Complaints Handling Policy and Procedure

Our complaints policy

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients.  When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it so that we have a chance to remedy the issue, as well as improve our standards.

In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage.

If you wish to make a complaint, please send us an e-mail with the details. In the first instance please e-mail andrew.blatt@murdochslaw.co.uk. If the complaint is about Andrew Blatt then please e-mail nick.trevette@murdochslaw.co.uk

We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time you may complain to the Legal Ombudsman. Our full procedure is set out below.

Our complaints procedure

  1. We will send you a letter or e-mail acknowledging receipt of your complaint, typically within three days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
  2. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to our client care partner, Andrew Blatt, who will review your matter file and speak to the Director or member of staff who acted for you. If Andrew Blatt is the subject of the complaint then Nick Trevette will undertake the same exercise.
  3. We will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. We endeavour to do this within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter, but it could take longer, depending upon the information we need to obtain to respond, and other obligations that we may have.
  4. We shall endeavour, within three days of the meeting, to write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions agreed with you.
  5. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, our client care Director will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including, where applicable, suggestions for resolving the matter. We will endeavour to do this within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
  6. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will either review our decision, or if we consider it appropriate, and with your consent, arrange for a review by another local solicitor who is independent of this practice.
  7. We endeavour to write to you within 21 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.

What do to if we cannot resolve your complaint

  1. If you are still not satisfied, we may exceptionally, agree to mediate the issue through an alternative complaints body, such as ProMediate (www.promediate.co.uk).  We will only agree to mediate through such an independent body if we consider the complaint capable of being resolved through mediation. For example, if there is a factual dispute between us, a mediator is unlikely to be able to help.
  2. Alternatively you can make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) whose postal address is PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH, telephone number 0300 555 0333 and e-mail address enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, LeO will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. Normally, you will need to bring a complaint to LeO within six months of our final written response, and in any event, within one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or when you should have realised that there was cause for complaint. LeO will have discretion to accept out-of-time complaints in circumstances where it deems it “fair and reasonable to do so”. For further information, you should contact LeO.

Conduct issues

If you are concerned about our professional behaviour, then you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. 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.

Other Terms

We try to ensure that the information contained in this website is both complete and accurate. However, it should not be seen as an alternative to specific legal advice delivered in such a way as to address the specific problems whihc you may have.

The law and its interpretation can change very quickly and we may not have been able to update our web site to reflect those changes. Please, therefore, do not rely upon the contents of this site in circumstances where you may suffer loss as a result of doing so. The purpose of the site is to inform you of the issues which may exist and concerning which you may need legal advice. It is not a substitute for that advice.

We cannot therefore accept any responsibility for any loss you may have suffered as a result of information on this site.

Please note also that the information on this site relates only to the law in England and Wales and should not be deemed to be applicable to those in other jurisdictions.