Complaint Handling
Complaint Handling Procedure (rradar Limited)
rradar is committed to providing a high-quality, client focused and efficient legal service to its clients. As part of that commitment, rradar acknowledges the need to have a procedure in place which enables it to deal with any client dissatisfaction in a prompt, fair, open and effective way.
In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case or their Legal Manager, to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage. If this informal approach does not resolve the matter, then this Complaints Procedure is invoked commencing with “Stage One”.
Stage One
You should put your complaint in writing to clientcare@rradar.com and we will provide you with a copy of our Complaints Procedure.
The following information, where possible, should be included within your complaint.
- file reference (if available)
- description of the basis of the complaint including a timeline of events
- the type of case that was being dealt with
- the name and job title (if available) of any individual who is being complained about
- copies of any relevant correspondence or documentation in relation to the complaint
Stage Two
Upon receipt of a written complaint from You, a copy of this procedure will be provided by rradar. This will be under cover of a letter of acknowledgement (to be sent by email where appropriate) within 2 working days.
The letter of acknowledgement will state the date of receipt of the written complaint and will confirm that an investigation has been commenced and shall also provide a date for a substantive response, which should be 14 days from receipt of the written complaint.
The letter will also explain that if it becomes clear to rradar that the investigation and response will require more time than the 14 days usually applied, a clear time frame for response will be given.
Any queries which rradar wishes to raise with You, in order to deal with the complaint, will be put to You in writing, to which You should respond as soon as is practicable. Any delay in responding to queries could impact on the time within which a response can be provided.
Stage Three
A substantive response including a decision regarding the complaint and any proposed appropriate resolution will be provided in writing within the timescale identified above (i.e. 14 days or a longer period where agreed, but no more than 8 weeks in total).
If You are unhappy with the response, you will have a further opportunity to provide your comments, which must be supplied in writing within 14 days of the date of receipt of the substantive response from rradar. If no further comments are received within that timescale, rradar is entitled to consider that You have accepted the conclusion reached in the substantive response.
rradar will respond in writing within 7 days of receipt of your further written comments, indicating whether or not they consider that this changes their decision and if so, what this means.
Costs
We will not charge You for dealing with the complaint under this procedure.
If, as part of any resolution to your complaint, further legal work is required, we will agree any charges for this with You.
What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint
England and Wales
If You feel that rradar has not resolved your complaint to your satisfaction within eight weeks of your complaint to rradar, you can complain to the Legal Ombudsman, an independent complaints body established under the Legal Services Act 2007, that deals with legal services complaints at:
Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH, or enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
You have six months from the date of our final letter in which to complain to the Legal Ombudsman.
You can, if necessary, seek assistance from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (the SRA) if you have specific concerns about an aspect of our professional conduct, including if you believe we have acted dishonestly, taken or lost your money, or treated you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.
Scotland
If we are unable to resolve the problem between us under our formal complaints procedure, you may be able to ask the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission to consider your complaint. If the problem concerns your bill you may also request that the Auditor of Court carries out an independent assessment, known as a taxation.
If you want to contact the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, you should call 0131 528 5111, e-mail them at enquiries@scottishlegalcomplaints.org.uk or write to them at The Stamp Office, 10–14 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3EG.
Normally, you will need to bring a complaint to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission within 3 years of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint.