Complaints procedure
You are entitled to complain about our work or your bill. You have the right to apply for assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. We treat complaints very seriously and make every effort to deal with them effectively. We will investigate your complaint, and respond fully as soon as possible. Your complaint will be handled by the supervising partner or alternatively your client partner.
Please address your letter to Dr Alan Ma when writing your complaint letter. Or you can send your complaint letter by e-mail to: alan.ma@maxwellalves.com We aim to acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days from the date of receipt and send an initial response within 10 working days. Should a substantive response be required we aim to send this to you within 15 working days. If, for any reason, we are unable to respond fully within 15 days, we will tell you why, and when we anticipate replying in full.
We aim to resolve your complaint as quickly as possible and in any event within 8 weeks from the date of receipt. If we are unable to resolve your difficulty in this way, you will be offered the opportunity of an internal review. This will usually be handled by our Senior Partner, Dr Alan Ma.
If you do not believe that we have responded to your complaint within a reasonable time, or you are not satisfied with the response, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman. The helpline number is 0300 555 0333, and the address is PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ. Their e-mail address is enquires@legalombudsman.org.uk
A six year time limit from the date of the problem happening or three years when you found out about the problem, normally applies to complaints to the Legal Ombudsman. However, if we provide a full response to your complaint, you have 6 months from the end of our complaints process to complain to the Legal Ombudsman. Further information can be found on its website at http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/
However, please note that the service provided by the Legal Ombudsman is only available to certain types of clients/organisations. Further details of those eligible for the service can be found on our, or the Legal Ombudsman’s, websites. Alternatively, you should contact the Ombudsman on the helpline number given above.