Complaints Handling


Complaints Handling Procedure

(This Note is also available as a download - please click here)

Pursuant to the Solicitors Regulation Authority Transparency Rules, from 6 December 2018 all legal firms are required to provide information to potential clients in relation to how disputes are resolved should you engage our services, and not be content with the level of service provided.

Our complaints policy

J Garrard & Allen is committed to providing a high quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards.

Our complaints procedure

If you have a concern or a complaint, please contact us as soon as you are aware of the problem so this can be addressed.  You should contact the solicitor with conduct of your file in the first instance, and in many cases the matter is capable of resolution.

If, however, the matter is not resolved to your satisfaction by the Solicitor with conduct of your case, you should please send in a formal written complaint addressed to Mr Robert Marchant, the Senior Partner of the firm.

What will happen next?

  1. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within 10 working days of our receiving the complaint, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
  1. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to a partner of the firm, who will review your matter file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you.
  1. We will aim to send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including suggestions for resolving the matter, within 20 working days of sending the acknowledgement letter.  If we are unable to produce a detailed response within this timeframe, we will make contact with you advising of a date whereby the response will be sent.
  1. The partner will also invite you to a meeting to discuss and, it is hoped, resolve your complaint, once you have had an opportunity to consider the detailed written reply.
  1. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again to explain why you remain unhappy with our response and we will review your comments. Depending on the matter we may at this stage arrange for another partner to review the decision.
  1. We will write to you within 20 working days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
  1. If you are still not satisfied, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ about your complaint. Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within twelve months of the date of our final written response on your complaint but for further information, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333 or at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.
  1. Before the Legal Ombudsman can investigate a complaint, it requires the firm’s internal Complaints Procedure to have been exhausted.
  1. Alternative complaints bodies (such as Ombudsman Services - http://www.ombudsman-services.org/) exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme.
  1. We do not agree to use Ombudsman Services.

If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.