Couchman Hanson Solicitors

Complaints Procedure

COMPLAINTS POLICY

In accordance with the Solicitors Regulation Authority we have established and maintain a procedure for handling complaints in relation to the legal services that we provide.  All complaints will be dealt with fairly, promptly and free of charge.  The overall responsibility of dealing with complaints lies with the Director Daniel Couchman.

The SRA definition of a complaint

A complaint means an oral or written expression of dissatisfaction which alleges that the complainant has suffered (or may suffer) financial loss, distress, inconvenience or other detriment.

1. All clients are informed in writing at the time of engagement:

  • their right to complain to us about our services and our charges;

  • how a complaint can be made and to whom; and

  • any right they have to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman and when they can make any such complaint.

2. All complaints received are logged on the complaint register.  This is reviewed regularly to identify patterns/training needs and reported annually to the SRA in the Practising Certificate and Registration Renewal form.  

3. We ensure that when we have received a complaint, that if this has not been resolved to the client’s satisfaction within 8 weeks following the making of a complaint that they are informed, in writing of any right they have to complain to the Legal Ombudsman, the time frame for doing so and full details of how to contact the Legal Ombudsman.  

4. If the complaint relates to an invoice the Clients can also apply to the Court for an assessment of the bill/invoice under Part 3 of the Solicitors Act 1974.Couchman Hanson Solicitors are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all of our clients. If you feel dissatisfied in anyway, we would like you to tell us about it.  This will help us improve our standards.  We want to investigate your complaint fully, fairly and promptly.

Our Complaints Procedure

Should you have cause for complaint, please contact the person dealing with your matter or a director of the firm at the earliest opportunity with relevant details, ideally in writing.

Informal Resolution:
In the first instance, we will seek to resolve your complaint informally.  This can take a number of forms including telephone discussions between you and the person who provided you with the service and/or a director, meetings, correspondence or mediation.

If informal attempts to resolve the dispute do not work, we shall refer the matter to our Complaints Director, Daniel Couchman, to handle the matter under a formal process. Daniel Couchman can be contacted at 5 Charter Walk, West Street, Haslemere, Surrey, GU27 2AD. Unless the parties agree to extend time further, if a dispute has not been resolved informally within 15 working days of the date of receipt of your complaint, we shall refer the matter to our formal complaints process.

Formal Complaints Process

  1. We will send you a communication within 5 working days acknowledging your complaint as a formal complaint and setting out the issues as we see them. We will let you know the name of the fee earner/ director who will be dealing with your complaint.

  2. We will also record your complaint in our central register and inform the relevant Head of Department for review.

  3. We will then commence an internal investigation into your complaint which may involve a number of the following steps:
    (a) we may ask the members of staff who acted for you for further details of the matter;
    (b) we may ask you for further details of the matter; and/or
    (c) we may invite you for a meeting to discuss the matter.

  4. We may determine that a meeting is not necessary in the circumstances however should a meeting be necessary, any such meeting date with you shall, subject to your availability and consent, be within10 working days of our acknowledgement to you at paragraph 1, above.

  5. We will write to you either:
    (a) with the findings of our investigations and our proposals for the resolution of your complaint within:
    -10 working days of any meeting held in accordance paragraph 4, above; or
    - 15 working days of our acknowledgment letter sent to you in accordance with paragraph 1, above (whichever date is applicable / later).
    (b) to confirm the status of our investigations, including an explanation for any delays, and when you can expect to receive a response from us setting our findings from our investigations and our proposals for
    a resolution of your complaint.

  6. If having received our findings from our investigations and our proposals for a resolution of your complaint you still remain dissatisfied, you should write again to our Complaints Director detailing the reasons for your continuing dissatisfaction within 10 days of your receipt of a resolution of our complaint under paragraph 5. Please do contact our Complaints Director if you are unable to comply with these timescales, in order to agree a reasonable extension of time.

  7. The matter will then be referred to a different fee earner / director who will review the decision and respond to you, in writing, within 15 working days of receipt of your letter / communication under paragraph 6.

  8. Please note that if we do not hear back from you within the timescales set out within paragraph 6, we will treat your complaint as having been resolved. As advised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Legal Ombudsman, we shall endeavour to resolve all formal complaints within 8 weeks from the date of your formal letter of complaint under paragraph 1.

  9. If following receipt of our response, under paragraph 7, you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you may refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman at the following address:
    Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WVI 9WJ
    Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

  10. Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of the date of our final communication on your complaint, under paragraph 7, and within six years of the act or mission about which you are complaining (or within three years of when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint).  The Legal Ombudsman will normally expect this firm to have been given reasonable opportunity to investigate and respond to any complaint.

  11. There are no charges payable by you for the implementation of this policy.

    IF YOU REQUIRE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION OR ASSISTANCE IN RELATION TO THIS POLICY PLEASE DO CONTACT US AND ASK TO SPEAK WITH EITHER THE OFFICE MANAGER OR THE COMPLAINTS DIRECTOR.

    Couchman Hanson Limited
    t/a Couchman Hanson Solicitors

Couchman Hanson is a member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and by virtue we uphold the SRA Principles to act:

  1. in a way that upholds the constitutional principle of the rule of law, and the proper administration of justice

  2. in a way that upholds public trust and confidence in the solicitors' profession and in legal services provided by authorised persons

  3. with independence

  4. with honesty

  5. with integrity

  6. in a way that encourages equality, diversity and inclusion

  7. in the best interests of each client.

You can report a matter directly to the SRA if you think we have breached an SRA Principle or for non-payment of professional fees (such as agent or expert fees) if you have a County Court judgment in respect to the fee and the judgement relates to the Couchman Hanson in connection with providing a legal service.

To report a solicitor or firm to the SRA:

  1. Set out your concerns clearly

  2. Identify individuals you consider responsible

  3. Attach any evidence you have in support

  4. Complete the SRA report form

  5. Send the report to the Reports team

The SRA will aim to acknowledge all initial reports of information within 20-30 working days.

For full details of this procedure and reporting form: https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/