Complaints Procedure

At Boys & Maughan, we are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. However, we recognise that sometimes things can go wrong.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of our service, including our fees, please tell us. We take complaints seriously and will do our best to resolve your concerns promptly and fairly. Your feedback also helps us improve the service we provide.

How to make a complaint

In the first instance, please contact the person dealing with your case or their supervising partner. You will find their contact details in the client care letter we sent you at the beginning of your case.

If you would prefer to make your complaint in writing and do not know who the supervising partner is, please email reception@boysandmaughan.co.uk.

If your concerns cannot be resolved by the person dealing with your case or their supervising partner, you can ask for your complaint to be referred to the departmental line manager.

It would be helpful if you could include:

  • Your name and contact details.

  • Your case reference, if you have one.

  • A brief explanation of what has gone wrong.

  • What you would like us to do to put things right.

You can also contact Andrew Baker, our Senior Partner, who is responsible for overseeing the firm's complaints procedure and ensuring complaints are investigated thoroughly.

Andrew Baker
Boys & Maughan Solicitors
India House, 11–13 Hawley Street
Margate, Kent CT9 1PZ

Telephone: 01843 234000
Email: adb@boysandmaughan.co.uk

Using AI to prepare your complaint

AI can be helpful in organising and presenting your concerns. However, it can also make a complaint unnecessarily complicated or introduce issues that are not relevant to your experience. If you use AI, please check that your complaint accurately reflects your concerns. Unnecessary complexity or additional issues may mean we need to seek clarification, which could delay our investigation and response.

What happens after you make a complaint?

We aim to resolve complaints as quickly as possible. Our procedure is as follows.

1. We will contact you

We will contact you to discuss your concerns and, if necessary, ask you for further information. We will also tell you who will be dealing with your complaint.

Sometimes a complaint can be resolved at this early stage.

2. We will investigate your complaint

We will record your complaint in our central complaints register and investigate the issues you have raised. This will include reviewing the relevant case file.

3. We will discuss our findings with you

Where appropriate, we will invite you to meet the departmental line manager to discuss your concerns and explore how they might be resolved.

We aim to arrange this meeting within 14 days of receiving your complaint.

You do not have to attend a meeting. If you would prefer not to meet, or a meeting cannot be arranged within a suitable timescale, the line manager will write to you explaining their findings and any proposed resolution.

If a meeting takes place, we will write to you within two days to confirm what was discussed and any actions agreed.

Depending on the circumstances, we may offer an apology, a reduction in our fees or a refund.

4. We will review our decision if you remain unhappy

If you are dissatisfied with our response, please let us know.

We will arrange for our decision to be reviewed, normally within 10 days. This may involve the departmental line manager reviewing their decision.

If you remain dissatisfied, you can ask Andrew Baker, our complaints handling partner, to review your complaint. He will aim to complete his review within 10 days.

5. We will confirm our final decision

We will write to you within five days of completing the review to explain our final position.

We will also provide details of the Legal Ombudsman, which may be able to help if you remain dissatisfied.

If we need to change any of the timescales outlined above, we will let you know and explain why.

What if you are still unhappy?

We hope to resolve your complaint through our own complaints procedure. However, if we cannot reach a satisfactory resolution, you may be able to ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider your complaint independently.

The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints about the service provided by legal professionals, including complaints about fees.

You can contact the Legal Ombudsman if:

  • You are dissatisfied with our final response to your complaint; or
  • Eight weeks have passed since you first complained to us and your complaint has not been resolved.

Time limits for contacting the Legal Ombudsman

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

  • Within one year of the problem occurring, or within one year of becoming aware of it; and
  • Within six months of receiving our final written response to your complaint.

The Legal Ombudsman may be unable to investigate complaints made outside these time limits, so we recommend contacting them promptly if you remain dissatisfied.

Legal Ombudsman contact details

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

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH

Reporting concerns to the Solicitors Regulation Authority

You can also report concerns about our professional conduct to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the organisation responsible for regulating solicitors and law firms in England and Wales.

The SRA deals with concerns about professional behaviour, such as dishonesty, breaches of professional rules, or discrimination.

The SRA does not usually deal with complaints about poor service, delays or legal fees. These are generally matters for the Legal Ombudsman.

You can find out more about reporting concerns on the SRA website.

Solicitors Regulation Authority contact details

Telephone: 0370 606 2555

Solicitors Regulation Authority
The Cube
199 Wharfside Street
Birmingham
B1 1RN