COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

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 service standards.

What will happen next?

1. We aim to resolve your complaints within eight weeks of your notification. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within 5 days of us receiving the complaint, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
2. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to our complaint Managing Officer, Miss Ukamaka Okafor, who will review your matter and speak to the member of staff who acted for you. Where your complaint is concerning Miss Okafor, then Ms Angela Ezeok who is the firm’s Quality Representative, will investigate and deal with your complaint.
3. Depending on the circumstances and where considered necessary, we may invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. We will do this within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
4. Within 5 working days of the meeting, we will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions we have agreed with you.
5. Where we do not consider a meeting relevant, you do not want a meeting, and/or where a meeting is not possible, we will send you detailed written reply to your complaint, including suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 working days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
6. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for the firm’s Quality Representative, to review the initial decision.
7. We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
8. If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.
9. If you are still not satisfied, you can then contact the Legal Ombudsman at PO Box 6167, Slough, WV1 9WJ about your complaint. You can also e-mail the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk or telephone them on 0300 555 0333 or +44 121 245 3050 if calling from overseas. For further information, please access the Legal Ombudsman (LeO)’s website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
10. Please note there are timelines within which you must make your complaints to the Ombudsman. 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.

Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

• Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint, and DILLEX SOLICITORS
• No more than One year from the date of act/omission; or when you should have realised there was cause for complaint.

Legal Ombudsman also has discretion to accept out-of-time complaints in circumstances where it deems it "fair and reasonable to do so".

For further information, you should contact them in writing using the above address or by telephone on 0300 555 0333.

11. If your complaints relate to the conduct or behaviour of any of our staff or representative, then your complaints should be sent to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN or DX 720293 BIRMINGHAM 47
12. Further information on your rights to complain regarding our services or conduct can be assessed on the SRA website.