We are committed to providing a high standard of legal advice and client care. A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, about our service, conduct, or behaviour.
We welcome feedback from clients, as it helps us to maintain and improve the quality of our services. If you are ever dissatisfied with any aspect of the service you have received, we encourage you to let us know. This enables us to address any concerns and continue improving our standards. We maintain a record of all complaints received to ensure thorough monitoring and management.
We take all concerns seriously and will deal with them promptly, fairly and in accordance with our complaints procedure.
Raising a concern
Where appropriate, we encourage you to raise any concerns with the lawyer handling your matter in the first instance. They may be able to resolve the issue quickly and informally without the need for a formal complaint.
However, if your concern is not resolved to your satisfaction, or if you feel it is inappropriate or uncomfortable to raise the matter with the lawyer directly, you may escalate it as a formal complaint. Please contact our director, Mr Abedin, who is responsible for handling complaints under this procedure.
How to make a formal complaint
To enable us to investigate and respond to your concerns thoroughly, we ask that you provide a brief written summary of:
1. Why you feel dissatisfied with the service you have received.
2. How you would prefer us to contact you about your complaint going forward.
3. Any particular steps you would like us to take to resolve your complaint.
You can send your complaint by email or post to:
Mr Abedin
Email: general@abedinandcarter.com
Post: 8-10 Greatorex Street, London E1 5NF
Telephone: +44 (0)20 3951 3277
If you are unable or would prefer not to send your concerns in writing, please contact us by phone, so that we can discuss the most suitable way for you to share your concerns, whether that’s by phone, video call or in person.
If your complaint relates to Mr Abedin personally or you prefer not to raise it with him, your complaint will be reviewed independently by a senior manager or an appropriate independent person.
What will happen next?
1. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within five working days of receiving it.
2. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to someone unconnected with the day-to-day handling of your matter, who will be the relevant Head of Department which handled your matter. They will review your matter file and speak to the team who have been working on your matter.
3. You may be invited to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint, if applicable, within 14 days of our sending you the acknowledgement letter.
4. Within three working days of such a meeting, we will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions we have agreed with you.
5. If a meeting is not applicable or possible, we will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including our suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
6. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for a final review of your complaint by the director (provided they have not previously reviewed it or, if they have, subject to you having raised new concerns or circumstances).
7. If applicable, we will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
8. If you are still not satisfied, or in the unlikely event that you have not received a final response within eight weeks of receiving your complaint, you may be able to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.
If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.
Legal Ombudsman
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Telephone: 0300 555 0333 (Monday to Friday, 9.00 am to 5.00 pm).
Post: PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
The Legal Ombudsman will normally expect you to have exhausted this complaints procedure before referring to them.
Any referral to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made:
within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint;
no later than one year from the date of act/omission;
no later than one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.
Complaints about your bill
If you are complaining about our bill, in addition to referring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, you may be entitled to ask the court to assess your costs under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. However, be aware that if you have done so, the Legal Ombudsman may not be able to consider a complaint about the same issues.
Conduct
In the unlikely event that you have concerns in relation to our conduct or behaviour (including dishonesty, financial misconduct, discrimination, or other protected characteristics), you can raise these with the Solicitors Regulation Authority via their website: www.sra.org.uk. Please note that the SRA will only deal with complaints regarding a solicitor’s professional conduct, and not issues related to our service quality or fees.
Are there any fees for making a complaint?
There is no charge for making a complaint and we will not charge you for investigating and responding to your concerns.
Will my complaint affect my legal matter?
Your complaint will be investigated and handled independently of your legal matter. This means that if your legal matter is ongoing, it will continue to progress as normal and will not be affected or disadvantaged by the complaints process, assuming no conflict of interests has arisen and that you continue to comply with the terms of our engagement as set out in our engagement letter and Terms of Business.
What might the outcome of my complaint be?
We regret any dissatisfaction which our clients experience and, if our investigation concludes that our service has fallen below our usual high standards, we will not hesitate to apologise. Depending on the circumstances, we may offer solutions such as compensation, reduced fees, further assistance or other appropriate proposals.
We will also take steps internally to ensure that any problems you have experienced will not reoccur.
Do I have to pay my bill if I am complaining?
Our Terms of Business provide that our invoices remain payable within 30 days regardless of the investigation of any complaint. However, please be assured that if the outcome of any complaint investigation concludes that any adjustment or reduction in costs should be made, any reimbursement will be paid promptly at that time.
Monitoring and review
We maintain a centralised record of all complaints received, whether made orally or in writing, across all channels including face-to-face, telephone, email or letter.
Each complaint is logged with the date received, method of complaint, client name, file reference (if applicable), summary of the complaint, actions taken, case handler assigned, and resolution outcome.
All supporting documentation is retained in the relevant case file, with a cross-reference in the central log.
The central record is formally reviewed at least once annually to:
Identify patterns or recurring issues
Recommend and implement service improvements
Document review findings and any resulting actions
This process ensures we maintain high levels of client satisfaction and professional standards.
Alternative dispute resolution
If we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves, you may be able to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. We do not agree to use any alternative dispute resolution bodies other than the Legal Ombudsman, as we believe it provides the most suitable route for resolving client complaints.
Please contact us if you require this complaints policy in alternative formats such as another language, large print or audio to suit your needs.