Regulation Information
Acorn Solicitors LLP trading as Acorn Solicitors is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (registration number 838648) whose rules can be found at:
http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/code/content.page
Registered in England under Partnership No. OC 439962.
Acorn Solicitors VAT registration number is 943 2423 38.
A list of partners is available for inspection at the registered office.
The Registered Office is 126 High Street, Street, Somerset, BA16 0ER.
The offices for Acorn Solicitors are:-
Acorn House, 50 Upper High Street, Taunton, Somerset TA1 3PY
126 High Street, Street, Somerset, BA16 0ER
COMPLAINTS OR CONCERNS
We are committed to
providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes
wrong we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our
standards of service.
What happens if you
are dissatisfied with the service you have received?
If you are not
happy with the service you have received, please raise this first with the
member of staff concerned or, if you do not feel able to discuss this with him
or her, the person responsible for overall supervision of the work. If you are
a client (or their representative), he or she will have been named in the
client care letter we sent you at the outset of the work.
If you do not feel
able to speak to either of them, or you are not satisfied with their response,
you should contact our Senior Partner J David Sinclair, setting out full
details of your concerns, or the issues you have.
50 Upper High
Street, Taunton, Somerset TA1 3PY
Tel: 01823 273010
Email: david.sinclair@acornsolicitors.co.uk
INTERNAL INVESTIGATION
They will arrange
for your complaint to be investigated in accordance with the procedure set out
below.
·
Within two working days of contacting us, you will be sent an acknowledgement,
which will tell you who will be investigating your complaint. The person
investigating your complaint will not be someone who has been involved in the
matter.
·
We will fully investigate your complaint and will aim to conclude our
investigation, within 28 days of our acknowledgement or the date by which we
have agreed with you the issues of concern if clarification is needed.
·
Our investigation will include a review of your file in relation to the
issues you have complained about and we may, if we think it appropriate, invite
you to a meeting to discuss your concerns. At the end of our investigation we
will send you a detailed reply confirming the outcome of our investigation into
your complaint.
·
If we are unable to conclude our investigation within 28 days, we will
contact you to explain why and give you a revised date by which we hope to
provide our substantive response.
INTERNAL REVIEW
·
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of our internal investigation,
you can request an internal review of our investigation by contacting our Senior
Partner. Alternatively, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to investigate.
·
If you want an internal review, you must request it within 14 days of
the date of our substantive response, and explain why you believe that our
initial decision was incorrect.
·
We will send you an acknowledgement within two working days of receiving
your request for an internal review. We will aim to conclude our internal
review and provide you with our decision within 28 days of this acknowledgment.
WHO CAN COMPLAIN?
Most complaints are
likely to come from clients. However, beneficiaries, third parties, other
professionals and suppliers, may also complain to us, if they have received,
been offered or been refused the benefit of a service.
WILL I BE CHARGED?
You will not be
charged for the investigation of your complaint.
WHAT RESOLUTION CAN I
EXPECT?
If we find evidence
of poor service we will seek to provide an appropriate remedy. This might
include:
·
An apology;
·
Compensation for loss suffered;
·
Compensation for inconvenience, distress or both;
·
Putting things right;
·
Reducing the bill or limiting fees.
If we find that
there has been no poor service we will fully explain why we have come to this
conclusion.
If you are not
satisfied with our handling of your complaint, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman
to investigate.
LEGAL OMBUDSMAN
The Legal Ombudsman
(LeO) can investigate complaints from members of the public and very small
businesses, charities, clubs and trusts.
The LeO will accept
complaints about service issues where:
·
You have made a complaint and received a final response in the last six
months, and
·
The issue you wish to complain about happened on, or after, the 6
October 2010* or
If the issue
happened before 6 October 2010, you only became aware of it on or after 6
October 2010.
* The formal rules state that either the issue must have occurred in the
last six years or the date of awareness must be within the last three years.
However, the time limits will be extended gradually from 6 October 2010, the
date the Legal Ombudsman opened for business.
Full details of the
LeO Scheme can be obtained from:
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ
Tel: 0300 555 0333
SOLICITORS REGULATION
AUTHORITY
The Solicitors
Regulation Authority can also help you 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. You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority