Complaints

We hope you'll never need this...

If our service does not meet your expectations, you have a right to complain. We have never had a complaint, but we are required to give this information by our regulator.

If we've got it wrong, we will put it right

Our aim is to provide an outstanding legal service. If this is not the case, please tell us: we will listen, treat what you say seriously and put it right.

We hope that we can resolve any complaint to your complete satisfaction informally with the lawyer handling your matter. However, if you feel that we have not done so, please follow the formal complaints procedure below.

Our complaints procedure

Our complaints procedure is very simple: if you complain about the legal service which we have provided, Neil will handle your complaint promptly, fairly, openly, and effectively.

This is what will happen:

  • It is entirely up to you how you wish to make your complaint: you can email or call or, if you prefer, write a letter.
  • Neil will contact you to confirm the nature of the complaint. At this point, he will give you an estimate of how long it is likely to take to investigate the complaint.
  • He will then investigate the complaint. If the complaint is taking a long time to investigate and, in particular, if it is taking longer than he initially estimated, Neil will keep you informed of the revised timescale.
  • Once the complaint has been investigated, Neil will contact you to explain his findings and the outcome of the investigation and, where appropriate, to offer redress.
  • Neil will always provide a final response to you in writing, for your records.
  • Your complaint will be recorded in a central register for monitoring and management information purposes. There is, of course, no charge associated with handling a complaint.

If you are not happy with our handling of your complaint, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider your complaint.

You can ask the Legal Ombudsman to look at your complaint if it meets both of the conditions below:

  • (Until April 1 2023) You are referring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within either six years of the problem happening or within three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint; or
  • (From April 1 2023) You are referring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within one year of the problem happening, or from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint; and
  • You are referring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of decoded.legal’s final response.

The Legal Ombudsman may be reached as follows:

  • Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
  • Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
  • Tel: 0300 555 0333
  • Overseas: +44 121 245 3050
  • Post: Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Versioning

  • v1.2 (2023-02-24): amended to reference the change to the limitation periods, as dictated by the Legal Ombudsman
  • v1.1 (2021-02-11): amended branding