Unhappy with our Service?
Please do not hesitate to use our Complaints Handling Procedure
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 improve our standards.
Our complaints procedure
If you have a complaint about our service or a bill that we have rendered on or both, please contact us with the details. The person to contact is Mr Santhosh K Karuvari, and he can be reached at: Mr Santhosh K Karuvari, Chhokar & Co Solicitors, 29a The Broadway, Southall Middlesex UB1 1JY Tel : 020 8574 2488 E-mail : skk@chhokarlaw.com
What will happen next?
1. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within 5 working days of us receiving the complaint, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
2. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to Mr Santhosh K Karuvari who will review your file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you.
3. Mr Santhosh K Karuvari will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. This will be done within 15 working days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
4. Within 10 working days of the meeting, Mr Santhosh K Karuvari will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions she has agreed with you.
5. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Mr Santhosh K Karuvari will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including his suggestions for resolving the matter, within 20 working days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
6. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for the decision to be reviewed by:
a) Mr Santokh S Chhokar or another partner or someone unconnected with the matter at our Form;
b) the local Law Society or another local solicitor; or
d) mediation
7. We will write to you within 5 working days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
8. If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.
9. If you are still not satisfied, you can then contact the Legal Ombudsman at:
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ
Tel: 0300 555 0333 or 0121 245 3050
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
There are time limits within which complaints must be made to the Legal Ombudsman, as indicated below.
Generally speaking, your complaint should be made to the Ombudsman no later than six years from when the problem occurred or three years from when you should reasonably have become aware of the problem.
Additionally, you should make your complaint to the Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final response from us following the complaint that you have made to us.
Normally, your complaint needs to fall inside both rules if the Ombudsman is going to investigate it.
You also need to be aware that the Ombudsman only deals with complaints from the following:
(a) an enterprise which, at the time that the complaint is made, is a micro-enterprise within the meaning of arts.1, 2(1) and (3) of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, as that Recommendation had effect at the date it was adopted;
(b) a charity with an annual income net of tax of less than £1 million at the time at which the complainant refers the complaint to the respondent;
(c) a club, association or organisation, the affairs of which are managed by its members or a committee or committees of its members, with an annual income net of tax of less than £1 million at the time at which the complainant refers the complaint to the respondent;
(d) a trustee of a trust with an asset value of less than £1 million at the time at which the complainant refers the complaint to the respondent;
(e) a personal representative of an estate of a person; or
(f) a beneficiary of an estate of a person.
