Complaints Policy

1. Definitions

1. “Appeal” means your request to escalate a Complaint from Level One to Level Two if you are not satisfied with the outcome at Level One;
2. “Appeal Handler” means an employee of Lexington Ashworth Ltd (trading as “Lexington Ashworth Solicitors”) working at management level who will handle Level Two Complaints;
3. “Business Day” means any day (other than Saturday or Sunday) on which ordinary banks are open for their full range of normal business in the United Kingdom.
4. “Complaint” means a complaint about the legal services sold by Lexington Ashworth Solicitors, about our customer service, or about our employees, agents and subcontractors;
5. “Complaint Handler” means an employee of Lexington Ashworth Solicitors working at an appropriate level who will handle Level One Complaints;
6. “Complaint Policy” means this document;
7. “Complaints Procedure” means the internal complaints handling procedure of Lexington Ashworth Solicitors which is followed when handling a Complaint;
8. “Complaint Reference” means a unique code assigned to your Complaint that will be used to track your Complaint;
9. “External Resolution” means the referral of your Complaint to an external body or organisation for resolution if you are not satisfied with the outcome at Level Two;
10. “Level One” means the first stage in our complaints handling procedure under which your Complaint will be handled by a Complaint Handler; and
11. “Level Two” means the second stage in our complaints handling procedure under which you may appeal the outcome of a Level One Complaint. Your Complaint will be handled by an Appeal Handler.

2. Purpose of this Complaints Policy

Lexington Ashworth Solicitors welcomes and encourages feedback of all kinds from our clients. If you have a Complaint about our legal services, our customer service, or about our employees, agents or subcontractors, not only do we want to resolve it to your satisfaction, but we also want to learn from it to improve our business and client experience in the future.

2.1. It is our policy to resolve Complaints quickly and fairly, where possible without resort to formal investigations or external bodies. In particular, the aims of this Complaints Policy are:

1. 2.1.1. To provide a clear and fair procedure for any clients who wish to make a Complaint.
2. 2.1.2. To ensure that everyone working for or with us knows how to handle Complaints made by our clients.
3. 2.1.3. To ensure that all Complaints are handled equally and in a fair and timely fashion.
4. 2.1.4. To ensure that important information is gathered from Complaints and used in the future to avoid such a situation arising again.

3. What this Complaints Policy Covers

This Complaints Policy applies to the legal services we provide, to our client service and to our employees, agents or subcontractors.

3.1. Complaints may relate to any of our activities and may include (but not be limited to):

1. 3.1.1. The quality of client service you have received from us.
2. 3.1.2. The behaviour and/or professional competence of our employees.

The following are not considered to be Complaints under this policy and should therefore be directed to the appropriate person: general questions about our services, matters concerning contractual or other legal disputes, or formal requests for the disclosure of information, for example, under the Data Protection Act 2018.

4. Making a Complaint

All Complaints, whether they concern our services, our client service, or our employees, should be made in one of the following ways:

1. 4.1. In writing – Lexington Ashworth Solicitors, Dale House, Tiviot Dale, Stockport, SK1 1TA
2. 4.2. By email – info@lexingtonashworthsolicitors.com
3. 4.3. By phone – +44 161 566 3285

4.4. When making a Complaint, you will be required to provide the following information in as much detail as is reasonably possible:

1. 4.5. Your name, address, telephone number and email address. We will contact you using your preferred contact method as your Complaint is handled.
2. 4.6. If you are making a Complaint on behalf of someone else, that person’s name and contact details as well as your own.
3. 4.7. If you are making a Complaint about a particular matter, our internal client/matter reference number.
4. 4.8. If you are making a Complaint about one of our employees, the name and, where appropriate, position of that employee.
5. 4.9. Further details of your Complaint including, as appropriate, all times, dates, events, and people involved.
6. 4.10. Details of any documents or other evidence you wish to rely on in support of your Complaint.
7. Details of what you would like us to do to resolve your Complaint and to put things right. Please note that whilst we will make every reasonable effort to accommodate such requests, we are not bound to take any action beyond that which we may be contractually or otherwise legally obliged to take.

5. How We Handle Your Complaint

We operate a two-stage complaints handling procedure. Following our Complaints Procedure, our aim is to always resolve Complaints to your satisfaction at Level One without further recourse to Level Two. If you are not satisfied at the end of Level One, you may escalate your Complaint to Level Two. If you are still not satisfied at the end of Level Two, Complaints may progress to External Resolution as detailed below.

6. Level One

1. Upon receipt of your Complaint, we will log it in our internal system and will acknowledge receipt of it in writing within 1 working day, giving you a Complaint Reference.
2. 6.1. When we acknowledge receipt of your Complaint, we will also provide details of your Complaint Handler.
3. 6.2. If your Complaint relates to a specific employee, that person will be informed of your Complaint and given a fair and reasonable opportunity to respond. Any communication between you and the employee in question should take place only via the Complaint Handler.
4. 6.3. If we require any further information or evidence from you, the Complaint Handler will contact you as quickly as is reasonably possible.
5. 6.4. We aim to resolve Level One Complaints within 5 working days. In some cases, particularly if your Complaint is of a complex nature, this may not be possible. If this is not possible for any reason you will be informed of the delay, the likely length of the delay and the reasons for it.
6. 6.5. At the conclusion of the Level One complaints procedure, regardless of the outcome, we will provide you with full details of our investigation, our conclusions from that investigation, and any action taken as a result. You will also be reminded of your right to appeal our decision and escalate the Complaint to Level Two.

7. Level Two

1. If you are not satisfied with the resolution of your Complaint at Level One, you may appeal the decision within 3 working days and have the Complaint escalated to Level Two.
2. 7.1. Appeals, quoting your original Complaint Reference, should be directed to your original Complaint Handler who will forward the request to an appropriate Appeal Handler. Receipt of appeals will be acknowledged in writing within 2 working days.
3. 7.2. If your Complaint relates to a specific employee, that person will be informed of your appeal and given a further opportunity to respond. Any communication between you and the employee in question should take place only via the Appeal Handler.
4. 7.3. If we require any further information or evidence from you, the Appeal Handler will contact you as quickly as is reasonably possible.
5. 7.4. We aim to resolve Level Two Complaints within 10 working days however in some cases, particularly if your Complaint is of a complex nature, this may not be possible. If this is not possible for any reason you will be informed of the delay and the reasons for it.
6. 7.5. At the conclusion of the Level Two procedure, regardless of the outcome, we will provide you with a final written response, detailing our investigation, our conclusions, and any action taken.
7. 7.6. Our decision at this stage is final, subject to your right to seek External Resolution of your Complaint.

8. External Resolution

We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your Level Two Complaint, you have the right to seek External Resolution from the Legal Ombudsman.

There are time limits for submitting a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. Generally, you must refer your complaint to them within six months of receiving our final written response, and within either six years from the date of the act/omission, or three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

9. Confidentiality and Data Protection

All Complaints and related information are treated with the utmost confidence. Such information will only be shared with those team members who need to know to handle your Complaint.

1. 9.1. We may ask for your permission to use details of your Complaint (with your personal details removed) for internal training and quality improvement purposes. If you have given such permission, you may revoke it at any time by contacting us at info@lexingtonashworth.com.
2. 9.2. All personal information that we may collect will be collected, used and held in accordance with the provisions of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and ourPrivacy Policy.

10. How to Contact Us

Please contact us if you have any questions about this cookie policy or the information we hold about you. If you wish to contact us, please:

• Write to: Lexington Ashworth Solicitors, Dale House, Tiviot Dale, Stockport, SK1 1TA
• Call: +447900200787
• Email: info@lexingtonashworth.com
• Use our Website Contact Form: (website contact form)

11. Questions and Further Information

If you have any questions or require further information about any aspect of this Complaints Policy or about our Complaints Procedure, please contact us at info@lexingtonashworth.com.