Complaints Policy | James & West Law | The Whistleblowing Experts

Our complaints policy

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to maintain and improve our standards.

Our complaints procedure

If you have a complaint, please contact Francesca West, the Managing Partner of the firm, in writing with the full details. If the complaint relates to work undertaken by Francesca West, please contact Cathryn James. Any complaints will be dealt with promptly, fairly, openly and effectively, without charge to you. If for any reason we have to change any of the timescales set out below we will let you know.

Contact Details

Name:	Francesca West	Cathryn James
Telephone:	07815898822	07899000472
Email:	francescawest@jamesandwest.co.uk	cathyjames@jamesandwest.co.uk
Correspondence Address: 1 Vincent Square, London, SW1P 2PN.

What will happen next?

We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint (enclosed) and asking you to confirm or explain the details. We may suggest that we meet to clarify any details.
We will then record your complaint in our central register and open a file for your complaint and investigate your complaint.
Francesca West, will consider your complaint and will ask the lawyer who acted for you to give her their reply to your complaint. She will then consider their reply and the information in your complaint file. Francesca West will then invite you to a meeting or a call to discuss the matter.
If Francesca West acted for you, Cathryn James, will consider your complaint and will ask Francesca to give her her reply to your complaint. Cathryn will then consider her reply and the information in your complaint file. Cathryn will then invite you to a meeting or a call to discuss the matter.
We would aim to be in a position to be able to meet with you or speak to you within 14 days of first receiving your complaint. If you would prefer not to meet, or if we cannot arrange this within an agreeable timescale, Francesca West or Cathryn James (as appropriate) will write fully to you setting out her views on the situation and any redress.
If a meeting or call does take place, within seven days of that meeting or call, Francesca West or Cathryn James (as appropriate) will write to you to confirm what took place, our final position on your complaint and explaining her reasons and any solutions agreed with you. In appropriate cases we could offer, for example, an apology, a reduction of any bill or a repayment in relation to any payment received. The letter will also provide contact details for the Legal Ombudsman (which we also set out below) and explain about your potential right (depending on your status or that of your business) to contact them if you are not satisfied with how we have dealt with your complaint.
Further information about the Legal Ombudsman is available from legalombudsman.org.uk or by contacting them by post: PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ; email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk; telephone: +44 (0)300 555 0333. Please be advised that the Legal Ombudsman will only deal with complaints by members of the public, very small businesses, charities, clubs and trusts. Please ensure you allow us eight weeks to deal with your complaint before contacting the Legal Ombudsman.
Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman should be made within six years from the date of the act / omission complained of or three years from when you should reasonably have known there were grounds for complaint. Any complaint should also generally be made to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving our final response in relation to your complaint. Please note however, that the Legal Ombudsman will not accept complaints where the act or date of awareness were before 6 October 2010. If you are unsure about these time limits please call the Legal Ombudsman on +44 (0)300 555 0333.