We know that complaining can be daunting, and we never want people to be unhappy with our service. We are always looking for ways to improve and we value the feedback we get from the people we work for.

Our complaints procedure is based on the Model Complaints Resolution Procedure of the Legal Ombudsman. You can find more information about this on the Legal Ombudsman’s website: Model Complaints Resolution Procedure | Legal Ombudsman

If you are not happy with something we have done

We ask that you speak to the person handling your case in the first instance. If it is something they can put right quickly, we’d like them to have that chance.

However, if it is not something you believe we can sort quickly, or if you don’t feel comfortable talking to the person handling your case about it, then you should make a complaint.

If you decide to make a complaint

We ask that you contact our Complaints Handler Lorna Johnson (complaints@hawkinsryan.com). You can do this at any time, whether it is while we’re still working for you or after the work has completed. The sooner we know about a problem, the sooner we can look to put things right.

Please tell us what went wrong and give us examples and details, so that we can investigate. If you have more than one issue to raise with us, it will help us if you could list them. Please also tell us about any effects these issues have had on you and, finally, what would put things right for you.

Before you make a complaint, you might find it helpful to look at the Legal Ombudsman’s guidance page Guidance: Our approach to putting things right | Legal Ombudsman which includes guidance on remedies and can be found using this link.

Our procedure

We ask that you give us a period of eight weeks to try to resolve your complaint with you. This is how we will look to do that:

• Acknowledgment. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within five working days of us getting it. If we are in a position at this point to tell you who will be looking into your complaint, we will do so then.
• Quick Resolution. If the complaint is something we believe we can resolve quickly with you, we will contact you look to find a solution to the complaint with you. This will be within the ten working days after our acknowledgement. If we can’t resolve your complaint that way, our final stage will be a full investigation.
• Full Investigation. This will end with us sending you a full, written response to your complaint, addressing the issues you have brought to us. If we believe we have fallen short of the standards you were entitled to expect from us, we will make an offer in line with the Legal Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies Guidance: Our approach to putting things right | Legal Ombudsman. In all cases, we will explain what we think happened and give you our view on your complaint. 

If, when we receive your complaint, it seems unlikely that we will be able to resolve the complaint quickly with you, we might move straight to a full investigation.

Our complaints procedure is free – we will never charge you for making a complaint.

The Legal Ombudsman

At the end of our procedure, if we have been unable to put things right, or we have not resolved your complaint within eight weeks, then you can have the complaint independently looked at by the Legal Ombudsman.

The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about the service consumers have received from their lawyer and it works to resolve the situation.

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 our final response, and not later than:

• One year from the date of the act or omission you are complaining about; or
• One year from the date when you should have realised that there was cause for complaint.

Here are the contact details for the Legal Ombudsman:

Website:
www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Email:
enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Address:
PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH

Telephone:
0300 555 0333

Although there are alternative dispute resolution schemes to the Legal Ombudsman, those require the agreement of both parties, and we generally do not agree to using those schemes.

We hope you never have reason to complain, but, if you do, we want you to feel confident that you can tell us what’s happened, so that we can put things right.