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.

In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case or legal issue to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage. If you would like to continue with your complaint our policy is shown below.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) are our Regulator and can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour. You can raise your concerns with the SRA at www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.page

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
E: sma@djm.law.co.uk

What will happen next?

1. 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 two days of us receiving your complaint.
2. Your complaint will be recorded in our central register and a file will be opened. We will do this within a day of receiving your complaint.
3. Upon receipt of your written complaint immediate steps will be taken to investigate your complaint.
4. You will receive a written response to your complaint no later than 15 working days after receipt of your written complaint.
5. If, following receipt of our response you are still not satisfied you can ask for the matter to be reviewed by Mr Sheraz Akram.
6. 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 10 working days of the matter being referred to him.
7. If you are still not satisfied after the matter has been reviewed by Mr Akram you will be informed that you have the right to refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman for independent adjudication. Your compliant should be taken to the Legal Ombudsman no later than 12 months from when the problem occurred or from when you should reasonably have become aware of the problem. In addition, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of receiving a final response from us in relation to your complaint. The contact details for the Legal Ombudsman are:
   
   Legal Ombudsman
   PO Box 6806
   WOLVERHAMPTON
   WV1 9WJ
   
   Tel No. 0300 555 0333
   www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Normally, you will need to bring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman
a) within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint or,
b) no later than 6 years from when the problem (act or omission) occurred or,
c) no later than 3 years from the date, you should reasonably have known that there were grounds for complaint. (assuming that the act/omission complained of took place before the 6th of October 2010 or was more than six years ago)

Please Note

For the Legal Ombudsman to deal with your complaint:

1. The act or omission, or when you, the complainant, should reasonably have known there was a cause for complaint must have been after 5th October 2010
2. 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, you may be unable to use the Legal Ombudsman service.
3. If you are complaining as a business client, you might not be able to use the Legal Ombudsman scheme, and should check the guidance on their website.

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:-

1. Link to the ODR platform - please follow the following link for further information (http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr).
2. Our contact email address in case of a complaint under the ODR regulation – Sheraz Akram sma@djm.law.co.uk