We are committed to providing a high quality legal service and to dealing with all our clients fairly. We acknowledge that we may not always get it right so if something has gone wrong, including in relation to the bill, we need you to tell us.
How do I make a complaint?
You can contact us in writing (by letter, fax or email) or by speaking with our complaints director whose contact details are: Reece Wheeldon, non-lawyer manager of PDC Law, Sherwood House, 5 Bluecoats Avenue, Hertford, Hertfordshire, SG14 1PB.
To help us to understand your complaint, and in order that we do not miss anything, please tell us:
your full name and contact details
what you think we have got wrong
what you hope to achieve as a result of your complaint, and
your file reference number (if you have it)
If you require any help in making your complaint we will try to help you.
How will you deal with my complaint?
We will record your complaint centrally.
We will write to you within three working days acknowledging your complaint, enclosing a copy of this policy.
We will investigate your complaint. This will usually involve:
3reviewing your complaint
reviewing your file(s) and other relevant documents, and
speaking with the person who dealt with your matter
We may also need to ask you for further information or documents. If so, we will ask you to provide the information within a specific period of time.
We will update you on the progress of your complaint at appropriate times.
We may also, if appropriate, invite you to a meeting to discuss your complaint. You do not have to attend if you do not wish to or if you are unable to. We will be happy to discuss the matter with you on the telephone.
We will write to you at the end of our investigation to tell you what we have done and what we propose to do to resolve your complaint. Where possible, we will aim to do this within 28 days of the date of our letter of acknowledgement.
What if I am not satisfied with the outcome?
If you are unhappy with the outcome of our complaints handling procedure please first let us know and we will review the matter.
If you are still unhappy you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to look into your complaint. You can contact the Legal Ombudsman:
by post at Legal Ombudsman Po Box 6167 Slough SL1 OEH
Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:
(a) within six months of receiving our final response to your complaint; and
(b) within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned; or
(c) within one year of you realising there was a concern
Alternative complaints bodies (such as Ombudsman Services, ProMediate and Small Claims Mediation and the website) exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme. We have, however, chosen not to adopt an ADR process. If, therefore, you wish to complain further, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman.
What will it cost?
We will not charge you for handling your complaint.
Please note that if we have issued a bill for work done on the matter, and all or some of the bill is not paid, we may be entitled to charge interest on the amount outstanding.