Complaints Procedure

Introduction

Norman H. Barnett & Co. (hereinafter called the “Company”) is a Law Firm incorporated under the laws of the United Kingdom, which has its principal place of business at 397 Barking Road (opposite East Ham Town Hall) East Ham, London, E6 2JT. The Company is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) as a Law Firm under the SRA Number 46625. The Company operates in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations of Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Code of Conduct.

In accordance with section 112 of the Legal Services Act 2007 (the ‘Act’) the Company has in place a Complaints Procedure that is fair, transparent and provides effective safeguards for clients, while dealing with complaints comprehensively and swiftly with appropriate redress where necessary.

In accordance with the Act, in this Policy the following definitions will apply:

  • Complaint – an oral or written expression of dissatisfaction, which alleges that the complainant has suffered (or may suffer) financial loss, distress, inconvenience or other detriment.
  • First-tier Complaint – a complaint made by a client to an authorised person.
  • Second-tier Complaint – A complaint made to the Legal Ombudsman under the scheme rules of the Office of Legal Complaints

Procedure

For the efficient handling of “complaints” the Company has designed a clear, simple and fair complaint handling procedure.

The Compliance Officer shall be responsible for handling Client complaints, except in the case where the complaint involves the Compliance Officer, whereby the complaint shall be handled by the Alternative Compliance Officer.

The Company tries to ensure independence via the Compliance Officer which enables complaints to be investigated fairly and possible conflicts of interest to be identified and mitigated.

This procedure is hereby presented to Clients via the Company Website.

Filing a complaint

A complaint or grievance can be filed in the following ways:

(a) By posting an official signed letter, along with any other documents relevant to the complaint. The letter can be posted to the following address:

FAO The Complaints Partner, Norman H Barnett & Co, 397 Barking Road, London E6 2JT

(b) By sending an email to info@normanhbarnett.co.uk using the email address which has already been provided to the Company during the account opening process (i.e. via the client care letter) along with any other attachments relevant to the complaint.

The filed complaint must include the Client’s full name, matter type, the date and approximate time that the issue has risen and a description of the issue.

Examination & Response

The Company will examine all “complaints” received from Clients in accordance with at least one (1) of the aforementioned ways of filing a “complaint” and inform the Client of the outcome. However, a “complaint” shall not be considered to fit the interpretation of a “complaint” and, therefore, will not be considered as such and will not be examined (and the Client who has filed it will not be informed), if one or more of the following conditions apply:
 

  • The “complaint” was not filed in accordance with the procedure included herein.
  • The “complaint” includes offensive language directed to the Company and/or to one or more of its employees and/or Partners.
     

Upon receipt of a “complaint” following the procedure explained herein, the Company will do the following:

The Company will endeavour to ensure all Communication is in plain language which is clearly understood.

When the Compliance Officer receives the Client’s complaint then a written acknowledgement will be sent to the Client confirming the name and job title of the person dealing with the complaint within three (3) working days from the date the complaint has been received.

This Acknowledgement will confirm the necessary action required to resolve the complaint and will contain details of our Complaints Handling Procedure, and of the client’s right to refer the Complaint the Legal Ombudsman if the Client is dissatisfied with the assessment and ruling.

Each complaint will be given a Unique Transaction Reference Number (UTRN), which will consist of 6 digits.  The first four digits will be for the Company’s reporting system, the following two digits define the year of the complaint.

The Company’s Compliance Officer will conduct or coordinate a timely and impartial investigation of the “complaint”. Partners, officers, employees, consultants of the Company as well as independent investigators may be utilized as necessary to ensure a complete investigation. During the investigation, the Compliance department will diligently seek to obtain as much evidence as it is reasonably possible, from the system (as applicable), documents, and individuals regarding the issue. All relevant evidence will be analysed and evaluated. The Company’s relevant legal documentation (e.g. Client Care Letter, et cetera) and all applicable laws, regulations, directives, and rules will be thoroughly reviewed in order to reach a fair outcome.

The Client will receive an initial response within twenty-one (21) days from the day the “complaint” has been received.

This response will be sent to the Complainant explaining the findings of the investigation. In the case where a holding response is sent to the Complainant, then an explanation shall be given stating the reasons why the Company has not been able to resolve the complaint as well as giving an estimated time to resolve the issue.

The Company’s aim is to handle “complaints” in strict confidentiality, without undue delay, considering the seriousness of the “complaint” and the extent of the economic impact, as applicable, arising from its content, both for the Client and for the Company, and provide a resolution as soon as reasonably practicable. The Client will subsequently be informed accordingly.

If after eight (8) weeks of receiving the complaint, the Company is still not able to resolve the issue then the Compliance Officer will notify the complainant in writing stating the reasons for the delay and indicate an estimated time to resolve the issue.

When the complainant has received the final response, they will have eight (8) weeks to respond. If no response has been received from the complainant indicating that they is still dissatisfied with the explanation, then the Complaint will be considered as resolved.

The client may refer the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman
 

  • Within six months of receiving a final response to the complaint and
  • No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or
  • No more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.
     

Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9.00 to 17.00.

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

Complaints Register

The Company stores all complaints it receives on an internal archive, as quickly as possible, and in an appropriate manner.

The Company is required to provide to the SRA information regarding the complaints it receives on a monthly basis.

Monitor and Review

The Company will monitor on a regular basis the effectiveness of this Procedure. In addition, Company will review the Procedure at least annually. A review will also be carried out whenever a material change occurs that affects this Procedure. The Company will notify its affected clients on any changes in its Policy.

Amendments

The Company analyses, on an on-going basis, complaints handling data, to ensure that they identify and address any recurring or systemic problems, and potential legal and operational risks, for example by:

  • Analysing the causes of individual complaints to identify root causes common to types of complaints,
  • Considering whether such root causes also affect other processes or financial means, including those not directly complained of; and
  • Correcting, where reasonable to do so, such root causes.