Our complaints procedure

Any expression of dissatisfaction about the service you have received from Miles & Partners will be taken seriously and we will endeavour to respond promptly to any complaint.

If you feel that we have failed to provide an acceptable service we want you to let us know so that we can put things right if possible and hopefully answer any problem you may have about the service you have received. This also gives us an opportunity to monitor and improve our client care. Any complaint will be investigated with a view to answering your concerns and achieving a positive outcome.

What to do if you are unhappy with the service you are receiving

If you are not happy with the service you have received, you should first raise it with the person responsible for your case.

If you are unhappy with the reply provided by the person normally dealing with your case you can refer the matter to our Client Care Manager at phil.walsh@milesandpartners.com setting out the details of your complaint.

What will we do?

Step 1 – Log the complaint

If you have not been able to resolve the problem with the person dealing with your case, we will Log the complaint

The Client Care Manager will acknowledge the complaint within two working days. It will be given a reference number and will be entered into a complaints register. 

Step 2 – Keep track of your complaint

A central file, separate from the main client file, will be opened. If your matter is ongoing, it will not be affected by the fact that you have raised a complaint. The Client Care Manager  will supervise the progress of your complaint and liaise with other members of staff where appropriate.

Step 3 – Investigate and respond

We do not charge for investigating or resolving complaints. The Client Care Manager will then ensure that the supervising partner will consider your complaint and the matter will then be investigated and you will be replied to in detail as soon as possible within eight weeks. If for some reason, the matter cannot be investigated in this time frame, then we will write to you notifying you of this, together with the reason why and the revised timescale. If we believe it would be helpful, we may suggest a meeting or telephone conversation.

Step 4 – Review

Following our final response, the matter will be closed. We will review the issues you have raised with us to see whether we need to make changes to the way we work as a result.

Step 5 – Other avenues

You must always try complaining to us first. In most cases you will not be able to take your complaint further without allowing us the opportunity to put things right.

Legal Ombudsman

The Legal Ombudsman’s guidance is that we should be able to consider a complaint within eight weeks. If for any reason we are unable to do so within that time, then you may ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the complaint.

You can also refer a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman if you are not satisfied with our response. Please be aware that any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of you having received a final written response from us about your complaint. Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within one year of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring; or within one year from when you should have known about or become aware that there were grounds for complaint. The Legal Ombudsman will not accept complaints where the act or date of awareness was before 6 October 2010.

For further information, please contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333 or visit legalombudsman.org.uk. The Legal Ombudsman may be contacted at PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH.

Solicitors Regulation Authority

If you think a solicitor might be dishonest or you have concerns about their ethics or integrity, you can notify our regulator, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). There are no time limits for making a report but there are limits on what the SRA will consider. Please note that the SRA is not able to deal with issues of poor service (complaints of this nature should instead be referred to the Legal Ombudsman). For further information about the SRA’s role, please contact the SRA or visit: https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.page#report