We are committed to providing a high quality legal service to all of our clients. When something goes wrong you need to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards.
Our Complaints Procedure
This practice aims to offer a high quality legal service to all its clients and we are confident that we shall do so. With this in mind, we are always anxious to hear of any particular difficulty that a client may encounter either with the conduct of their matter or with our back-up services. If you are unhappy about any aspect of our service, please let the person who is dealing with your case know. If, however, that person cannot resolve the matter to your satisfaction please raise the matter with Paul Higgins, the principal of this firm, who will then investigate the problem as quickly as possible in accordance with our written complaints procedure, a copy of which is available on request. You may contact us in writing by writing to us at 10/12 Whetstone Lane, Charing Cross, Birkenhead, Merseyside, CH41 2QR. You may contact us by telephone on 0800.014.8275. You may contact us by email. Our email address is info@pensionjustice.co.uk. You may contact us by visiting us at our offices at 10/12 Whetstone Lane, Charing Cross, Birkenhead, Merseyside, CH41 2QR.
What will happen next?
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- We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within 3 days of us receiving the complaint, enclosing a copy of this procedure, identifying the person who will be handling the complaint for the business. Wherever possible, that person will not have been directly involved in the matter which is the subject of the complaint, and will have authority to settle the complaint.
- Within 4 weeks of receiving a complaint, we will send you either:
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- A final response adequately addressing the complaint; or
- A holding response, which explains why we are not yet in a position to resolve the complaint and indicate when we are likely to be in a position to contact you.
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- Within 8 weeks of receiving a complaint we will send you either:
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- A final response adequately addressing the complaint; or
- A response which:
- Explains why we are still not in a position to make a final response, giving reasons for the further delay and indicating when we expect to be able to provide a final response; and
- Informs you that you may refer the handling of the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman if you are dissatisfied with the delay.
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- Where we decide that redress is appropriate, we will provide you with fair compensation for any acts or omissions for which we are responsible and will comply with any offer of redress that you accept. Appropriate redress will not always involve financial redress, but could involve an apology or other suitable form of redress.
- If you are still not satisfied you can then contact the Legal Ombudsman Service, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ, telephone 0300.555.0333 or you may complain by email, the address of which is enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk or you may complain via the website www.legalombudsman.org.uk/contact-us/.
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.
Reporting us to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
The Solicitors Regulation Authority or SRA for short deal with cases where firms or those that they regulate have breached the SRA Principles. Complaints about poor service would normally be dealt with by the Legal Ombudsman. If the Legal Ombudsman thinks that your case involves a breach of their Principles, they will refer your case to the SRA.
However, you should report the matter directly to the SRA if you think we have breached an SRA Principle.
You can also report us for non-payment of professional fees (such as agent or expert fees) if:
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- You have a County Court judgment in respect of the fee, and
- The judgment relates to the practice in connection with providing a legal service.
There are some issues that the SRA do not investigate. However, they always consider allegations of dishonesty or discrimination.
If the SRA have closed this firm down and you believe that this firm owes you money you may be able to make an application to the Compensation Fund.
How to report us to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
If you wish to report us to the SRA please:
- Set out your concerns clearly,
- Identify individuals you consider responsible,
- Attach any evidence you have in support.
You can complete the SRA’s report form.
Report Form (DOC, 5 pages, 101KB)
Send it to the SRA’s Report Team.
For guidance on the complaints process, call the SRA’s Contact Centre.
You can always contact the SRA by post at their postal address, namely The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN or by email to report@sra.org.uk.