Complaints Policy

Communication between you and us and our Complaints Policy

We are committed to providing all our clients with an efficient and effective service at all times. We hope that you will be pleased with the work we do for you.  However, if something goes wrong or should there be any aspect of our service with which you are unhappy, then we request that you let us know.  This will assist us in maintaining and improving our firm’s service standards.  You should contact Chander Bagga, Principal Solicitor at Valens Solicitors, and provide relevant details.

We will endeavour to resolve any concerns quickly.  However, if for any reason we are unable to resolve your concerns initially between ourselves, or if you still have queries or concerns and/or wish to make a formal complaint then we operate an internal complaints handling system.  A copy of our Complaints Procedure is available upon request from Chander Bagga.

Within five working days of receipt of a formal complaint, we will send you an acknowledgement, and may request you to confirm or explain any relevant details.  We may suggest a meeting to clarify any details.

Within 14 days thereafter, we will respond substantively to your complaint or invite you to a meeting to discuss the matter and hopefully resolve your complaint.  If we do invite you to meet, and you prefer not to meet or if we cannot arrange a meeting within an agreeable or reasonable timescale, we will write to substantively to you setting out our views on the complaint you have raised, any redress, further considerations of your complaint, and/or advise you of your rights and remedies if you remain dissatisfied.

The Legal Ombudsman, an independent complaints handling body, handles, has official powers to resolve complaints regarding the service provided by solicitors.  We have eight weeks to consider your complaint.  If we have not addressed it within this time, or if you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, then you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the complaint.

Normally, you will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

  • Within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint;

and

  • No more than six years from the date of the action/omission in respect of which you are complaining; or
  • No more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

Legal Ombudsman contact details:
Address: PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

A complainant to the Legal Ombudsman must be one of the following:

  • An individual
  • A micro-enterprise as defined in European Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 (broadly, an
    enterprise with fewer than 10 staff and a turnover or balance sheet value not exceeding €2 million)
  • A charity with an annual income less than £1 million
  • A club, association or society with an annual income less than £1 million
  • A trustee of a trust with a net asset value less than £1 million
  • A personal representative or the residuary beneficiaries of an estate where a person with a complaint died before referring it to the Legal Ombudsman

We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (‘SRA’).  In addition to what we have stated above regarding the Legal Ombudsman, the SRA can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour or compliance with the SRA Principles.  This could be for matters such as dishonesty, taking or losing your money, or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.  However, the SRA are not able to deal with issues of poor service.

Solicitors Regulation Authority contact details:
Address: The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN
Telephone: 0370 606 2555
Email: report@sra.org.uk
Website: www.sra.org.uk

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