At Beachcroft we aim to provide the highest standards of service to our clients and to operate our business to the professional standards which others affected by our conduct have the right to expect. Dealing effectively with complaints is part of that service. If you believe our service to you as a client has fallen below these standards we want you to raise the matter so that it can be thoroughly investigated and any necessary action taken to resolve it to your satisfaction.
Set out below are our procedures for dealing with any problems. They are published internally and all staff are familiar with them. They apply only to our clients. If you are not a client of the firm, then a different process applies. Other parties to litigation or other dispute resolution procedures in which one of our clients is a party should usually raise the matter in the relevant proceedings. Otherwise please see the final section below.
In the first instance please raise any problems with the person responsible for the day-to-day conduct of the matter. Please provide us with full details of your concerns on the telephone or, if you prefer, at a meeting. We will take a careful note of your concerns and will investigate the matter.
We will do all we can to resolve the matter to your satisfaction. If we fail to do so, you will be advised to contact the Regional Senior Partner of the office within which your matter was handled. They will either oversee an investigation and further response to you from the Client Partner, or, if the Client Partner has already been involved, will investigate and respond personally.
In the unlikely event that both the Regional Senior Partner and the Client Partner have been involved at the first stage, another partner will be nominated by the Regional Senior Partner to handle the second investigation.
Most complaints will be resolved within these procedures, but if you remain unsatisfied you will be advised to contact the Senior Partner, Simon Hodson.
At each stage we will do our best to:
We will record in writing the nature of the problem, our investigation of it and the remedial action taken and you may also wish to make your own written record of events. You may be asked to confirm in writing if the problem has been satisfactorily resolved.
If after we have done everything we can to resolve matters ourselves, you are still not satisfied, or at any stage if you prefer, please contact the Legal Complaints Service:
Address: Victoria Court, 8 Dormer Place, Leamington Spa, Warwick, CV32 5AE
Phone: 01926 820082
Helpline: 0845 608 6565
Fax: 01926 431435
email: enquiries@legalcomplaints.org.uk
website: www.legalcomplaints.org.uk
If you are not a client we will only be able to deal with your complaint if you are alleging that we have acted in breach of the Solicitors Code of Conduct. We will ask you to specify the alleged breach before we deal with your complaint. Please send your complaint for the attention of the Regional Senior Partner at the office to which it relates. We will tell you as soon as reasonably possible if we consider that we agree there has been a breach and apologise if so. If you are not satisfied, or at any time if you prefer, you may ask the Solicitors Regulation Authority to investigate our conduct.
Solicitors Regulation Authority
Ipsley Court
Berrington Close
Redditch B98 0TD
0870 606 2555 (inside the UK), 09.00 to 17.00, Monday to Friday
info.services@sra.org.uk