or within one year of you becoming aware of it).
Further details are available on the website:
www.legalombudsman.org.uk
If you are unhappy with our behaviour:
The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour. 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.
You can raise your concerns via their website Solicitors Regulation Authority