Complaints Policy and Procedure

Our complaints policy

Matthew Wilkinson Solicitors Limited is committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards.

Our complaints procedure

If you have a complaint, please contact Mr Matthew Wilkinson, our Director.
You can write to him at:

39 Albert Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 1NS

What will happen next?

  1. The Director or such other senior member of staff appointed by him will be handling your complaint.
  2. Your complaint will be recorded in our central register and a file opened for your complaint.
  3. Within six working days of receiving your complaint we will acknowledge your complaint and if appropriate call you to discuss the details and your thoughts on resolution of your complaint.
  4. Should we be unable to agree an appropriate resolution at this stage there will be a full investigation into the handling of your matter. If this is the case, depending on the complexity of your case, the investigation may take up to six weeks. Every effort will be made to come to a conclusion before then. The Director will then write to you giving you the outcome of his investigation and any options for redress that he feels are appropriate. This will be our final response unless you request a review.
  5. Should you not be satisfied with the outcome of his investigation or any redress offered then the Director will review his decision or arrange for somebody not involved in your case to review the decision and we will provide a final response within one week.
  6. If we need to vary any of these timescales we will inform you and explain why.

The Legal Ombudsman

  1. If you are still not satisfied with our final response, most Clients have the right to contact the Legal Ombudsman about their complaint. (details of eligibility are available on the Legal Ombudsman’s website).
  2. Please note that you must bring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of the date of our final response.
  3. Ordinarily, a complainant cannot use the Legal Ombudsman unless the complainant has first used the firm’s internal complaints procedure. But a complainant can use the Legal Ombudsman if:
    1. The complaint has not been resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction within 8 weeks of first making the complaint to the firm;
    2. or an Ombudsman considers that there are exceptional reasons to consider the complaint sooner, or, without it having been made to the firm first;
    3. or where an Ombudsman considers that in house resolution is not possible due to irretrievable breakdown in the relationship between the firm and the complainant.
  4. Legal Ombudsman Contact Details
    1. Address: PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ.
    2. Telephone: 0300 555 0333
    3. Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
    4. Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Please feel free to contact Matthew Wilkinson Solicitors Limited at any point to discuss your complaint. We are extremely committed to providing an excellent level of service.

Other forms of complaint

You also have the right to refer our conduct to our Regulator, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), if you have concerns about our behaviour, such as acting fairly, honestly and with integrity and in your best interests in accordance with SRA principles. You can visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns at: www.sra.org.uk

You also have the right to challenge your Bill or the amount of our charges by applying to Court for an assessment of the Bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 but please note that time limits apply and if this is your intention we would recommend seeking alternative legal advice.

Please also note that the Legal Ombudsman may not consider a complaint about our Bill if you have applied to Court for assessment of the Bill.