Complaints Procedure

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

Please be assured that your complaint will be dealt with promptly, fairly and free of charge.

Initial concerns

In many cases, an informal chat with the lawyer responsible for your matter will resolve your concerns.

If it does not then you can formalise your complaint by email or letter and send it to Robert Williams our Complaints Handler. If you would prefer to speak to someone about your issue rather than write then please telephone Robert Williams or one of his assistants, who can record everything you are unhappy about and what you would like by way of resolution, as well as explaining the next steps of the process.

You can contact Robert Williams via email ; Robert.williams@ghplegal.com, by telephone : 01978 291456 or by post:

The client care documentation provides that:

“During the course of the matter, if there is any aspect about which you are concerned or require clarification, then please raise it with the person who is handling the matter with a view to the matter being resolved quickly.  If you remain concerned or you and we could not agree an appropriate course of action, then please take it up with the Practice Manager Mrs Nicola Thomas or the Complaints Handler, Robert Wiliams, who would contact you, and attempt to resolve the matter to your satisfaction. ”.

Please be assured that there is no fee for making a complaint and you/the progress/outcome of your matter will not be affected or disadvantaged because you are making a complaint.  A proper standard of work will be maintained, and your complaint will be dealt with fairly, separately from the complaint.

To deal with your complaint correctly, it would be helpful when contacting us if you could provide the following information:

• Your name, contact details and preferred contact method
• File reference number
• Details of your concerns
• How you would like us to put things right.

If a complaint is received by the Practice Manager or Complaints Handler, then unless the complaint is promptly resolved to your satisfaction, the following procedure applies:

1.       Upon receiving the complaint, a letter acknowledging it will be sent to you within 7 calendar days (but hopefully within 3 working days)

2.       The complaint will be investigated.  This will normally involve passing the complaint to the Complaints Handler, Mr Robert Williams, [but if the complaint relates to Mr Robert Williams, it will be passed to Mr Richard Lloyd (COLP)], who will review the matter file and speak to the lawyer who acted for you.  It may be necessary for the investigator to ask you for further information either at the outset of the investigation or during the course of the investigation.  The further information may be provided in writing or may be provided in a meeting.  The investigator will consider any further information received from you.

3.       Within 8 weeks of receiving the complaint, a substantive response will be issued to you, setting out the investigator’s view of the matter, and any proposals.  Hopefully this will resolve the matter. 

4.       If a meeting takes place with you at any stage, within 14 days after the meeting a letter will be sent to you, confirming what took place and any solutions the investigator has agreed with you.

5.       If you are not satisfied with the decision, you must within 8 weeks of the decision inform the Firm of this and the Firm will then arrange to review the decision.  This will happen in one of the following ways:

(a)      Within 8 weeks, Mr Robert Williams [or Mr Richard Lloyd, as the case may be] will review the decision, or

(b)      Within 8 weeks we will arrange for another Partner or someone unconnected with the matter at the Firm to review it, or

(c)      Within 8 weeks we will ask our local Law Society or another local Firm of Solicitors to review the complaint (and, if so, you will be informed as to how long this process will take).

6.       If the review is carried out by Mr Robert Williams [or Mr Richard Lloyd] under 5(a), you will be informed of his/her decision within 8 weeks.  If the original decision is reviewed by another Partner or someone unconnected with the matter at the Firm under 5(b), you will be informed of his/her decision within  8 weeks.  In each case, this will set out the Firm’s final position on the complaint and an explanation of the reasons for the decision.

7.       If the Firm has to change any of the timescales above, you will be informed in writing and provided with an explanation

8.       If you are have exhausted our internal escalation process yet remain dissatisfied you are entitled to contact the Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH about the complaint. The Legal Ombudsman will look at the complaint independently and any investigation by them will not affect how we handle your case.

9.       Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check:

• You have tried to resolve the complaint with us in the first instance and
• You have suffered significant financial loss, distress, inconvenience or detriment, which deems it proportionate for them to investigate.

We will always be happy to discuss your issues further, prior to you going down this route if you wish to do so.

10.     For further information, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333 or at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk or online using their online complaints form or by post – Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH. 

11.     Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of the date of our final written response to your complaint.    You should also be aware that the Ombudsman will consider your complaint if you refer it on to them within either of the following:

• One year from the date of the act or omission being complained about OR
• One year from the date when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint

The Ombudsman has discretion to extend the one year time limit for specific customers, if, on the evidence, it is fair and reasonable to do so.

12.     Note that the Legal Ombudsman service cannot be used by businesses or most other organisations, unless they are below certain size limits.   Further details are available from the Legal Ombudsman’s website.

13.     It is worth considering, whilst it is open to you to submit a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, they apply strict criteria to determine whether they will ultimately accept a complaint for a full investigation. They have the discretion to dismiss or discontinue all or part of a complaint if they believe:

a)     it does not have any reasonable prospects of success.

b)    you have not suffered (and are unlikely to suffer) significant financial loss, distress, inconvenience or detriment.

c)     it is frivolous, vexatious, lacks merit or where there is a compelling reason not to accept it.

d)    the likely impact, size, complexity, scope, volume of evidence or your conduct render it disproportionate/unreasonable/impossible for the complaint to be investigated.

e)     you have previously complained about the same issue to them, unless you provide material evidence that is likely to affect the outcome which only became available to you after you submitted the original complaint.

f)      there has been undue delay in the complaint being raised.

        Also note:

a)     If, during the course of an ongoing investigation by the Ombudsman, a revised/increased offer is made by us which is deemed to be fair and reasonable redress and you decide to reject that offer, the Ombudsman has the discretion to dismiss or discontinue all or part of your complaint.

b)    If you have already accepted an offer to settle your complaint made by us during our internal complaint handling process, which is deemed to be fair and reasonable redress, unless there has been some significant intervening act, you will not be able to have that agreement overturned in the hope of securing a preferential outcome by pursuing your complaint via the Ombudsman.

For more information on the Legal Ombudsman’s rules and requirements, please see their Scheme Rules dated April 2023.       

14.     The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) 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

15.     Visit the Reporting an individual or firm page of their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the SRA

16.     If your unresolved complaint relates to an insurance policy covering your case, you may contact the Financial Ombudsman Service via phone on: 08000234567, email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk, via their website online complaint form or alternatively via post : Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange, London, E14 9SR.

17.     If your unresolved complaint relates to a data protection matter, it is open to you to contact the ICO:  via live chat on their website,  helpline : 03031231113

18.     If your complaint cannot be resolved, you may also be able to ask for it to be referred to a process of alternative dispute resolution using a certified provider.  We are not required to agree to such a request.  In any case, this is not available to businesses, only consumers.   We will give you more information about that right if it becomes relevant.