Complaints Handling
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, the amount of a billor should there be any aspect of our service with which you are not satisfied, we would encourage you to inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.
In the first instance it may be helpful to contact an advisor who is working on your case to discuss your concernsand we will do our best to resolve any issues. If you still have queries or concerns, please contact Mr Ishtiaq Sarwar via email at crime@blackandcosolicitors.co.uk, by phone at 01455 844005or by writing to Black & Co, 3-5 Welford Road, Leicester LE2 7AD. Your right to complain might relate to the way in which your matter is being handled or the fee we are seeking from you.
Data Complaints
The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA) requires that we help to facilitate the making of complaints about how we use your personal data. Should you wish to raise a complaint about a potential breach of your personal data or where you have any other concern about our handling of your personal data, you may wish to write to our Director, Mr Ishtiaq Sarwar via email at crime@blackandcosolicitors.co.uk, by phone at 01455 844005or by writing to Black & Co, 3-5 Welford Road, Leicester LE2 7AD.
Our Director will assess and respond to your complaint in accordance our Data and Privacy Notice. In particular, we will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days and, without undue delay, take appropriate steps to respond to the complaint and inform you of the outcome.
Our Formal 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. However, if our clients would like to discuss how the service to them could be improved, the level of their billor 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 handling: Mr Ishtiaq Sarwar (Director) via email at crime@blackandcosolicitors.co.uk, by phone at 01455 844005or by writing to Black & Co, 3-5 Welford Road, Leicester LE2 7AD..
If your complaint is in relation to the conduct of our Complaints Handling Representative, we will make alternative arrangements for the investigation and handling of your complaint.
We will endeavour to handle your complaint promptly, fairly and free of charge. Our complaints procedure is as follows:
Step One: If they have not already done so, we ask our clients to let us know the full nature of the problem.
Step Two: Our Complaints Handling Representative will write to the client acknowledging their complaint within five working days. In this letter, we shall confirm what happens next.
Step Three: Our Complaints Handling Representative shall then investigate the matter by reviewing the matter file and speaking to the member of staff concerned within ten working days of acknowledging receipt of the complaint. If, for some reason, the matter cannot be investigated in this timeframe, then we will write to the client notifying them of this together with the reason why and giving a revised timescale.
Once the investigation has been completed, our Complaints Handling Representative shall invite the client to a meeting to discuss the issue(s) they have raised and hopefully resolve the complaint. Following the meeting or call, our Complaints Handling Representative shall write to the client within five working days of the meeting or call to confirm the discussion and the solution agreed upon.
If the client does not want to or is unable to attend such a meeting or engage in a discussion, we will be happy to send the client a detailed, written response, including the proposed solution, within fifteen working days of our concluding the investigation of the matter.
Step Four: If the client is satisfied with our response following the above steps, that will be the end of the matter. However, if the client is not satisfied, they will be invited to contact our Complaints Handling Representative again and they will arrange for another senior staff member or local solicitor to review the decision. They will write to the client within ten working days of receiving the request with confirmation of the firm’s final position in relation to the complaint, outlining the reasons and any final redress that is offered.
Step Five: Other avenues
Clients must always try complaining to us first. In most cases they will not be able to take their complaint further without allowing us the opportunity to put things right.
Legal Ombudsman
We are permitted a period of eight weeks to consider the complaint. If for any reason we are unable to resolve the problem between us within that timeframe, then our clients are advised that they may ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the complaint.
Clients are free to refer any complaint about our work, fees or level of service but there are some conditions and time limits. Please be aware that any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of the client having received a final written response from us about their complaint. Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within one year of the act or omission about which the client is complaining occurring or from when the client should have known about or become aware that there were grounds for complaint.
For further information, please contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333 or visit www.legalombudsman.org.uk. The Legal Ombudsman may be contacted at PO Box 6167, Slough SL 0EH.
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 on 0370 606 2555 or visit: SRA | Reporting a solicitor or firm to us.
Information Commissioners’ Office
To the extent that your complaint relates to our handling of your Personal Data or it is evident that you are exercising your Rights as a Data Subject under data and information rights legislation, there may be aspects of the compliant that we may have to deal with and/or respond to differently in light of our obligations as a Data Controller.
Complaints about your personal data will be handled by our Director Mr Ishtiaq Sarwar. You can find guidance on our obligations under data and information rights legislation on the ICO’s website (www.ico.org.uk). You also have the right to lodge a complaint about persona data with the ICO provided that you have first allowed us the opportunity to attempt to resolve it ourselves. For further information or to contact the ICO please visit www.ico.org.uk/concerns or call 0303 123 1113.