Our Complaints Policy
We are 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.
The person in our firm responsible for complaint handling is Nassreen Ali, the Principal Solicitor of Hattin Solicitors, her contact details are:
Telephone: 02086646600
Email: 02086646600
By post: Hattin Solicitors 314 Streatham High Road SW16 6HG
If you have a complaint, please contact us with the details.
What will happen next?
1. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within five days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
2. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to our client care partner, Nassreen Ali, who will review your matter file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you.
3. Nassreen Ali will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. She will do this within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
4. Within three days of the meeting, Nassreen Ali will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions she has agreed with you.
5. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Nassreen Ali will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including her suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
6. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for another solicitor to review the case.
7. We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons (according to the Legal ombudsman we are permitted up to 8 weeks to consider your complaint).
8. If you are still not satisfied, you can then contact the Legal Ombudsman.
The Office of the Legal Ombudsmen came into effect on 06 October 2010. We very much hope that you will have no cause to complain at the end of the firm’s internal complaints process. However, in the event you are not satisfied, you will have you will have a further right to complain to the Legal Ombudsmen at:
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH
(Telephone 0300 555 0333, email
9. The time limit for referring a complaint to Legal Obudsman will be not later than one year from the date:
- of the act or omission being complained about; or
- when the complainant should have realised that there was cause for complaint
Legal Ombudsman will have discretion to accept out-of-time complaints in circumstances where it deems it "fair and reasonable to do so".
10. We are regulated and authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. If anyone feels a solicitor might be dishonest of if there are concerns about the ethics or the integrity of the solicitor you have a right to notify our regulator, the SRA. There are no time limits for making a report. The SRA will investigate issues such as and not limited to:
a) Dishonesty or fraud;
b) Misuse of client money;
c) Sexual or violent misconduct;
d) Misleading the court or others;
e) Conduct relating to serious criminal offences;
The SRA however do not investigate:
a) concerns about delays or communication
b) disagreements about your bill
c) isolated mistakes by your solicitor.
These issues are to be considered by the Legal Ombudsman instead.
Please contact the SRA through their website and fill out the report form if you feel you have a complaint they could solve:
www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.
