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We hope to provide the highest possible service to our clients but if for any reason you do not feel that our service has matched your expectations then please contact us straight away so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.  Any complaint will be fully investigated free of charge.

We are committed to providing high quality legal advice and client care. If you are unhappy about any aspect of the service you have received or about the bill, please contact us on 01539 565 885 asking to speak to Graeme Armstrong or by email graeme@www.gdasolicitors.co.uk or by writing to us.

In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage. If you would like to make a formal complaint, please see our Complaints procedure below. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

Our complaints procedure

If you have a complaint, write to us with details of the complaint.

What will happen next?

  1. We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm or explain the details set out. We will also let you know the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint. You can expect to receive our letter within fourteen days of us receiving your complaint.
  2. We will record your complaint in our Central Register and open a separate file for your complaint. We will do this within fourteen days of receiving your complaint.
  3. We will acknowledge your reply to our acknowledgement letter and confirm what will happen next. You can expect to hear from us within fourteen days of your reply.
  4. We will then start to investigate your complaint. This will normally involve the following steps:
    • We will pass your complaint to Mr Graeme Armstrong, our designated Complaints Director, within seven days.
    • He will ask the member of staff who acted for you to reply to your complaint within seven days.
    • He will then examine the reply and the information in your complaint file. If necessary he may also speak to them. This will take up to seven days from receiving the reply and the file.
  5. Mr Armstrong will then invite you to discuss, and we hope, resolve your complaint. He will do this within seven days of step 4 concluding.
  6. Within seven days of the meeting / discussion Mr Armstrong will write to you to confirm what took place and any solution he has agreed with you. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Mr Armstrong will send you a detailed reply to your complaint. This will include his suggestions for resolving the matter. He will do this within seven days of completing his investigations.
  7. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied you can write to us again. We will then arrange to review our decision. This will happen in one of the following ways:
  8. If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.
  9. We will also give you the name and address of the Legal Ombudsman (LEO). If you are still not satisfied, you can contact them about your complaint. The LEO will normally investigate complaints within six years from the act/omission complained of or three years from you realising the cause of your complaint. You must refer to the LEO within six months of the date of our written response to your complaint. Please be aware that the Legal Ombudsman will not accept complaints where the act or date of awareness was before 6 October 2010. The LEO may consider it appropriate to refer the matter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The address for the Legal Ombudsman is:

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ
Helpline: 0300 555 0333
E-mail: enquiries@legalombusdman.org.uk

  1. The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.
  2. You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

If you are unhappy about how the LeO or SRA have dealt with your complaint you can complain to the Legal Services Ombudsman (LSO), who is responsible for dealing with complaints about legal professional bodies. The address for the Legal Services Ombudsman is:

Legal Services Ombudsman
3rd Floor Sunlight House
Quay Street Manchester
M3 3JZ
Helpline: 0845 601 0794
E-mail: lso@olso.gsi.gov.uk

In addition to directing a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman (LEO) you will be able to refer your dispute for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). There are three Institutions available to deal with disputes in the legal services sector, namely the Ombudsman Services, ProMediate and Small Claims Mediation.  If required, we will provide contact details for those mediation services.