In the event of a complaint, our aim is to:

• Provide a prompt response and resolution of the issue
• Update any complainant throughout as to progress
• Ensure that we learn from any mistakes made

Our Client Care Partner is Nigel Beckwith.

Complaints Procedure

If you are dissatisfied with our service, we would ask you firstly to bring the issue to the attention of the person who has conduct of your case, or their supervisor. You will have been informed who the supervisor is in our retainer letter at the outset of your instructions. If your dissatisfaction cannot be resolved at that stage, you will be invited to contact the Compliance Officer, Gosschalks, Queens Gardens, Hull HU1 3DZ. Your complaint will be logged and passed for action to our Client Care Partner. If you wish to complain about the Client Care Partner, then please write or ask to speak to our Partner, Andrew Johnson, who will undertake the role of the Client Care Partner in respect of your particular complaint.

Once you have formally confirmed your complaint to us, the following process will begin:

i) Your complaint will be acknowledged in writing within seven working days of receipt. We may ask you for further details or for clarification of any points.

ii) Your complaint will be recorded in a central register. The Client Care Partner will review your complaint and decide who is best placed to investigate it: this may be another partner within the firm. iii) The Client Care Partner will then, within twenty working days, either:

• provide you with a written response to your complaint and his suggestions for resolving the matter; or
• if it appears to him to be appropriate to discuss his findings with you personally, invite you to a meeting to take place within the next ten working days. If such a meeting takes place, we will agree (at the meeting) the timescale with you for any further management of your complaint.

If a meeting is not possible or you do not wish to participate in such a meeting, the Client Care Partner will in any event provide you with a written response to your complaint within five working days of completing his investigations.

iv) If, at this stage, you remain unsatisfied in respect of your complaint, you will

• a) be reminded of the role of the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) and your right to refer your complaint to LeO for investigation;
• b) be advised that the Family Mediation Council can be asked to investigate the complaint and can be contacted at www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk/complaints-about-mediators
• c) be advised of the existence of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms, as we are required to do under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015. However, please note that we do not agree to the use of such mechanisms, choosing instead to rely upon the services provided by the Legal Ombudsman.

We are committed to trying to resolve any concerns in a fair and amicable way. However, if your complaint is not resolved within eight weeks of it having been made to us, you may have the right to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman (LeO).

The Legal Ombudsman can be contacted by post at PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH, by phone on 0300 555 0333 or by email to enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk. Details of the Legal Ombudsman's remit is available at www.legalombudsman.org.uk.

The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one year of you realising there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.

Finally, you can raise concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority 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.