Our complaints policy

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong we hope that you will tell us about it. This will help us to put issues right immediately and to improve our standards in the longer term.

Our complaints procedure

If you have a complaint, please contact Carl Woolf, our Client Care Partner. You can write to him at Meldrum Solicitors, Trident House, 42-48 Victoria Street, St Albans, AL1 3HZ. If your complaint concerns Carl Woolf then you may write to Samantha Leonard, a Partner. If we have to change any of the responsibilities or the timescales set out below we will let you know and explain why.

What will happen next?

1.       Within three days we will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm or explain any details. If it seems appropriate we will suggest a meeting at this stage. We will also confirm the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint.

2.       We will then record your complaint in our central register and open a file for your complaint. We will also investigate your complaint by examining the relevant file.

3.       If appropriate we will then invite you to meet Carl Woolf or Sam Leonard to discuss and resolve your complaint. We would hope to be in a position to meet with you in this way no longer than 14 days after first receiving your complaint. If you would prefer not to meet, or if we cannot arrange this within an agreeable timescale, we will write fully to you setting out our views on the situation and any redress that we would feel to be appropriate.

4.       Within three days of any meeting we will write to you to confirm what took place and any suggestions that we have agreed with you. In appropriate cases we could offer an apology, a reduction of any bill or a repayment in relation to any payment received.

5.       At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, please let us know. We will then arrange to review our decision. We would generally aim to do this within 10 days. This will happen in one of the following ways.

·               Carl Woolf or Samantha Leonard will review their own decision

·               We will arrange for someone in the firm who has not been involved in your complaint to review it.

·               Carl Woolf or Samantha Leonard will review each others’ decision..

·               We will ask our local law society or another local firm of solicitors to review your complaint. We will let you know how long this process will take.

·               We will invite you to agree to independent mediation. We will let you know how long this process will take.

6.       We will let you know the result of the review within five days of the end of the review. At this time we will write to you confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons. We will also give you the name and address of the Legal Complaints Service. If you are still not satisfied, you can contact them about your complaint. We very much hope that this will not be necessary.