Client Care

Our Commitment & Complaint Procedure

Our Commitment

We are a Firm of solicitors authorised and regulated in England by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Our SRA registration number is: 619828.

We are committed to providing an efficient, reliable and professional service for all our clients so to achieve the highest prospects of success in respect of the matters which they instruct us on. With this aim in mind, we have drawn the following best intended commitments towards the task of representing our clients’ best interests:

•  Solicitor-client relationship: As a small Firm, we have the advantage of being able to maintain a close solicitor-client relationship with all our clients. This means that your matter will not be attended to by anyone other than the solicitor who is assigned to your matter and his/her personal assistant.

•  Transparency and reliability of legal advice on merits of each individual case: We aim to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of our clients’ matters at the earliest possible stage of their instruction to us. This will ensure that both the client and us is aware of not only the prospects of success but also any steps that may need to be taken to further strengthen the prospects of success in good time. If there are problems and prospects of success are low, we will therefore inform our clients without hesitation.

•  Preparation and case management: We believe that preparation and good case management is key in ensuring the best possible outcome for our clients’ cases. Therefore, we ensure that the required case preparation arrangements are made at the first available opportunity with regular management of the arrangements to facilitate the smooth process of having conduct of our client’s case right up to completion.

•  Appointment arrangements: We aim to subscribe to an appointment only arrangement with our clients so to ensure that sufficient time is allocated for the purposes of not only taking detailed instructions from our clients but also advising and preparing our clients in respect of their individual matters. We inform our clients of the appointment arrangements in advance so to ensure that they too are aware of the same arrangements.
  

•  Communication with our clients and relevant third parties: Our main method of communication is by email. This ensures that not only there is a written record of our communication for both ourselves and our clients to refer to, if so required, but also that matters are attended to as quickly as possible. In certain circumstances, we also arrange telephone appointments or call clients outside of regular appointment arrangements to discuss matters with them one to one over the phone (this includes Skype/WhatsApp and other App based facilities). We therefore encourage our clients to also communicate with us by email only and our target commitment is to respond to all incoming emails within 3 working days (Mondays to Fridays excluding weekends and public holidays).

•  Keeping clients informed and up to date: We process all incoming post, as well as emails, on daily basis during the working week (Mondays to Fridays excluding weekends and public holidays). Our aim is to inform our clients of any developments in relation to their case particularly by reference to any post or emails received relating to their matter within one working day.

•  Compliance with deadlines and/or Court/Tribunal Directions: All such deadlines and Directions are recorded in our central office diary facility with reminders set to ensure that they are not missed. We aim to advise our clients of any deadlines or Directions affecting their respective case on individual basis.
  

•  Responding to text messages and/or other message service communications such as WhatsApp/Viber etc.: In the interest of client confidentiality and maintenance of a reliable record maintained concerning all communications with our client, we do not respond to such messages and strongly recommend our clients to limit their intended written communication with us by email only.

•  Clients requests for appointments (including telephone appointments): All such requests are attended to within 2 working days. Depending on the urgency of the matter, the first available appointment will be allocated to our client’s request.

• Keeping costs within the indication given to clients at the start of their matter: We strive to maintain and manage the conduct of each particular case in a such a way to keep within the fee arrangements we have indicated to our clients. In the unlikely event that we are unable to keep within such a fee arrangement, we will inform our clients in writing and in good time so that they are aware of additional cost implications affecting their matter.

By doing our best to subscribe to the above main set of commitments, we strive to develop a professional relationship with our clients so that effectively we will work with them so to achieve a successful conclusion of their matter.

We are pleased that, by subscribing to such an approach, we have maintained a success record of some 95% with all the client matters that we have undertaken.

However, we acknowledge that we may not always get it right so if something has gone wrong, including in relation to your bills in respect of our fees, we need you to tell us. Indeed, we urge you to inform us by either following the following complaint procedure or informing us directly via email as soon as you feel that something is not right or have any concerns about our conduct of your matter. By informing us, we will do our absolute best to not only resolve the issue but also to ensure that it does not happen again.

3              How do I make a complaint?

You can contact us in writing (by letter, fax or email) or by speaking with our Complaints Manager,Mr Khashayar Behbahani, Principal Solicitor. Our contact details are:

Behbahani & Co Solicitors, Unit A Argo House, Kilburn Park Road, London NW6 5FA. Telephone number: 020 7 644 02 03. Fax: 020 7 624 54 46. Email: info@behbahani.co.uk.

To help us to understand your complaint, and in order that we do not miss anything, please tell us:

1.       your full name and contact details

2.       what you think we have got wrong

3.       what you hope to achieve as a result of your complaint, and

4.       your file reference number (if you have it)

3.       If you require any help in making your complaint we will try to help you.

4              How will you deal with my complaint?

Upon receipt of your complaint, we will record your complaint centrally.

We will write to you within two working days acknowledging your complaint, enclosing a copy of this policy.

We will investigate your complaint. This will usually involve:

1.       reviewing your complaint

2.       reviewing your file(s) and other relevant documents, and

3.       speaking with the person who dealt with your matter

4.       We may also need to ask you for further information or documents. If so, we will ask you to provide the information within a specific period of time.

We will update you on the progress of your complaint at appropriate times.

We may also, if appropriate, invite you to a meeting to discuss your complaint. You do not have to attend if you do not wish to or if you are unable to. We will be happy to discuss the matter with you on the telephone.

We will write to you at the end of our investigation to tell you what we have done and what we propose to do to resolve your complaint. Where possible, we will aim to do this within 21 days of the date of our letter of acknowledgement.

5              What if I am not satisfied with the outcome?

If you are unhappy with the outcome of our complaints handling procedure, please first let us know and we will review the matter.

If you are still unhappy you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to look into your complaint. You can contact the Legal Ombudsman:

• by post at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
• by telephone: 0300 555 0333, or
• by email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

You must usually refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final written response to your complaint and within six years of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring (or within three years of you becoming aware of it). Further details are available on the website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk.

Alternative complaints bodies (such as Ombudsman Services, ProMediate and Small Claims Mediation) exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services. We have, however, chosen not to adopt an ADR process. If, therefore, you wish to complain further, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman.

If we are unable to resolve your complaint, and it relates to a contract we entered into online or by other electronic means, you may also be able to submit your complaint to an approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider in the UK via the EU ‘ODR platform’.

The ODR platform is an interactive website offering a single point of entry for disputes between consumers and traders relating to online contracts. The ODR platform is available to consumer clients only, i.e. where you have instructed us for purposes outside your trade, business, craft or profession.

6              What will it cost?

We will not charge you for handling your complaint.

Please however note that if we have issued a bill for work done on the matter, and all or some of the bill is not paid, we may be entitled to charge interest on the amount outstanding, if your complaint is subsequently also rejected by the Legal Ombudsman or any other external complaints proceedings.

The Legal Ombudsman service is also free of charge.

The ODR platform itself is free to use, but the ADR entity to which the complaint is transmitted may charge for its service. The ADR entity is responsible for informing all parties of the cost of its dispute resolution procedure.

7          What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) 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.

Therefore, if you have complained to us about breaching the SRA Code of Conduct and you are not satisfied with our response, you can report us to the SRA and ask the SRA to consider your concerns and the response you have received from us concerning your complaint.

As a firm of solicitors, we must follow the code of conduct. Examples of a breach include:

·         dishonesty

·         fraud

·         discrimination

Summary of Our Complaint Procedures:

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 you should inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.

In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues. If you would like to make a formal complaint, then you can read our full complaints procedure as set out above. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you can take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

• Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint; and
• No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or
  
• No more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.
  

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them via:

Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9.00 to 17.00.

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

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. You may also engage a complaint with the Solicitors Regulation Authority in respect of other aspects of your complaint against us. We therefore suggest that you contact them in the first instance so to be guided as to what they may be able to do so to assist with the processing of your complaint.

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

End

Legal Notice: This Policy Notice is specific for Behbahani & Co Solicitors. Any unauthorised use of, reference to, or copying of its contents may result in legal action being taken against any offending person(s) or organisations