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. However, if you would like to make a formal complaint, then you can do so under our Complaints Policy which is set out below.  Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

You can contact us in writing (by letter or email) or by speaking with our complaints Director, Katy Wilson whose contact details are: –

Post: –
Sec Service
Centre For Advanced Industry
Coble Dene
North Shields
NE29 6DE

Telephone: – 0191 2931500

The direct e-mail contact details for Katy Wilson are: –
E-mail: – kwilson@secservice.org

If your complaint involves a matter Sarah Spruceis dealing with the complaint will be dealt with by Peter McKenna, the Partner of the firm. The postal address and telephone contact details for Peter McKenna are the same as above.

The direct e-mail contact details for Peter McKenna are: –
E-mail: – pmckenna@secservice.org

To help us to understand your complaint, and in order that we do not miss anything, please tell us:

• Your full name and contact details.
• What you think we have got wrong.
• What you hope to achieve as a result of your complaint, and
• your file reference number (if you have it).

If you require any help in making your complaint, we will try to help you.  Please let us know if you have any specific requirements.

We will record your complaint centrally.

We will write to you within 7 days acknowledging your complaint, enclosing a copy of this policy.

We will investigate your complaint. This will usually involve:

• Reviewing your complaint.
• Reviewing your file(s) and other relevant documents, and
• speaking with the person who dealt with your matter.

We may also need to ask you for further information or documents. If so, we will ask you to provide the information within a specific period.

We may also, if appropriate, invite you to a meeting to discuss your complaint. You do not have to attend if you do not wish to or if you are unable to. We will be happy to discuss the matter with you on the telephone.

We will update you on the progress of your complaint at appropriate times.

We will write to you at the end of our investigation to tell you what we have done and what we propose to do to resolve your complaint. We will aim to do this within 21 days of the date of our letter of acknowledgement.

If we must change any of the timescales referred to in this Policy, we will let you know and explain why.

Raising a complaint should not usually delay your case. However, in the event a delay is likely we will tell you.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of our complaints handling procedure, please first let us know and we will review the matter.

We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

Before accepting a complaint about the 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 receiving a final response to your complaint, and
• No more than one year from the date of act/omission you are concerned about; or
• No more than one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them

Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm.
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

Depending on your individual status some clients may not have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman, for example, most businesses (unless defined as a micro-enterprise), charities or clubs with an annual income of more than £1million or trustees of a trust with an asset value of more than £1 million.  However, even if you are not eligible to complain to the Legal Ombudsman you will still be able to take advantage of our Complaints Policy and/or right to an assessment of any bill. Further details are available on the Legal Ombudsman website.

If we are unable to resolve your complaint and it relates to a contract we entered into online or by other electronic means, you may also be able to submit your complaint to an approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider in the UK via the EU ODR platform. The website for the ODR platform is http://ec.europa.eu/odr.

The Legal 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.  You can contact the SRA at www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor page.

We will not charge you for handling your complaint.

Please note: that if we have issued a bill for work done on the matter, and all or some of the bill is not paid, we may be entitled to charge interest on the amount outstanding.

The Legal Ombudsman service is free of charge.