JG Solicitors Limited, including Check My Legal Fees and Get My Fee Back

Our commitment to you

This procedure applies to the legal services provided by JG Solicitors Limited, including under its trading names Check My Legal Fees and Get My Fee Back.

If you are unhappy with our service or charges, please tell us so that we can investigate and seek to put matters right. We will deal with complaints promptly, fairly and free of charge. You will not be treated unfairly for making a complaint. A copy of this procedure is available on request.

How to make a complaint

You may raise your concerns with the person dealing with your matter, who may be able to resolve them. Alternatively, or if you remain dissatisfied, you may contact our Managing Director directly:

James Green
Managing Director
JG Solicitors Limited
Suite 1, Regents Court
39A Harrogate Road
Chapel Allerton
Leeds LS7 3PD

Email: help@jgsolicitors.com
Telephone: 0113 345 1432

You may complain verbally or in writing. You do not need to use a particular form or describe your concerns as a “complaint”.

It will help us if you provide your name and contact details, your case reference if known, an explanation of your concerns, any relevant information and what you would like us to do to resolve the matter. Providing all of this information is not a condition of making a complaint.

What happens after we receive your complaint?

We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and tell you who is dealing with it. We will investigate your concerns and may ask for clarification or further information, or contact you to discuss a possible resolution.

We will respond promptly, taking account of the nature and circumstances of the complaint, and explain our conclusions and any proposed remedy in writing.

We aim to resolve complaints within eight weeks of receiving them. If your complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction by then, we will write to you explaining its status and any reasons for delay, and provide information about any right you have to complain to the Legal Ombudsman, the applicable time limits and its full contact details.

We may consider further information you provide where appropriate. You do not have to request a further internal review before exercising any right to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

Putting matters right

If we identify a failing, we will explain what happened and address it, including considering an appropriate remedy in the circumstances.

If you allege that you have suffered financial loss, we may need to refer the matter to our professional indemnity insurers and obtain their agreement before admitting liability. This does not suspend our handling of your complaint or our obligations to explain what went wrong.

If we cannot resolve your complaint

If you remain dissatisfied with our final response, or your complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction within eight weeks of making it, you may be entitled to refer it to the Legal Ombudsman. Its service is free and independent. The Legal Ombudsman will normally expect you to have raised your complaint with us first.

Ordinarily, you must refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

• Within one year of the act or omission being complained about; or
• Within one year of when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint;

and, where we have issued a final written response containing the required information about the Legal Ombudsman and warning about this time limit:

• Within six months of that final written response.

The Legal Ombudsman may accept a complaint outside these time limits where it considers it fair and reasonable to do so. It decides whether you are eligible and whether your complaint falls within its jurisdiction and time limits.

Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Relay UK: 18001 0300 555 0333
Post: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

Complaints about conduct

The Legal Ombudsman generally deals with complaints about service and charges. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) deals with serious concerns about professional conduct, such as dishonesty, misuse of client money or serious breaches of regulatory requirements. It does not ordinarily resolve service complaints or award compensation.

You can report conduct concerns to the SRA without waiting for our complaints procedure to conclude. Information about how to do so is available at:

www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/

Complaints about your bill

You may use this procedure to complain about our bill or charges. You may also have a right to apply to the court for an assessment under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. Separate time limits and rules apply, and you may wish to obtain independent legal advice.

The Legal Ombudsman may decide not to consider a complaint about a bill if you have already applied to the court for an assessment.

Alternative dispute resolution

Where our complaints procedure has been exhausted and we cannot settle your complaint, we will provide, as required, the name and website address of an approved alternative dispute resolution body competent to deal with it and tell you whether we agree to use its scheme. Providing this information does not itself mean that we agree to participate in that scheme.

Accessibility and assistance

Please tell us if you need this procedure in another format or require reasonable adjustments or assistance to make a complaint.

You may authorise another person to complain on your behalf. We may need to confirm their authority before discussing confidential information with them.