Complaints Procedure

Our commitment

Heyford Solicitors is committed to providing a high standard of legal service and client care.

If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our service, including the way your matter has been handled, our communications with you or our fees, please let us know as soon as possible.

We take all complaints seriously and will seek to resolve them fairly, promptly and constructively.

There is no charge for making or handling a complaint.

How to make a complaint

You may raise a concern initially with the person dealing with your matter. We will endeavour to resolve concerns promptly and informally where appropriate.

If you wish to make a formal complaint, please contact:

Sofia Galic
Director and Solicitor
Heyford Solicitors
Heyford Law Limited
Heyford Park Innovation Centre
77 Heyford Park
Upper Heyford
Bicester
OX25 5HD
Email: enquiries@heyfordsolicitors.co.uk
Telephone: [telephone number]

When contacting us, please provide sufficient information to enable us to understand and investigate your complaint, including:

  • the matter to which your complaint relates;
  • the nature of your concerns;
  • the circumstances giving rise to those concerns; and
  • the outcome or remedy you are seeking.

If you require assistance in making a complaint or require information in an alternative format because of a disability or accessibility requirement, please let us know. We will make reasonable adjustments where appropriate.

What happens next?

Your complaint will ordinarily be considered by Sofia Galic, Director of Heyford Solicitors.

We will:

  • acknowledge receipt of your complaint promptly;
  • provide you with an anticipated timetable for dealing with your complaint;
  • seek any further information or clarification reasonably required;
  • investigate the matters raised fairly and objectively;
  • review the relevant file, correspondence and other information;
  • keep you informed of material developments and any changes to the anticipated timetable; and
  • provide a written response setting out the outcome of our investigation and any action we propose to take.

Where a complaint concerns Sofia Galic personally and an independent review is appropriate, Heyford Solicitors may arrange for an appropriately qualified external solicitor or other suitable independent person to review the complaint. Any external reviewer will be subject to appropriate obligations of confidentiality.

We will seek to resolve your complaint at the earliest opportunity and, in any event, within eight weeks of receiving it.

Legal Ombudsman

If we have been unable to resolve your complaint, you may be entitled to refer it to the Legal Ombudsman.

The Legal Ombudsman is independent and considers complaints concerning legal services.

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

A complaint should ordinarily be made to the Legal Ombudsman within one year of the act or omission complained about, or within one year of when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

You must also ordinarily refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response. The importance of including this six-month period in the firm's final response is reflected in the Ombudsman's published material.

Solicitors Regulation Authority

Heyford Solicitors is the trading name of Heyford Law Limited, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 17357074.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) regulates solicitors and law firms in England and Wales.

If your concern relates to professional conduct rather than the standard of service you have received, you may be able to raise the matter with the SRA.

Further information is available on the SRA website under Problems with a solicitor. The SRA explains that concerns about service or a bill may fall within the Legal Ombudsman's remit, while concerns about a solicitor's behaviour or breaches of professional rules may be matters for the SRA.

Complaints about fees

This complaints procedure also applies to complaints concerning our fees or a bill that we have issued.

Depending on the circumstances, you may also have the right to apply to the court for an assessment of your bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974.

Monitoring complaints

We maintain appropriate records of complaints and their outcomes.

Complaints are reviewed to identify any lessons to be learned and any appropriate improvements to our procedures, systems or client service.