Complaints Procedure
Our Complaints Policy
We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all clients. If something goes wrong, or you are unhappy about the service you have received, we ask that you tell us about it so we can reach a resolution with you wherever possible. This will also help us to improve our standards.
The process to follow will depend upon whether your complaint relates to a Real Estate (conveyancing) matter or anything other than Real Estate. Please ensure that you follow the appropriate procedure for your matter.
The different procedures you should follow are set out below.
If your complaint relates to a Real Estate (conveyancing) matter:
1. In the first instance please raise any concerns with the person dealing with your matter.
2. If they are unable to resolve your issues, or if you are uncomfortable in raising the issue directly with them, please put your complaint in writing by email or in a letter to the File Supervisor whose details can be found in the client care letter you received at the beginning of your matter.
3. If the File Supervisor is unable to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction, please refer your complaint by email to clientservice@chadlaw.co.uk
4. If at stage 3 above you would prefer to make a complaint in writing, please address this to
Natalie Glover
Chadwick Lawrence LLP
Paragon Point
Paragon Business Village
Wakefield WF1 2DF
Whether this is by email or letter, when contacting us you should:
(i) Provide copies of correspondence between you and the file handler / File supervisor with regard to the complaint;
(ii) Provide a copy of your complaint to the File Supervisor and their response;
(iii) Explain why you are unhappy with the File Supervisors, decision and in what way you believe it to be wrong.
You should expect to receive a full response to your complaint within twenty-eight days of receipt.
If your complaint relates to any other matter:
1. In the first instance please raise any concerns with the person dealing with your matter.
2. If they are unable to resolve your issues, or if you are uncomfortable in raising the issue directly with them, please put your complaint in writing by email or in a letter to the File Supervisor whose details can be found in the client care letter you received at the beginning of your matter.
3. If the File Supervisor is unable to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction, please refer your complaint by email to nicholasworsnop@chadlaw.co.uk
4. If at stage 3 above you would prefer to make a complaint in writing by letter, please address this to:
Chadwick Lawrence LLP
The Fire Station, Dean Clough Mills
Halifax
HX3 5AX
Whether this is by email or letter, when contacting us you should:
(i) Provide copies of correspondence between you and the file handler with regard to the complaint;
(ii) Provide a copy of your complaint to the File Supervisor and their response;
(iii) Explain why you are unhappy with the File Supervisor’s decision and in what way you believe it to be wrong.
You should expect to receive a full response to your complaint within twenty-eight days of receipt.
What Will Happen Next
In either case:
- We will send you an acknowledgement. We may also ask you to clarify or explain more details.
- We will record your complaint in our Central Register.
- We will then start to investigate your complaint. This will involve reviewing the file, considering the correspondence that has been raised in relation to the complaint, and input from the File Supervisor.
- We shall respond to your complaint in writing, setting out the decision. We shall endeavour to do this within four weeks of the matter being referred. If we need longer to address the issue, we will inform you as soon as we become aware of the fact and let you know how long it will take.
If we cannot resolve your complaint
The Legal Ombudsman may be able to assist if you are not satisfied with our response and we have been unable to resolve the complaint with you. Please note, however, that the Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve the issue with us first in line with this policy.
You must refer your complaint to the Ombudsman:
– Within six months of receiving our final response to your complaint AND
– No more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about or no more than one year from the date when you should have reasonably known that there was cause for complaint.
The Legal Ombudsman’s contact details are:
| Address: | PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH |
| Website: | www.legalombudsman.org.uk |
| Telephone: | 0300 555 0333 |
| Email: | enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk |
If you should have a complaint about our conduct, or believe that there has been any dishonesty or unfair treatment, you may contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Details of the SRA can be found at www.sra.org.uk or by writing to them at The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN.
Mediation
Please note that alternative bodies such as Pro-Mediate (www.promediate.co.uk) exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should you and we agree to use such a scheme. Please note that we do not agree necessarily to use Pro-Mediate.
Also, should you have received our client care information, including our statement of terms and terms of business at the outset of your matter from us electronically, under the EU Regulation on Consumer Online Dispute Resolution, you may use the online dispute resolution platform (http://ec.europa.eu/odr). Our email address for this is nicholasworsnop@chadlaw.co.uk.
November 2025
