Complaints Procedures
Jiva Solicitors Limited is committed to providing the highest standard of service to its clients. If, however you have any queries or concerns, at any time, on any aspect of a matter (including a bill) then please do not hesitate to contact the person dealing with your matter in the first instance or if you prefer, the Complaint Partner by sending an email to SP@jivasolicitors.co.uk. We will try to address any problem quickly and operate an internal complaint handling system to help us resolve the matter between ourselves.
On occasions, we may invite you to attend a meeting to explain the outcome of our investigation in more detail, in an effort to ensure that you will receive an adequate summary of the steps taken to resolve any problems.
On receipt of your complaint we shall automatically invoke the firm’s Complaints Procedure which includes writing to you to notify you of how the complaint will be handled and within what timescales you will be given an initial or substantive response and thereafter we shall conduct an internal investigation handled by a senior member of the firm resulting in a full written response to you in compliance with the firm’s Complaints Procedure.
We emphasise that any such complaint or criticism will be regarded as an opportunity to improve our service both to you and to other clients. However, on concluding our investigations into your complaint, if you remain dissatisfied with the outcome, you have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman so long as the complaint is made within 6 months of you receiving our final response to your complaint or up to 1 year from the date of the act / omission giving rise to your complaint or 1 year from when you should have known about the complaint.
A copy of the firm’s Complaints Procedure is available upon request from our offices and we shall handle any complaint promptly, fairly and effectively in accordance with the firm’s Complaints Procedure.
Complaints About Your Bill
The above complaints procedure also applies to complaints arising concerning our bill. There may also be a right to object to the bill by applying to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 and that if all, or part, of a bill remains unpaid, the firm may be entitled to charge interest.
Raising Concerns With Our Regulator
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) can help you 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 find information about raising your concerns with the SRA at www.sra.org.uk in the ‘For the public’ section.
What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint
The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:
- Within six months of receiving our final response to your complaint and
- No more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or
- No more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint.
For more information about the Legal Ombudsman contact:
www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9.00 to 17.00.
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH
