Complaints Procedure

At Hawkswell Kilvington we are committed to providing a high quality service to all our clients.

At Hawkswell Kilvington we are committed to providing a high quality service to all our clients. Dealing effectively with any concerns is part of that commitment. Therefore, if you have any concerns about the service you receive, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards and ensure that you are getting the service you deserve.

Complaints procedure for clients

If you are dissatisfied with the level of service you have received, we need you to write to us so that we can find a solution to your problem. You should send details of your complaint to Thomas Salter at Hawkswell Kilvington Limited, 2nd Floor. 3150 Century Way, Thorpe Park, Leeds LS15 8ZB

What will happen once we receive your written complaint?

  • We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within seven days of us receiving your complaint. If necessary, we will ask you to provide us with further details/information. We will also let you know who will be handling the matter.
  • We will start to investigate your complaint. This will normally involve us reviewing the matter file and speaking with the legal adviser(s)/partner(s) who acted on your behalf.
  • Following our investigation, we will send you a detailed response within 28 days from the date of your original complaint or, where we have asked you for further information, within 14 days of our receiving that information from you. Our final response will state the outcome of our investigation. If we require more time to investigate the matter, we will notify you and confirm when we will contact you next.
  • If you are not satisfied by our detailed response, we will refer the matter to our Managing Partner to review the decision. We will write to you within fourteen days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.

Legal Ombudsmen

You may wish to contact the Legal Ombudsman. They will look at your complaint independently, and it will not affect how we handle your case.

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

  • within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint

and

  • no more than six years from the date of act/omission; or
  • no more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please visit www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Address: PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
Phone: 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Solicitors Regulation Authority

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour, and are also available to consider any complaints you may have about the service you receive.

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with them: www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/
Address: The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham B1 1RN
Phone: 0870 606 2555
Email: report@sra.org.uk

Complaints by non-clients

If you are not a client, we will only be able to deal with your complaint if you allege that we have acted in breach of the Solicitors Regulation Authority Standards and Regulations.

Any such complaint should be marked for the attention of Thomas Salter. If the breach appears self-evident, we will not need to seek further clarification.  In all other cases, we may ask you to specify the alleged breach before we deal with your complaint.

If we agree there has been a breach, we will tell you as soon as reasonably possible and apologise. This does not affect your right to report the matter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (see Solicitors Regulation Authority above).

Any feedback which enables us to improve our services is very welcome.