JE Bennett Law (the Firm) is committed to delivering high quality legal services and client care and are keen to resolve any matter as soon as possible. Our complaints handling procedure is as follows:
Step One:
Please notify Tom Beaufoy, our Complaints Officer, of the full nature of the problem preferably in writing. This will ensure that any scope for misunderstanding can be avoided.
However, this is not obligatory and you are welcome to provide the details over the telephone or face to face. If you are setting out your concerns in writing then you can do this by emailing complaints@jebennettlaw.co.uk or writing to the Complaints Officer at JE Bennett Law, Eridge House, 1 Linden Close, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN4 8HH
Step Two:
We will write to you acknowledging your complaint within three working days. This letter will set out what happens next.
Step Three:
The Complaints Officer will then investigate the matter by reviewing the matter file and speaking to the member of staff concerned within five working days of acknowledging receipt of your complaint. If, for some reason, the matter cannot be investigated in this timeframe, you will be notified of this in writing setting out the reason and providing a revised timescale.
Step Four:
Once the investigation has been completed, you will be invited to a meeting to discuss the issue(s) you have raised and hopefully resolve the complaint. This meeting will take place within fourteen days of sending you the acknowledgement letter. Following the meeting, The Complaints Officer will write to you within five working days of the meeting to confirm the discussion and the solution agreed upon.
If you do not want to or are unable to attend such a meeting, we are happy to send you a detailed, written response, including our proposed solution, within fourteen working days of sending you the letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint.
Step Five:
If you are satisfied with our response in either Step three or four above, that will be the end of the matter. However, if you are not satisfied, you should contact the Complaints Officer again and we will arrange for another Director to review the decision. They will write to you within fourteen days of receiving your request with confirmation of the firm’s final position in relation to your complaint, outlining the reasons and any final redress that is offered.
Step 6:
We have eight weeks from the time we receive your complaint, to consider the matter. If for any reason we are unable to resolve the problem between us within that timeframe, then you may ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the complaint. The Legal Ombudsman may be contacted at: PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH
Please be aware that any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of your having received a final written response from us about your complaint.
Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within one year of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring; or within one year from when you should have known about or become aware that there were grounds for complaint.
However, the Legal Ombudsman will not accept complaints where the act or date of awareness was before 6 October 2010.
For further information, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333 or visit www.legalombudsman.org.uk.
Please do not hesitate to contact JE Bennett Law if you have any queries.
Where else can you turn if you are unhappy with our behaviour?
The Solicitors’ Regulatory Authority (SRA) can help if you are concerned about our behaviour. Whilst most solicitor complaints are dealt with by the Legal Ombudsman, the SRA can get involved if there has been a breach of their principles. 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. Follow this link to their website, to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors’ Regulatory Authority.