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Complaints Policy

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MAA LEGAL SERVICES LIMITED COMPLAINTS POLICY AND PROCEDURE

  1. Our aim is to give you a good service at all times. However if you have a complaint you are invited to let us know as soon as possible. It is not necessary to involve solicitors in order to make your complaint but you are free to do so should you wish.
  2. Please note that the Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints body for service complaints about lawyers, has time limits in which a complaint must be raised with them.

The time limits are:

  1. a) Six years from the date of the act/omission
  2. b) Three years from the date that the complainant should reasonably have known there were grounds for complaint (if the act/omission took place before the 6 October 2010 or was more than six years ago)
  3. c) Within six months of the complaint receiving a final response from their lawyer, if that response complies with the requirements in rule 4.4 of the Scheme Rules (which requires the response to include prominently an explanation that the Legal Ombudsman was available if the complainant remained dissatisfied and the provision of full contact details for the Ombudsman and a warning that the complaint must be referred to them within six months
  4. The Ombudsman can extend the time limit in exceptional circumstances. We must therefore have regard to that timeframe when deciding whether they are able to investigate your complaint. We will not therefore usually deal with complaints that fall outside of the Legal Ombudsman’s time limits.
  5. The Ombudsman will also only deal with complaints from consumers. This means that only complaints from the barrister’s client are within their jurisdiction. Non-clients who are not satisfied with the outcome of our investigation should contact the Bar Standards Board rather than the Legal Ombudsman.
  6. It should be noted that it may not always be possible to investigate a complaint brought by a non-client. This is because our ability to satisfactorily investigate and resolve such matters is limited and complaints of this nature are often better suited to the disciplinary processes maintained by the Bar Standards Board. Therefore, we will make an initial assessment of the complaint and if they feel that the issues raised cannot be satisfactorily resolved through our complaints process they will refer you to the Bar Standards Board.

How to make a complaint

  1. You must make a complaint in writing, please follow the procedure in paragraph 7 below.
  2. Please give the following details:
  • Your name and address;
  • Who you are complaining about;
  • The detail of the complaint; and
  • What you would like done about it.
  1. Please address your letter to Director MAA Legal Services T/A Access Barristers, 3 Hardman Square, Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3EB.

We will, where possible, acknowledge receipt of your complaint within two days and provide you with details of how your complaint will be dealt with.

  1. The Director will write to you, where possible, within 14 days.

His reply will set out:

  • The nature and scope of her/his investigation:
  • His conclusion on each complaint and the basis for his conclusion; and
  • If he finds that you are justified in your complaint, his proposals for resolving the complaint.

Confidentiality

  1. All conversations and documents relating to the complaint will be treated as confidential and will be disclosed only to the extent that is necessary. Disclosure will be to the Director and to anyone involved in the complaint and its investigation. The Bar Standards Board is entitled to inspect the documents and seek information about the complaint when discharging its auditing and monitoring functions.

Our Policy

  1. As part of our commitment to client care we make a written record of any complaint and retain all documents and correspondence generated by the complaint for a period of six years.

Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman

  1. If you are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation and you fall within their jurisdiction you may take up your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints body for complaints about lawyers, at the conclusion of our consideration of your complaint. The Ombudsman is not able to consider your complaint until it has first been investigated by us.

Please note the timeframe for referral of complaints to the Ombudsman as set out at paragraph 2 above.

You can write to them at:

Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ

Legal Ombudsman’s website: https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/raising-standards/data-and-decisions/

Telephone number: 0300 555 033

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

  1. If you are not the barrister’s client and are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation then please contact the Bar Standards Board at:

Bar Standards Board Professional Conduct Department 289-293 High Holborn London WC1V 7JZ

Link to the Barristers Register page on the BSB website https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/regulatory-requirements/the-barristers’-register/

Telephone number: 0207 6111 444

Website: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk