Complaints Procedure
Our firm is committed to high quality legal advice and client care. If you are unhappy about any aspect of the service you have received or about your bill, please contact Folasade Apanpa on 01322951274 or by email to fa@afpanedward.com or by post at our address at Unit 4, First Floor, Westgate House, Spital Street, Dartford. DA1 2EH. We have a procedure in place which details how we handle complaints which is available from us upon request or on our website. We have eight weeks to consider your complaint.
If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the complaint at the following contact details: Normally, you will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint or within six years of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring (or if outside of this period, within three years of when you should reasonably have been aware of it).
If you have followed our internal complaints process and are still dissatisfied with our final response or resolution, you can refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.
Before accepting your complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will confirm that you have first attempted to resolve the issue with us. If you have done so, you can then take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.
The Contact details for Legal Ombudsman is: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806 Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ.
Their Telephone 0300 555 0333
Their email for general enquiries is: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.
The Legal Ombudsman is an independent body established under the Legal Services Act, and it is authorized to investigate complaints about the legal services you’ve received from us.
Afpan Edward Solicitors is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). If you have concerns about our conduct or the way we have treated you, you can equally contact the SRA at https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor for assistance.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the regulatory body responsible for overseeing solicitors in England and Wales. The complaints procedure for solicitors usually involves the following steps:
Initial Contact: Complaints can be made directly to the solicitor or to the SRA. The SRA provides an online form and guidance for making complaints on their website.
Investigation: The SRA will assess the complaint and may request further information from both the complainant and the solicitor. They will investigate the matter and consider whether there has been a breach of professional standards.
Resolution Attempts: In some cases, the SRA may attempt to resolve the complaint informally through mediation or negotiation between the parties involved.
Formal Hearing: If the complaint cannot be resolved informally, it may proceed to a formal disciplinary process. This could involve a hearing before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), where evidence will be presented, and a decision will be made.
Decision and Sanctions: If the solicitor is found to have breached professional standards, the SDT may impose sanctions ranging from a warning or fine to suspension or striking off from the roll of solicitors.
Appeals: Both the complainant and the solicitor have the right to appeal the decision of the SDT if they are dissatisfied.