Complaints handling procedure for Legal and Immigration Services

We are sorry that you have found yourself in the position of making a complaint. Please follow the stages below, which set out what steps we will take to investigate and try to resolve your complaint internally.

Step 1

1. In the first instance, please refer your complaint to the partner with overall responsibility for the engagement (as detailed in your engagement agreement or Statement of Work). If you are unsure who the partner is, please do not hesitate to contact the individual with day-to-day conduct of your matter.
   
   
2. The partner with overall responsibility for your matter will discuss your concerns and the basis of your complaint to see if an appropriate resolution can be reached. If they are unable to resolve the issue, your complaint will be acknowledged in writing within 5 working days of that discussion. If this timetable cannot be met and additional time is required to investigate the issue, the partner will notify you in writing and confirm when you can expect a response.
   
   
3. We aim to provide you with a written response within 14 days of the initial discussion between you and the partner with overall responsibility for your engagement.

Step 2

1. If you feel the partner with overall responsibility for your engagement has been unable to address your concerns and you remain unsatisfied with the outcome, please contact our Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (“COLP”) Rebecca Bell (Rebecca.a.bell@uk.ey.com).
   
   
2. Your referred complaint will be acknowledged within 5 working days of receipt.
   
   
3. The COLP will liaise, as appropriate, with the UK&I Law practice leader; the FSO Law practice leader; or the UK Immigration leader.
   
   
4. You will receive a final response to your complaint once the COLP and relevant practice leader have fully investigated the issue. We aim to provide a final response within 8 weeks of your complaint first being raised with the partner with overall responsibility for your engagement. If we aren’t able to respond within that timeframe, we will explain the reasons for the delay and indicate when we may be able to provide a final response.

Legal Ombudsman

If we haven’t been able to resolve your concerns within eight weeks of it being raised with the partner with overall responsibility for your engagement, you may be able to refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman. You can contact them as follows: 

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

You must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving our final response to your complaint and no more than one year from the date of act or omission being complained about or no more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint. 

The Legal Ombudsman will only consider complaints if at the time you raised your complaint with us you were:

• an individual; 

• a micro-enterprise;

• a charity that had an annual income net of tax of less than £1,000,000 (one million pounds sterling); 

• a club, association or organisation whose affairs are managed by its members, a committee or a committee of its members that had an annual income of less than £1,000,000 (one million pounds sterling);

•  a trustee of a trust that had an asset value of less than £1,000,000 (one million pounds sterling); or 

• a personal representative or beneficiary of the estate of a person who, before they died, had not referred the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

ADR is a form of mediation, similar to the Legal Ombudsman. Some organisations, such as ProMediate (www.promediate.co.uk) deal with complaints about legal services, but you need to obtain our express permission to use such a service before ADR can start. We don’t agree to use any companies within the ADR scheme but will co-operate fully with the Legal Ombudsman should you choose to contact them. 

If your complaint relates to your bill, you may also be able to apply to court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. Strict time limits apply to this assessment, and you may wish to seek independent legal advice.