Complaints Procedure

Our Approach

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. If you become unhappy or concerned about the service we are providing or something goes wrong, then you should let us know.  This will help us to improve our standards.

We will regard a complaint as being any expression of dissatisfaction in relation to the legal services, client care or the complaints management process provided by the firm, where the client feels they have experienced, or could experience, financial loss, distress, inconvenience, or another kind of disadvantage, and they expect a response or resolution from us.

Information to be given to clients at the outset of their case

As part of our Client Care Letter, which is issued to all clients at the start of their matter, we will inform them of the following:

• Their right to raise a complaint regarding the services provided, including concerns about the firm’s fees;
• The process for making a complaint.  In the first instance, we recommend that you contact the lawyer handling your case to discuss your concerns;
• Who to contact if the issue cannot be resolved directly with the lawyer handling their case; and
• The options available to them if they remain dissatisfied following our internal review of the complaint.  

Our Complaints Procedure

STAGE 1 – Contact our Complaints Team

If you feel your lawyer has not adequately addressed your concerns, please contact our Complaints Team by email, post or phone outlining your concerns and including supporting evidence.

• Email: complaints@richardnelsonllp.co.uk
• Post: Richard Nelson LLP, Priory Court, 1 Derby Road, Nottingham, NG9 2TA
• Tel: 0115 986 3636

STAGE 2 – Within 5 working days of our Complaints Team receiving your complaint

Our Team will acknowledge it, request any further information (if required) and provide you with a copy of our Complaints Procedure.

STAGE 3 – Within 10 working days of sending our Acknowledgement Letter

Our Team will review your concern/s and assess whether your complaint is suitable for Early Resolution. We will of course advise you if more time is required.

Following this review, your complaint will follow one of two routes:

1 – IF EARLY RESOLUTION IS SUITABLE:

We will contact you to confirm this and offer our proposed means of redress in an Early Resolution Offer. You have 7 days to accept or decline our proposal.

• • ACCEPT OUR OFFER: Complaint resolved.
  • DECLINE OUR OFFER: Your complaint will proceed to a Full Investigation under Stage 4 below.  Any offer could be more or less favourable than our Early Resolution offer.

2 – IF EARLY RESOLUTION IS NOT SUITABLE 

We will confirm to you that your complaint must involve a Full Investigation under Stage 4 below.

STAGE 4 – Full Investigation

Our Team will carry out a detailed review of relevant information, evidence, correspondence and consult, where appropriate, with the lawyer responsible for your matter to assess whether our service was reasonable in respect of your cause/s for concern. We will determine whether any changes to our policies, procedures or training are required. If the complaint concerns any of the Complaints Team or our Managing Partner, then another Partner will be appointed to handle their role in the process.

STAGE 5 – Within 8 weeks of our Complaints Team receiving your complaint

We will provide you with our Final Full Investigation Response, explaining our findings, any remedy we wish to offer, how you can accept it and how to contact the Legal Ombudsman if you remain unhappy.

If your case and/or complaint is particularly complex, we may require additional time to respond. In such circumstances, we will inform you and seek to agree a realistic and fair timeframe for investigating and responding to your complaint.

STAGE 6 – After receiving our Final Response

If you remain dissatisfied following the firm’s final response, you may refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman for independent review. Generally, you must bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of receiving our final written complaint response. However, if this timeframe has passed, you may still contact the Legal Ombudsman, as they may agree to consider your complaint. Please note that the Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within 1 year of the date of the act or omission giving rise to your concern, or within 1 year of when you first became aware of the issue.

The Legal Ombudsman can be contacted at:

• Post: PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH
• Web: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
• Tel: 0300 555 0333
• Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Useful Contacts

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things such as dishonesty, or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic. You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.  More information can be found on their website at https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.page. Please note, however, that the Solicitors Regulation Authority do not have the power to offer compensation.

Alternative complaints bodies exist, such as ProMediate, which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme. ProMediate can be contacted via their website at http://www.promediate.co.uk/. ProMediate should be contacted within 12 months of receiving a final letter from this firm regarding a complaint. We will consider using such a scheme on a case-by-case basis.

This complaints procedure policy document was last updated on 01/09/26.