Complaints Handling Procedure
We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). We are committed to high quality legal advice and client care and aim to offer all our clients an efficient and effective
service.
We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service we have provided then we would encourage you to inform us immediately so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.
However, if our clients would like to discuss how the service to them could be improved, the level of their bill, or should there be any aspect of our service with which they are not satisfied, we ask them to please contact the person in our firm responsible for complaints.
Our Complaints Procedure
If you have a complaint, please write to the firm’s Client Care Director, who is Shabir Mirza by phoning 0116 299 1999, emailing contactus@apexlawyersltd.com or by post to 6 King Street, Leicester LE1 6RJ. If your complaint is about Shabir Mirza, please contact Prakash Morar.
What Will Happen Next?
- 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 then record your complaint in our central register and open a file for your complaint. We will also investigate your complaint by examining the file of your instructions.
- If appropriate we will then invite you to meet the Client Care Director to discuss 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.
- Within 2 days of any meeting we will write to you to confirm what took place and any suggestions that we have agreed with you.
- At this stage, if you are still not satisfied you can write to us again. 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:
- The Client Care Director will review their own decision.
- Another Director of the firm who has not been involved in your complaint will review it.
- An independent Senior Partner will review your complaint.
- Invite you to independent mediation.
- We will let you know the result of the review within 5 days of the end of the review. This will be in writing and will confirm our final position on your complaint and explain our reasons.
- If you are still not satisfied, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) about your complaint. We very much hope that this will not be necessary. The time limit for referring a complaint to LeO 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
LeO will have discretion to accept out-of-time complaints in circumstances where it deems it fair and reasonable to do so. You should contact the Legal Ombudsman at the above address or on 0300 555 0333 or at enquiries@legalombudsman.
You can contact LeO by the following means;
- Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
- Call: 0300 555 0333 between 8.30am to 5.30pm
- For minicom call 0300 555 1777
- By email to enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk; or
- In writing to Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ.
- Do not send original documents to the Legal Ombudsman. They will scan any documents you send them to make computer copies and then destroy the originals.
If we enter into a contract with you and/or you become a client of our firm by electronic means (such as by e-mail or online) then, in addition to any rights of redress you may have through the Legal Ombudsman, you may be entitled to use an EU online dispute resolution platform to assist with any complaint or dispute you may have about our services. This online platform can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/odr. We do have an e-mail address you may contact in this regard and that is contactus@apexlawyersltd.com.
Solicitors Regulation Authority
If someone thinks a solicitor might be dishonest or you have concerns about their ethics or integrity, they have the right to notify our regulator, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). There are no time limits for making a report but there are limits on what the SRA will consider. Please note that the SRA is not able to deal with issues of poor service (complaints of this nature should instead be referred to the Legal Ombudsman). For further information about the SRA’s role, please contact the SRA or visit:
https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.page#report
If you still have queries or concerns, please contact the firm’s Client Care Director, who is Shabir Mirza by phoning 0116 299 1999, emailing contactus@apexlawyersltd.com or by post to 6 King Street, Leicester LE1 6RJ Your right to complain might relate to the way in which your matter is being handled or the fee we are seeking from you. If you have a complaint, please write to the firm’s Client Care Director, who is Shabir Mirza by phoning 0116 299 1999, emailing contactus@apexlawyersltd.com or by post to 6 King Street, Leicester LE1 6RJ. If your complaint is about Shabir Mirza, please contact Prakash Morar.
For further information or if you want to make a formal complaint, then you can read our full complaints procedure here. In our procedure, we explain how we will handle a formal complaint. We also explain the role of the Legal Ombudsman and the Solicitors Regulation Authority and provide useful contact details so that you can be properly aware of your rights and the options available to you.
Apex lawyers can be contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Our practice doesn’t stop, nor does our representation stop, as arrest can happen at any time.
If you, a family member, or a friend thinks that they may need advice
Do not hesitate to call our office on: 0116 299 1999
Or for the 24 hour Police station number: 0794 902 0809
Apex lawyers can be contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Our practice doesn’t stop, nor does our representation stop, as arrest can happen at any time.
If you, a family member, or a friend thinks that they may need advice
Do not hesitate to call our office on: 0116 299 1999
Or for the 24 hour Police station number: 0794 902 0809