Complaints

Complaints

At Pinney Talfourd LLP we strive to deliver a high level of service to all of our clients.  We hope that you never have reason to complain about our services or charges but if something should go wrong or you are disappointed with the level of service that you have received then please do tell us.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of our service then please raise this in the first instance with the Lawyer you are dealing with at the firm.  If for any reason you do not wish to do so or if you remain dissatisfied then please contact our Client Services Partner, Catherine Polli, who will deal with any issue raised on an informal basis: 01708 229444 or catherine.polli@pinneytalfourd.co.uk.  If you have not been able to resolve the issue informally then please contact our Managing Partner, Philip Cockram  philip.cockram@pinneytalfourd.co.uk.

Alternatively, you can write to:

54 Station Road, Upminster, Essex RM14 2TU.

In terms of a formal complaint, your complaint should be sent to Philip Cockram within one year of the date of the act or omission which you are concerned about or within one year of you realising that there was a concern. Please also note the time limits set by the Legal Ombudsman, set out below.  Philip Cockram will then refer your complaint to a Partner in the department involved in your complaint or another Partner as appropriate and investigate the issues raised.

What Will Happen Next?

1. We will write to you to acknowledge your complaint. The acknowledgement will be sent within ten working days of receipt of your complaint and we may ask that you provide us with further details.
2. Your complaint will be recorded on a central register.
3. We will then start to investigate your complaint. This will involve one or more of the following:

• The Partner handling your complaint will liaise with the person handling your matter to comment on your complaint;
• The Partner will then examine their response and the details of your complaint;
• The Partner will also review the case file and draft a response to your complaint;

4. The response should be completed within 8 weeks of receiving your original complaint.

If you are still not satisfied with the response, you can contact Philip Cockram again.  He or, if appropriate, another partner who had not been involved in the investigation so far, will review your complaint and will write to you to confirm our final position on your complaint and explain our reasons.

Once this process has been completed, we hope that we will have been able to bring the matter to an amicable conclusion. However, if you feel that your complaint still has not been resolved then you can have your complaint reviewed by the Legal Ombudsman.

Referring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman

The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about Lawyers. However, they will only become involved if you have completed the complaints process with the Firm before you make contact with them. Their contact details are:

Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

Visit www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Email enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Call General Enquiries Team Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm on 0300 555 0333.

The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one year of you realising that there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.

When to report to the Solicitors Regulation Authority

If you have a complaint about the person you are dealing with and/or the firm breaching the SRA Code of Conduct and you are not satisfied with their response, you can report the matter to the SRA.

Further information can be found at www.sra.org.uk