SMS

Smith May Solicitors
Complaints Procedure

Smith May Solicitors LLP strives to maintain the highest standards of service for all our clients and prospective clients. Your feedback is always welcome. This page provides information on raising complaints with us and using the resolution services of the Legal Ombudsman and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)

Raising a complaint

If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the service provided, including the fees charged, or if you are not satisfied with the way your enquiry has been handled, you should take this up first with Joanne May whose contact details are joanne.may@smslaw.co.uk. If matters cannot be resolved informally, Smith May have a formal complaints procedure, a copy of which is available to download below. We will try to resolve any complaint within 8 weeks of receiving it.

SMS_Client_Complaints_Procedure.pdf

Complaint resolution with the Legal Ombudsman or Solicitor's Regulation Authority

Legal Ombudsman

If you are a private individual or a small business, charity, club or trust, you may be eligible to ask the Legal Ombudsman to help resolve your complaint if you have already made a complaint under Smith May Solicitors' formal complaints procedure about the service you have received and you are not satisfied with the outcome, or if you have not received a response from us within 8 weeks of making a formal complaint.

You will normally need to raise a complaint with the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of receipt of the final response from Smith May Solicitors about your complaint and no more than 6 years from the events that gave rise to the complaint (or 3 years from the date you should reasonably have known there were grounds for complaint if the relevant events took place more than 6 years ago).

If your complaint relates to a bill that we have sent you, you may have the right to apply to the Court for an assessment under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. The Legal Ombudsman may decline to become involved in resolution of a complaint about fees if the bill has already been referred to the Court for assessment.

The Legal Ombudsman's address is PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ. Their telephone number is 0300 555 0333, or +44 121 245 3050 if calling from outside the UK. Their email address is enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

You can obtain more information about the service offered by the Legal Ombudsman on their website : www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Solicitors Regulation Authority

Smith May Solicitors LLP are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). While the Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints about service quality, if you think your case involves a breach of the regulatory principles that apply to solicitors and solicitors' firms, for example the obligation to act with integrity and to treat everyone fairly, then you can complain direct to the SRA.

Guidance on how to lodge a complaint with the SRA is available on its website: www.sra.org.uk The SRA's address is Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham B1 1RN. Its telephone number is 0370 606 2555 or, if you are calling from outside the UK, +44 121 329 6800.

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