Complaints Policy

COMPLAINTS POLICY

 

  • We will be receptive to any complaint and will consider it in detail and with the seriousness it merits.
  • We will respond to any complaint promptly.
  • Any complaint will be treated confidentially and will not affect our future service to you.
  • We will take all criticism into account to improve our service in the future.

 

  1. COMPLAINTS RELATING TO SOLICITOR WORK

Who to contact

Initially, you should raise your concerns with the person handling your work.  If you are still unhappy, or if your concern relates to a Partner or is about an aspect of our administration please write to our Complaints Handling Partner who is Katie Mantin. She will investigate personally or appoint another Partner to do so and report the outcome promptly. Katie's contact details are as follows:

  • By letter: 23a High Street, Southwold, Suffolk IP18 6AD
  • By email: katie@mantins.co.uk
  • By telephone: 01502 724750

What we will do

Upon receiving any complaint in writing, Katie Mantin will acknowledge receipt of your complaint as soon as possible. The complaint will be investigated fully and in detail. We may need to contact you for further information. We will aim to provide you with our final views on your complaint within eight weeks unless a short extension of that time period is required, in which case we will discuss that with you.

If you are not satisfied with our response

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman as follows:

  • By letter: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
  • By telephone: 0300 555 0333 (minicom: 0300 555 1777)
  • By email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

 

If you are a consumer and we have made a contract with you by electronic means you may be entitled to use an EU online dispute resolution service to assist with any contractual dispute you may have with us. That is at: www.europa.eu.

 Referring a complaint to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (“SRA”)

If you are concerned about matters such as conduct or ethics, you should report these concerns to the SRA.  Details of how to do this can be found at: http://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/.

The SRA can be contacted via their website (http://www.sra.org.uk/contactus/) or by the following means:

  • Phone: 0370 606 2555 (or +44(0)121 329 6800 for international callers)
  • Fax: +44 (0)121 616 1999
  • Post: Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Cube, 199 Wharf Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN

 

  1. COMPLAINTS RELATING TO NOTARY WORK

If you are dissatisfied about the service you have received please do not hesitate to contact Katie Mantin.  If she is unable to resolve the matter you may then complain to the Notaries Society, of which Katie is a member, who have a Complaints Procedure which is approved by the Faculty Office.  This procedure is free to use and is designed to provide a quick resolution to any dispute.

  • Post: Secretary of The Notaries Society. Old Church Chambers, 23 Sandhill Road, St James, Northampton, NN5 5LH
  • Email: secretary@thenotariessociety.org.uk
  • Tel: 01604 758908 

 

If you have any difficulty in making a complaint in writing please do not hesitate to call the Notaries Society/the Faculty Office for assistance.

Finally, even if you have your complaint considered under the Notaries Society Approved Complaints Procedure, you may at the end of that procedure, or after a period of 6 months from the date you first notified me that you were dissatisfied, make your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman*, if you are not happy with the result:

 

 If you decide to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman you must refer your matter to the Legal Ombudsman: 

  • Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint; and
  • Six years from the date of act/omission; or
  • Three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint (only if the act or omission took place more than six years ago). 

The act or omission, or when you should have reasonably known there was cause for complaint, must have been after 5 October 2010.

*certain kinds of commercial entities are not eligible to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman – please refer to the Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules or consult the Faculty Office

 

 

Our Team