COMPLAINTS HANDLING POLICY & PROCEDURE (the “Policy”)

Complaints

  1.   This Policy applies to all clients (whether existing, former or prospective). We will not ignore or dismiss a complaint merely because it is from a prospective or former client.
  2.   We will take any complaint by you against us very seriously and it is our policy to investigate complaints thoroughly and respond promptly. If at any time you are unhappy with any aspect of our services, including any bill issued to you by us, then please let us know as soon as possible. In the first instance, you should raise the issue with the Valemus Law solicitor responsible for the conduct of the matter in question (the “Valemus Law Person”) who should deal with your concerns promptly, fairly and effectively. If you would prefer, please refer it directly to the following director of Valemus Law:

Oliver Brice at Valemus Law, Tallis House, 2 Tallis Street, London, EC4Y 0AB and send an electronic copy to o.brice@valemuslaw.com

  1.   The Valemus Law Person or Oliver Brice (where you have directed your complaint directly to Oliver Brice (as above)) will provide an initial response to any complaint raised by you within 48 hours of receiving the complaint.
  2.   In the event that you are dissatisfied with our initial response, you should instigate our formal complaints procedure by formally complaining in writing by completing the Complaints Form (see below link) and sending it to the following director of Valemus Law:

Oliver Brice at Valemus Law, Tallis House, 2 Tallis Street, London, EC4Y 0AB

This allows the scope of the complaint to be defined and gives us the opportunity to respond and deal with specific issues.

 Acknowledgement of Receipt of Complaint

  1. Your formal complaint will be acknowledged in writing (by email) within three working days of the completed Complaints Form being received by Oliver Brice and Oliver Brice will identify himself within this acknowledgment as being the nominated complaint handler.
  2. You will be advised in the acknowledgement:
    a)    of any action that has been or will be taken and the likely course of events with their timescales; andb)    of your right to seek further assistance from the Legal Ombudsman if you remain dissatisfied and feel that the complaint has not being properly addressed – see the paragraphs below under the heading ‘Further Action – Legal Ombudsman’ for further information.

Formal Complaint Response

  1. After sending the acknowledgement of receipt, Oliver Brice will decide the most appropriate detailed response depending upon the seriousness or urgency of the complaint. Unless agreed otherwise by you, the detailed response will be communicated in writing to you within 10 business days of the date of receipt by Oliver Brice of the completed Complaints Form.

Further Action – What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

  1. The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help 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. Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Further Action – Legal Ombudsman

  1. If we are unable to resolve your complaint then you can have the complaint independently looked at by the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about service issues with lawyers. You can contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333 (Minicom: 0300 555 1777) or, alternatively, if you would like to email or write to the Legal Ombudsman you can do so by using the following addresses as you prefer: –

Email:  enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk 

Post:    PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

See www.legalombudsman.org.uk for more information.

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 there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you. Failure to comply with any of the above time limits will entitle the Legal Ombudsman to dismiss your complaint for being out-of-time. However, the Legal Ombudsman will have discretion to accept out-of-time complaints in circumstances where it deems it “fair and reasonable to do so”.