Lewis Lines & Wilkes, part of Mortimers Solicitors Limited, aims to provide the highest standard of legal service to every client. We recognise, however, that we may not always achieve this and want to know about any problems so that we can try to put them right. We value feedback, which gives us an opportunity to check the quality of our service and make improvements. We will consider any complaint carefully and objectively, endeavouring to resolve the issues and reach a satisfactory conclusion.
Who should I complain to?
If you wish to complain about our service or charges, please contact the lawyer dealing with your matter, or their supervisor. Their names and contact details will be in the engagement letter you received when you first instructed us and on our website. We are happy to deal with your complaint by informal discussion or in writing, as you prefer.
If you would prefer to deal with someone else, you are welcome to contact the Complaints Partner (details below).
What will we do?
We will acknowledge your complaint as soon as possible and set out a suggested timetable for our response. We normally aim to provide an initial response within one calendar month of receiving your complaint.
If you are not satisfied with our initial response, you can escalate your complaint to the firm’s Complaints Partner, who will either review the substance of your complaint themselves or ask another person to do so. In either case your complaint will be looked at afresh and we will work with you to understand any remaining concerns. We aim to provide a final response within one month of the complaint being escalated.
If we need to vary any of these timescales, we will let you know and explain why.
What are my legal rights?
Our Terms of Business continue to apply to this procedure. Nothing in this procedure takes precedence over or replaces any right you have to bring a complaint or dispute against the firm under UK law.
Contacting our Complaints Partner
Email: [email protected]
Procedural options
If you do not agree with our final response and you are a consumer (or qualifying small business), you may have the right to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, an independent organisation which deals with complaints about solicitors and other legal professionals.
Full details are available from the Legal Ombudsman website, by calling 0300 555 1777, by emailing [email protected] or by writing to Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH.
If you wish to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, you should do so within six months of our final response, and within one year of the act or omission you are complaining about, or within one year of when you realised there was cause for complaint. Please refer to the Legal Ombudsman website for full details.
You may also ask an approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) body to deal with the complaint, such as CEDR in London. We do not agree to use the scheme operated by CEDR.
If your complaint relates to our fees, you may be entitled to have them reviewed by the court by applying for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. If you do so within one month of the date of our invoice, your right to a detailed assessment is unconditional. If you delay beyond a month the court may impose conditions. Once a year has passed since the date of the bill you will lose the right to a detailed assessment unless there are special circumstances.
If you consider that we have breached a regulatory obligation, you may report the matter directly to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, call 0370 606 2555, email [email protected] or write to Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham B1 1RN.