Our complaints policy
We are 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.
Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.
Our complaints procedure
If you have a complaint, please contact Mr Sheraz Akram, a director. Mr Akram has overall responsibility for client care. His contact details are:
16 Axis Court,
Mallard Way
Swansea Vale
Swansea
SA7 0AJ
T: 01792 656519
F: 01792 656500
Upon receipt of your complaint Mr Akram will refer it to the relevant Head of Department involved in your complaint.
What will happen next?
- We will send you a letter acknowledging your wish to lodge a complaint and we will ask you (if you have not already done so) to confirm the nature of your complaint in writing. We will also inform you of the relevant Head of Department who will deal with your complaint and to whom your complaint should be addressed. You can expect to receive our letter within three days of us receiving your complaint.
- Your complaint will be recorded in our central register and a file will be opened. We will do this within three days of receiving your complaint.
- Upon receipt of your written complaint immediate steps will be taken to investigate your complaint.
- You will receive a written response to your complaint no later than 15 working days after receipt of your written complaint.
- If, following receipt of our response you are still not satisfied you can ask for the matter to be reviewed by Mr Sheraz Akram.
- Upon referral of the matter to Mr Akram he will review your complaint and also the initial response you will have received from us. Mr Akram will confirm his findings within 15 working days of the matter being referred to him.
- If you are still not satisfied after the matter has been reviewed by Mr Akram you have the right to refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman for independent adjudication as shown at the end of this document.
Complaints & The Solicitors Regulation Authority
The Solicitors Regulation Authority 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 raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
What do to if we cannot resolve your complaint
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.
The contact details for the Legal Ombudsman are:
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH
Tel No. 0300 555 0333
Subject to the above Scheme Rules, and the Legal Ombudsman’s discretion to extend the time limits, you will need to bring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman;
within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint; and
From the 1st of April 2023, the Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within a year of the date of the act of omission about which you are concerned, or within a year of your realising there was a concern.
If you are unsure about these time limits and how they apply to your matter, please contact the Legal Ombudsman’s office, using the contact details shown above, to clarify the position.
Please Note
- If your complaint is specifically about our bill, you have the right to object to it and apply for an assessment of it under part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. If you should choose to exercise this right, and the court is assessing our bill, you may be unable to use the Legal Ombudsman service.
- If you are complaining as a business client, unless you are a “micro business” (as defined by the European Union), you may not be able to use the Legal Ombudsman scheme, and should check the guidance on Legal Ombudsman’s website.
- If you refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman as a trustee/personal representative (executor/administrator) or beneficiary of the estate/trust of a person who, before they died, had not referred the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman the period runs from when the deceased should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint; and when the complainant (or the deceased) should reasonably have known there was a cause for complaint will be assessed on the basis of the complainant’s (or deceased’s) own knowledge, disregarding what the complainant (or the deceased) might have been told if he/she had sought advice.
- If the ombudsman considers there are exceptional circumstances (e.g. serious illness or you were still within the time limits when you made your initial complaint to them) then he/she may extend any of the above time limits to the extent that he/she considers fair.
If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.
With effect from 15th February 2015 EU Regulations on Consumer Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) allow consumers who bought our services online to submit their complaint via an online complaint portal. We are required under the regulations to provide our clients the following information:-
- Link to the ODR platform – please follow the following link for further information (http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr).
- Our contact email address in case of a complaint under the ODR regulation – Sheraz Akram sma@djm.law.co.uk
Complaints Policy 2024
