Complaints Procedure
Client Complaints Handing Procedure
Our internal procedure
1. If you, as a client of Omnia Strategy LLP (“Omnia”), have a complaint about the service provided to you by us, or if you have a complaint about an invoice, then complaints should be made in the first instance to the individual responsible for the matter in question (your “Primary Counsel”). If you are unable to resolve the complaint with your Primary Counsel and wish to pursue your complaint, then you should refer it in writing (either by post or email) to Omnia’s Chief Operating Officer by:
- Post to: Omnia Strategy LLP, 30 Harcourt Street, London W1H 4HU, or
- Email to: [email protected]
2. Following notice of a complaint, the Chief Operating Officer will acknowledge receipt and arrange for an appropriate Partner (“Nominated Partner”) to contact you to discuss the complaint within five business days of receipt. At the same time, we will record the complaint in our central register.
3. Following preliminary discussions with the Nominated Partner, you may decide to resolve the matter through informal means. In such circumstances, the Nominated Partner shall continue to liaise with you until a satisfactory outcome has been reached.
4. In other circumstances, you may decide to pursue a formal complaint, in which case we shall undertake an investigation into the matter.
5. We will undertake a full and fair investigation, and this will be done as quickly as possible. If within 21 calendar days the investigation has not been completed or we are unable to provide you with a detailed response, you will be informed of the current status.
6. Once the investigation has been completed, we will write to you explaining our findings and any action we propose.
7. We will try in good faith to resolve the matter through discussions between you or, if you are a company, your senior executives and Omnia Strategy’s Nominated Partner. Such discussions may take place at any time after you notify us of your complaint, either before, during or after the completion of our investigation.
Legal Ombudsman (“LEO”)
8. Put simply, if you are:
- an individual acting in your personal capacity,
- a business with fewer than ten employees and whose annual turnover and/or balance sheet total does not exceed €2 million,
- a charity/club/association/trustee of a trust with an annual net income of less than £1 million,
- a personal representative or beneficiary of the estate of a person who, before he/she died, had not referred the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, and:
- your complaint concerns something you think Omnia has done or failed to do relating to services we have provided to you, and:
- the act or omission that you are complaining about happened less than six years ago, and you received a final written response from us about your complaint less than six months ago, and:
- you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, then:
- you may be able to can ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider your complaint.
9. If you do not fall within the conditions set out in paragraph 8 above the Legal Ombudsman will not generally have the authority to deal with your complaint. Therefore, if you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint you may wish to seek independent legal advice as to the action you may take .
10. You can contact the Legal Ombudsman by:
- Post to: PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ,
- Email to: [email protected], or
- Calling: 0300 555 0333, 9am to 5pm Mon-Fri (or +44 121 245 3050 from overseas).
For further details, visit the Legal Ombudsman’s website.
11. In order for the Legal Ombudsman to consider your complaint you may be required to complete and submit a Complaint Form, which can be found on the LEO website or via the following link.
12. This is only a summary of the Legal Ombudsman’s Scheme Rules, which are available in full here.
Solicitors Regulation Authority (“SRA”)
13. The SRA could help you if you think we have breached the SRA Principles. These principles require us to act:
- in a way that upholds the constitutional principle of the rule of law, and the proper administration of justice;
- in a way that upholds public trust and confidence in the solicitors’ profession and in legal services provided by authorised persons;
- with independence;
- with honesty;
- with integrity;
- in a way that encourages equality, diversity and inclusion; and
- in the best interests of each client.
14. The SRA’s “report form” can be downloaded here. Completed forms should be submitted to the SRA’s Reports Team by:
- Post to: The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham B1 1RN,
- By DX: 720293 BIRMINGHAM 47, or
- Email to: [email protected]
15. Further information from the SRA about when and how to make a report to the SRA can be found here.
Court
16. If you have a complaint about your professional fees or disbursements invoice, you may apply to the Court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 and/or you may also complain to the Legal Ombudsman (if you satisfy the criteria set out at paragraph 8 above). The Legal Ombudsman may not deal with a complaint about a bill if an application has been made to court.