Complaints Procedure

We, at AK Solicitors Ltd, take pride in providing our clients with the best service possible therefore any complaints are extremely seriously. We realise that there may be instances which renders our services to fall short of your expectations.

Where you feel that the level of service fell below our standards then we would like to know what had happened to prevent this from reoccurring. At this stage, a complaint is deemed informal and should be initially raised with the individual responsible for handling your file. We will seek to resolve the complaint at this stage to your satisfaction. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

Formal complaints will be thoroughly and promptly investigated by following our complaints handling procedure as follows:

Step One:

You should inform the Complaints Handling Director (CHD), Ambreen Kaoser, of details of the formal complaint by in writing via email Click to show encoded email or at the following address:

Miss Ambreen Kaoser
AK Solicitors Ltd
Lakeview 600
Lakeside Drive
Centre Park Square
Warrington
WA1 1RW

The CHD will acknowledge receipt of the written complaint within five working days and explain what will happen thereafter.

Step Two:

The CHD will investigate the matter file and speak with the member of staff concerned within five working days of acknowledging receipt of your complaint.

If, for some reason, the matter cannot be investigated in this timeframe, then the CHD will write to you notifying you of this together with the reason why and giving a revised timescale. Once the investigation has been completed, the CHD shall invite you to a meeting to discuss the issue(s) you have raised and hopefully resolve the complaint. This meeting will take place within fourteen days of sending you the acknowledgement letter. Following the meeting, the CHD shall write to you within five working days of the meeting to confirm your discussion and the solution agreed
upon.

Step Three:

If you do not want to or are unable to attend such a meeting, the CHD will send you a detailed, written response, including her proposed solution, within fourteen working days of sending you the letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint.

Step Four:

If you are satisfied with his response in either Step Two or Three then that will be the end of the matter. However, if you are not satisfied, you should contact the CHD again and she will arrange for a member of staff who is unconnected with the matter to review her decision. He/She will write to you within fourteen days of receiving your request with confirmation of the firm’s final position in relation to your complaint, outlining the reasons and any final redress that is offered.

Step Five:

We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If for any reason we are unable to resolve the problem between us within that timeframe, then you may ask the Legal Ombudsman or SRA to consider the complaint.

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

You must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint from us. From 1 April 2023, the Legal Ombudsman also expects complaints to be made to them within 1 year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned (prior to 1 April 2023: 6 years) or within 1 year of you realising there was a concern (prior to 1 April 2023: 3 years).

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them via email or in writing. The contact details can be found by visiting www.legalombudsman.org.uk

A complaint can be made to the SRA if it relates to our professional conduct. Further information is available on the SRA’s website (https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems).