Complaints Procedure

If you are unhappy about any aspect of the service that you have received please let us know. We will investigate your concerns promptly and with objectivity.

We are committed to providing an efficient, professional and courteous service to all our clients but we need to hear from you if you are disappointed with the service received. This gives us an opportunity to apologize to you and to monitor and improve the service for all our clients in the future.

Our complaints procedure

Initially you should write, e-mail or speak to the person dealing with your matter to try and get the issue resolved. We will acknowledge your complaint as soon as we can and in many cases the person dealing with the matter will be able to resolve the problem with you immediately. All complaints are logged in our Complaints Register.

Sometimes we need more time to research complaints, recover archived files and to discuss the matter with you and any other relevant parties, particularly when the complaint is a complex one. If we are unable to reply immediately, we will do so within a maximum of 20 working days. If we are unable to produce a full reply within the 20 day period, we will write to you again with an estimated date by which we expect to have completed our investigations and made a report to you.

If you aren’t happy with the reply provided by the person who normally deals with your case, then you can refer the matter to their supervisor. The supervisor’s name is shown in the letter we sent you at the start of your matter. If you are unable to find the letter please ring our reception (01728 846441) and they will give you the name. The supervisor will carry out an investigation and respond to you within 15 working days. Sometimes we may suggest a meeting if we think it would help resolve the issues. If we are unable to produce a full reply within the 15 day period, we will write to you again with an estimated date by which we expect to have completed our investigations and made the report.

If you remain unhappy and have gone through the previous steps, then you may wish to contact one of our Client Care Directors. Susan Lewis looks after complaints involving transactional work such as conveyancing whilst John McGettigan has responsibility for contentious matters, including accident claims and matters involving litigation in the courts. Their contact details are given at the bottom of the page. They will carefully re-examine the complaint and give you their response as quickly as possible. Sometimes we may ask another firm of solicitors to review the complaint instead of reviewing it ourselves. We will tell you if we propose to do this and get your permission to disclose the file to them.

If you are still not satisfied, you can contact:

The Legal Ombudsman

The Legal Ombudsman replaced The Legal Complaints Service in October 2010.  Their service is open to all members of the public, very small businesses, charities, clubs and trusts. They can be contacted at PO Box 15870, Birmingham, B30 9EB, email to enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk, or by phone on 0300 555 0333.  Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of the date of our final written response on your complaint.

Client Care Directors’ contact details:

Susan Lewis
Glebe Court
Stoke on Trent
ST4 1ET

T: 01782 840 548
E: susan.lewis@grindeys.com

John McGettigan
5-6 Brook Street
Stoke on Trent
ST4 1JN

T: 01782 840402
E: john.mcgettigan@grindeys.com

If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.