We're dedicated to a high standard of legal service. If something goes wrong, tell us - complaints are handled fairly, promptly and at no cost to you.
A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, whether made orally or in writing, which alleges that you have suffered, or may suffer, financial loss, distress, inconvenience or other detriment. This includes data protection complaints - complaints about how we have collected, used, stored, shared or otherwise handled your personal information.
Any complaint should be directed to the Head of Conveyancing. We would prefer complaints to be submitted in writing by email to rebecca@keith.com so that we can fully understand the issues raised, although you may also contact us by post or telephone.
Please inform us as soon as possible if you have any special requirements, as this will help us to handle your complaint effectively. For example, if you would prefer someone else to submit the complaint on your behalf, or if you require documents in large print, let us know and we will make every effort to assist you.
We will acknowledge your complaint within seven days of receiving it and inform you of the person responsible for handling it - usually the supervisor of the individual dealing with your matter.
Your complaint will be recorded in our central register and a dedicated file opened. We will carry out a thorough investigation and an independent review of the matter.
We aim to provide a full response within 28 days. If the complaint is particularly complex we may need additional time, but we will keep you informed of when you can expect a full reply. We may also invite you to a meeting with a manager to gather further information and work towards a resolution.
Once the investigation is complete, we will communicate the outcome to you, usually in writing by email. If your complaint is upheld, we will offer appropriate remedial action or redress, implemented without delay.
If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome, or with the way a service complaint has been handled, you may refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman. We will provide you with a final response letter confirming this option.
If your complaint relates to data protection and you are dissatisfied with our response, you have the right to escalate it to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent supervisory authority for data protection:
Complaining to the ICO does not affect your right to refer a service complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. A complaint may involve both data protection and service issues, in which case the relevant parts may be escalated to the appropriate body.
The Legal Ombudsman is an independent body established by the Office for Legal Complaints under the Legal Services Act 2007 to resolve complaints about lawyers.
The Legal Ombudsman will generally expect you to have exhausted our internal complaints procedure before it will consider your complaint. If the Legal Ombudsman considers that our proposals for resolving a complaint are reasonable, it may decide not to investigate further. You may also refer your complaint to the Ombudsman if we have not resolved it within eight weeks of receipt.
You must refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final response from us, and within one year of the act or omission giving rise to the complaint - or within one year of the date on which you should reasonably have become aware that there were grounds for complaint.
Alternative dispute resolution bodies, such as ProMediate and Small Claims Mediation, are available and competent to handle complaints about legal services, should both you and the firm agree to use such a scheme. At present we do not participate in alternative dispute resolution schemes, given the availability of the independent Legal Ombudsman service established under the Legal Services Act 2007. We are required by our regulatory code to comply with the Legal Ombudsman.
All complaints are reviewed annually to identify any recurring themes. Where patterns are identified, we take appropriate action to address the underlying issues and prevent similar complaints from arising in the future.