Complaints procedure
Complaints Process
If you feel that we have not met our own standards or your expectations, and you wish to make a complaint, we will follow the process below to ensure your concerns are addressed promptly and fairly.
Raising a Concern
Where possible, we encourage you to raise any concerns with the person or team currently handling your case. They will try to resolve the issue as quickly as possible for you.
Depending on the nature of your concern it may be escalated to a Team Manager, Senior Case Handler, Advanced Case Handler or a Client Care Officer to help reach an early resolution.
When a full investigation Is Required
If your concern cannot be quickly resolved, or if it is more appropriate to do so, your complaint may be referred to either a Client Care Officer, or a Quality Officer and a full investigation opened.
We will :
- write to you to acknowledge your complaint, and
- confirm the name and role of the person you can contact with questions about the complaint, this may be different to the Client Care Officer or Quality Officer who completes the investigation.
In some situations, our first letter may also be our final written response, but this will always tell you who has handled your complaint.
You will not be charged for making a complaint, and the investigation will be separate from your claim.
During the investigation, the complaint handler may contact you to clarify the details of your complaint unless they already have enough information to proceed.
Our Complaint Response
The investigating Officer will provide a full written complaint response. The written response will be our final response, and if you remain dissatisfied, you may then refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman. If you feel that our response did not cover your concerns you may contact us to consider the matter further. At that point we will consider a further written response.
If you confirm you are satisfied, your complaint will be closed. If we do not hear from you within 14 days of the final complaint response being sent to you your complaint will be closed, this will not impact your right to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.
The Legal Ombudsman
If you remain dissatisfied after receiving our final response, you may refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH
Tel: 0300 555 0333
Email: [email protected]
Before contacting the Legal Ombudsman:
- you must first raise your complaint with us, and
- allow us up to 8 weeks to respond.
You can refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving our final written response.
Please note: if we have made a monetary offer and you choose to bank the payment, the Legal Ombudsman may decline to consider your complaint.
For complaints made on or after 1 April 2023, the Ombudsman will normally only investigate matters raised within one year of the issue you are complaining about.
More information can be found at: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Complaints About Conduct
If your complaint is about our conduct rather than our service, you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) via their website:
www.sra.org.uk
Complaints about the use of your data
The complaints process is slightly different where the complaint relates to how we have processed your data, and is outlined in our Privacy Notice, which can be found here: Your privacy and security | Admiral Law