Complaints Procedure

Our Complaints Policy

We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).  We are committed to high quality legal advice and client care and aim to offer all our clients an efficient and effective service. If you would like to discuss how the service could be improved, or about the costs invoice you may have received, or should there be any aspect of our service with which you are not satisfied, please contact the firm responsible for complaints handling Mr Shazad Khattak (Principal) at 122 Yardley Road, Acocks Green, Yardley, Birmingham, B27 6LG or via email at info@khattakcosolicitors.co.uk. 

 

In the case of a complaint about an invoice, there may be the right to object to the invoice by applying to the Court for an assessment under Part 111 of the Solicitors Act 1974. However, if all or part of an invoice remains unpaid, we may be entitled to charge interest on the amount outstanding.

 

We are committed to providing high quality legal advice and client care and are keen to resolve any concerns as soon as possible and to do this, will follow our complaints handling procedure.  

Our Complaints Procedure

Step One:

If you have not already done so, please let me know the full nature of the problem. Ideally, we would prefer that your complaint be confirmed in writing in order that any scope for misunderstanding can be avoided. However, this is not obligatory and you are welcome to provide the details to me over the telephone on 0121 824 6866 or face to face. If you are setting out your concerns in writing then you can do this by emailing me at info@khattakcosolicitors.co.uk or writing to me at 122 Yardley Road, Acocks Green, Birmingham, West Midlands, B27 6LG.

 

Step Two:

We will write to you acknowledging your complaint within five working days. We shall confirm what happens next.

 
Step Three:

We shall then investigate the matter by reviewing the matter file and speaking to the member of staff concerned within ten working days of acknowledging receipt of your complaint. If, for some reason, the matter cannot be investigated in this timeframe, then we will write to you notifying you of this together with the reason why and giving a revised timescale. Once the investigation has been completed, if appropriate and necessary, we shall invite you to discuss the issue(s) you have raised and hopefully resolve the complaint. This could be a meeting, video conference call or telephone call and we can discuss your preference and what may be suitable at that time. This process of engagement will take place within ten working days of our concluding the investigation of the matter. We shall write to you within five working days of any meeting or call to confirm our discussion and the solution agreed upon and/or any final redress that is offered. Alternatively, if you do not want to or are unable to attend such a meeting or you would prefer to continue to correspond by letter or email (or if a meeting is not required), we will send you a detailed, written response, including my proposed solution, within fifteen working days of my concluding my investigation.

 
Step Four:

If you are satisfied with my response following the above steps, that will be the end of the matter. However, if you are not satisfied, you should contact our office again and we will review the decision or, depending on the circumstances, will arrange for an independent local solicitor/barrister to review my decision. We will write to you within ten working 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 Five (Other Avenues):

You must always try complaining to us first. In most cases you will not be able to take your complaint further without allowing us the opportunity to put things right.

Legal Ombudsman

We are permitted a period of eight weeks to consider the complaint. 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.

You are free to refer any complaint about our work, fees or level of service but there are some conditions and time limits. Please be aware that any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of you having received a final written response from us about your complaint. Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six years of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring; or within three years from when you should have known about or become aware that there were grounds for complaint. The Legal Ombudsman will not accept complaints where the act or date of awareness was before 6 October 2010.

For further information, please contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333 or visit www.legalombudsman.org.uk.

The Legal Ombudsman may be contacted at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ.

 
Solicitors Regulation Authority

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. If you wish to raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority please visit their website (https://www.sra.org.uk) for information as to how to proceed.