Complaints procedure

We are committed to high quality legal advice and client care. Please tell us if you are not happy with any aspect of the service you receive or a bill that you have received. We would ask you initially to raise any queries or concerns about our work for you with David Wade who is your Solicitor and the Sole Principal of this Firm: by post at 139 Stratford Road, Shirley, Solihull B90 3AY or e-mail: dw@ericbowesandco.co.uk or by telephone on 0121 744 3691. A copy of our complaints handling procedure can be obtained, on request, from him.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority  - www.sra.org.uk

In the event that you are not satisfied with the firm’s response the Legal Ombudsman may be able to consider your complaint. There are, however, restrictions to this service for organisations, as set out on their website (see below). The contact details for the Legal Ombudsman are:

Telephone: 0300 555 03

E-mail: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Address: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ

The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one year of you realising there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.

You may also be able to object to our bill by applying to the Court for an assessment under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. If you exercise this right you could be prevented from making a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. In addition, if you apply to the Court for an assessment and if all or part of the bill remains unpaid at the end of that assessment, we are entitled to charge interest. There are strict time limits that apply to this process and you may wish to seek independent legal advice.