Complaints

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Should you wish to make a complaint regarding our service, please see the below process:

You can register your complaint with the person dealing with your matter or Mr Andrew Settle, Director and appointed Complaints Handler. Mr Settle will ensure complaints are handled effectively and in accordance with this procedure.

1. Your complaint will be acknowledged within seven days.
2. We will conduct a full investigation and an independent review of your matter.
3. We aim to respond to all complaints within 28 days, however, if your complaint is of a more complex nature, we will require more time; we will inform you of when you will receive a full response.
4. We will reply to you, usually in writing, to tell you our views on your complaint and how we propose to resolve it, hopefully to your satisfaction.
5. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, or the way your complaint has been handled, you may request that your file is independently reviewed by an external solicitor who will make such further investigations as are necessary.
6. The external solicitor will inform you of the conclusions and any alternative proposals to resolve your complaint, usually within 28 days of this being referred to them. Under no circumstances will the above investigation take longer than 8 weeks.
7. You may take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of the expiry of the 8-week period or our definitive response in the meantime.

Legal Ombudsman:
Is an independent organisation, which is ultimately responsible to Parliament. The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints about the legal profession. You must make any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within a certain period of time of the act or omission in the work which gave cause to the complaint arising. We refer you to their contact details:

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton

Telephone – 0300 555 0333
Website – www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Email – enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

There are restrictions upon who may make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. Individuals and certain enterprises may do so, however, are therefore referred to the Legal Ombudsman’s website, as above, for clarification.

Before it will consider a complaint, the Legal Ombudsman generally requires that the firm’s internal Complaints Procedure has been exhausted. If it is necessary to involve the Legal Ombudsman it may take up to six months from the end of the firm’s procedure; this can be checked at www.legalombudsman.org.uk or by telephoning 0300 555 0333. If the Legal Ombudsman is satisfied that the firm’s proposals for resolving a complaint are reasonable, it may decline to investigate further.

There are also two additional relevant time limits; the Legal Ombudsman will accept complaints up to six years from the date of act/omission, or three years from when you should have known about the complaint. However, this new limit will be introduced gradually, as at present, the problem must have happened on or after 6th October 2010, or if the problem happened earlier than that, you must not have been aware of it before 6th October 2010.

The Legal Ombudsman may:

• Investigate the quality of professional service supplied by a solicitor to a client
• Investigate allegations that a solicitor has breached rules of professional conduct
• Express a view on whether a solicitor’s charges are fair and reasonable
• Ensure that a solicitor has handled a complaint correctly

The Legal Ombudsman will not:

• Determine whether a solicitor has been negligent
• Give legal advice or tell a solicitor how to handle a case
• Review the outcome of a court case

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, taking or losing your money 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.

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I had the mis fortune to need Legal advice over an employment issue right at the start of the Covid 19 outbreak/lock down period. I had previously heard of JJL though an event that they run annually so thought why not give them a go. The service I received was excellent the whole team were attentive and explained all of the legal details in plain English. Within a week or so my issue was resolved successfully which given the current state of the country I was super impressed with. I would have no hesitation in recommending their services to anyone in need of legal advice.

I have been working with Joseph James Law for over a year now and have found each member of the team I have worked with highly knowledgeable and extremely professional. I have worked with Katarzyna for the most part and she has been very supportive, the communication between us has always been clear and timely especially when dealing with some highly sensitive issues.

ML Group

Thank you for your friendly & professional service. You have been instrumental in keeping our mind at peace with employment matters, helping us with comprehensive employment handbook as well as best practices. We value your guidance on case-2-case basis and trust you as you have our interests at heart.

Thank you for your help in this matter as I have no doubt we would not have managed it on our own.

Mrs C Steventon

Thank you so much to JJL for helping me through a really tough time with my employer. Without their time and legal expertise I am not sure what I would have done. They made calculated and rational decisions that assisted me get the best possible outcome.

Mrs H

Andrew and his Employment team made themselves available during times most people would consider after hours and the patience they had along with the time they took to explain the details of the case were truly above and beyond what was expected. Andrew did everything in his power to ensure the pro...

John F

My family and I were in need of professional legal advice regarding our late mother, Andrew Settle of JJL was professional, courteous and extremely understanding , which at the time was extremely helpful.

Trevor Price

As a relatively new commercial client of JJL solicitors we have been delighted by the results that they have achieved in a short space of time. They made the set up and process of transferring our debt recovery clients simple, straightforward and hassle free.

Mrs Brice

Fantastic service, I would highly recommend and would definitely use again if needed. Friendly staff, very fast response to any queries via email or phone and great advice and support was given throughout the process. Help was provided every step of the way. Nothing was too much trouble. I got the ...

Victoria D