We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service.

We acknowledge that we may not always get it right so if something has gone wrong, including in relation to the bill, we need you to tell us.

How do I make a complaint?

You can contact us in writing (by letter or email) or by telephone.

In the first instance, it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues. If you do not feel able to discuss your concerns with them, please contact the person responsible for overall supervision of your matter named in the Letter of Engagement.

If you do not feel able to raise your concerns with either of these people, please contact our complaints manager who has overall responsibility for complaints and whose contact details are: Alison Dell, Alison.Dell@TLT.com

To help us to understand your complaint, and in order that we do not miss anything, please tell us:

• your full name and contact details;• what you think we have got wrong;
• how you would like your complaint to be resolved; and
• your file reference number (if you have it).

If you require any help in making your complaint we will try to assist.

How will you deal with my complaint?

We will record your complaint centrally.

We will write to you within three working days acknowledging your complaint and enclosing a copy of this policy. We will set out the timescales in which we will aim to provide you with a substantive response to your complaint.

We will investigate your complaint. This will usually involve:

• reviewing your complaint;
• reviewing your file(s) and other relevant documents; and
• speaking with the person who dealt with your matter.

We may also need to ask you for further information or documents. If so, we will ask you to provide the information within a specific period of time.

We will update you on the progress of your complaint at appropriate times.

We may also, if appropriate, invite you to a meeting to discuss your complaint. You do not have to attend if you do not wish to or if you are unable to do so. We will be happy to discuss the matter with you on the telephone.

We will write to you at the end of our investigation to tell you what we have done and what we propose to do to resolve your complaint. Where possible, we will aim to do this within 28 days of the date of our acknowledgement of your complaint.

What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint?

If you are unhappy with the outcome of our complaints handling procedure, please first let us know and we will review the matter.

If you are still unhappy, you may be entitled to ask the Legal Ombudsman to look into your complaint, who will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your matter. You can contact the Legal Ombudsman:

PO Box 6167

SLOUGH

SL1 0EH

Telephone: 0300 555 0333, or

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

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, you must refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

• Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint; and
• no more than one year from the date of the act/omission you are concerned about; or
• no more than one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

Further details are available on the website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk.

Alternative complaints bodies (such as Ombudsman Services https://ombudsmanservices.org/) exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme. We have, however, chosen not to adopt an ADR process. If, therefore, you wish to complain further, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman.

As well as your right to complain about any of our bills under our complaints procedure, you also have a right under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 to ask the court to assess whether the charges in our bill are reasonable. However, the Legal Ombudsman may not be able to consider a complaint about our bill if you have applied to the court for detailed assessment of the bill.

If you have concerns about our behaviour then you can lodge a complaint with our regulator, the Solicitors Regulation Authority http://www.sra.org.uk. This could be for issues such as:

• dishonesty; or
• taking or losing your money; or
• treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.

The SRA's contact details are: The Solicitors Regulation Authority

The Cube 199

Wharfside Street

BIRMINGHAM

B1 1RN

Email: report@sra.org.uk

Tel: 03706 062 555

What will it cost?

We will not charge you for handling your complaint.

Please note that if we have issued a bill for work done on the matter, and all or some of the bill is not paid, we may be entitled to charge interest on the amount outstanding. This is explained in our Terms of Business.

The Legal Ombudsman service is free of charge.