OUR COMPLAINTS POLICY
We are committed to providing a high quality service to all our clients. However, we recognise that occasionally things might go wrong. If they do, please tell us about it. This will help us to improve our service. If you wish to make a formal complaint, then this procedure explains how we will deal with it.
OUR COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
In the first instance, it may be useful to contact the individual who is working on your case to discuss any concerns. That individual, or their team manager, will do their best to resolve any issues. Our contact details will be in our initial engagement letter sent to you.
If you do not feel able to raise your concerns with them, or if you are unsatisfied with the response, then you can raise a complaint with our management team.
Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.
The best way to contact us is by email or in writing. That is the best way to make sure we fully understand your concerns. To help us understand your complaint, and so that we do not miss anything, please tell us:
- your full name and contact details;
- what you think we have got wrong;
- how you would like your complaint to be resolved; and
- your file reference number (if you have this).
If you are unable to contact us by email or in writing, you can still make your complaint by telephoning us. You should ask to speak to the appropriate member of our team identified below.
Please note that this person may not always be available and therefore you may be asked to leave your contact details and a description of your concerns with another member of our team. If you require to make your complaint by telephone, we will require to obtain either an email or postal address from you so that we can set out in writing the issues we understand you wish us to investigate and provide you with our written findings.
WHO TO CONTACT?
The person to contact with the complaint depends on which member of our group has provided services.
For services provided by Gilson Gray LLP (Scottish legal services) then the person to contact is our Client Relations Manager. Gilson Gray LLP’s current Client Relations Manager is Rosie Walker. You can e-mail a complaint to rwalker@gilsongray.co.uk. Alternatively, the address to write to is Gilson Gray LLP, 29 Rutland Square, Edinburgh, EH1 2BW.
For services provided by Gilson Gray (England) Limited (including English conveyancing services) you can e-mail a complaint to complaintsengland@gilsongray.com Alternatively the address to write to is Gilson Gray (England) LLP, Olympic House, 995 Doddington Road, Lincoln, LN6 3SE.
For services provided by Gilson Gray Property Services LLP (Estate Agency and Lettings services), the person to contact for Estate Agency is Rob McGregor, you can email a complaint to rmcgregor@gilsongray.co.uk The letting contact is Marcus Di Rollo, you can email a complaint to mdirollo@gilsongray.co.uk Alternatively, the address to write to Gilson Gray LLP, 29 Rutland Square, Edinburgh, EH1 2BW.
For services provided by Gilson Gray Financial Limited, the person to contact is the Managing Partner. Gilson Gray Property Services LLP’s current Managing Partner is Alastair Lindsay. You can e-mail a complaint to alindsay@gilsongray.co.uk. Alternatively, the address to write to is Gilson Gray LLP, 29 Rutland Square, Edinburgh, EH1 2BW.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?
- Once a complaint is received, we aim to send you an acknowledgement within two working days. We may ask you for further details of your complaint in order that we can properly understand and respond to it. If you have raised your complaint by telephone, we will summarise our understanding of the issues and our acknowledgement within 5 working days, and we would be grateful if you would clarify any errors or discrepancies as soon as you can.
- We will investigate your complaint. This is likely to involve discussing the matter with the members of staff who acted for you reviewing the documents and correspondence contained in your file. Our investigation will include an objective review of the file for your matter.
- We will provide you with a final response to your complaint in writing. This may include proposals to resolve the complaint. We aim to provide this final response within 4 weeks of the date upon which we receive sufficient details of your complaint to enable us to fully investigate.
- If we cannot complete our investigations within the timescales above, we will let you know and explain the reasons for any extension or delay.
- We may occasionally ask to have a telephone call or invite you to a meeting to discuss your complaint. You do not have to attend if you do not wish to, or are unable to do so.
- Where appropriate, we will keep you up to date on the progress of your complaint. There may not be updates if the matter can be resolved within the 4 weeks mentioned above.
- If we have a discussion with you regarding your complaint, we will confirm our discussions in writing. We aim to do so within five working days of the call.
- If you are unhappy with our written response, or if you wish to escalate matters separately, you have the right to do so. As providers of regulatory services, there are independent bodies who can deal with your complaint. This will be the Legal Ombudsman for work carried out by Gilson Gray (England) Limited, or the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) for services provided by Gilson Gray LLP. Their services are free of charge. More detail on each is provided below.
THE SLCC
This is for complaints about Gilson Gray LLP (Scottish work) only. There are strict time limits within which you must submit a complaint to the SLCC. Details of these time limits and of the complaints process is laid out in their website: https://www.scottishlegalcomplaints.org.uk/.
The SLCC can be contacted in 0131 201 2140, by email at: enquiries@scottishlegalcomplaints.org.uk
or by post at The Stamp Office, 10-14 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EG.
THE LEGAL OMBUDSMAN (AND SRA)
This is for complaints about Gilson Gray (England) Limited only (English legal work)
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 must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:
- Within six months of receiving our final response to your complaint
and
- No more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or
- No more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint.
For more information contact the Legal Ombudsman.
You can contact the Legal Ombudsman by
- Telephone: 0300 555 0333
- Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
- Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
The Legal Ombudsman correspondence address is:
- Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL10EH
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.
Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
THIRD PARTY COMPLAINTS
In some situations, persons or businesses who are not our clients (known as Third Parties) may be entitled to make a complaint. These must be made to us by email or in writing. We will investigate permitted Third Party complaints and set out by email or in writing whether or not we have upheld them. However we are normally unable to disclose any information to Third Parties which is confidential or privileged to our clients. As such we will be limited in the detail we can provide to Third Parties explaining the decision we have reached on their complaint.
In some situations Third Parties can also complaint to the SLCC or Legal Ombudsman. Their contact details are as set out above. Please note that the time frames for Third Party complaints may differ.