Complaints

We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy with the service we have provided to you or you have concerns about our charges then you should inform us immediately so that we can do our best to resolve the problem for you.

Dissatisfied with our service?

Initially please contact the person who is handling your matter to discuss your concerns. Alternatively, or if your concerns are not resolved by the person handling your matter please contact the person supervising their work. The name of the supervisor is set out in the client care letter sent to you at the start of your case.

We will do our best to resolve any concerns at this stage but if you still have concerns and feel you need to make a formal complaint, our full complaints procedure is detailed in this document. Making a complaint will not affect how your case is handled.

Making a formal complaint

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. If something goes wrong you need to tell us about it, so that we can put matters right. It will also help us to improve our standards.

If you are not satisfied with our response to your concerns having raised them to the person handling your matter and their supervisor, you should make a formal complaint which will be handled by our Complaints Handling Partner.

What will happen next

  1. Within three days of receiving your complaint we will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint, let you know the name of the person handling your complaint and request you to confirm or explain any details which we require to investigate your complaint. If it seems that it would assist to resolve your complaint we will suggest a meeting with you.
  2. We will record your complaint in our central register and open a separate file for your complaint.
  3. The timetable/actions for investigating your complaint are likely to be as follows:
    • Within three days of receiving your complaint the person investigating your complaint will raise it with the person complained about, and where appropriate call for your file of papers.
    • Within fourteen days of receiving your complaint the person dealing with your complaint will either invite you to a meeting to resolve the complaint, or send you a detailed reply, which will include suggestions for resolving the matter.
  4. If you are still not satisfied that your complaint has been resolved, please let us know, and your complaint will be reviewed within fourteen days of you notifying us by another partner in this firm.
  5. We will let you know the result of this review within five days of completing the review and we will write to you confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
  6. If you remain dissatisfied you have a right to take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, an independent complaints body established under the Legal Services Act 2007, that deals with legal services complaints. Their contact details are set out below.

What you may do if we cannot resolve your complaint

If we are unable to help you, then you can have the complaint independently looked at by the Legal Ombudsman. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how your case is handled. 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 there are some time limits for taking your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

You should do so:

  • Within 6 months of receiving our final response to your complaint

and

  • No more than 1 year from the date of act/omission about which you are complaining,

or

  • No more than 1 year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman their contact details are:

How the SRA can help you

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you 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, disability, or other characteristic. You can raise your concerns with Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Our commitment to you

We are pleased that we very rarely have to use our complaints procedure – and if any client is dissatisfied with our service, and wishes to use it, we will do our utmost to resolve the complaint to our client’s satisfaction.

Client feedback

Sidraa and Paulo were brilliant and faultless. We have gone through the conveyencing process twice before and found the whole experience very frustrating. It was refreshing and very pleasing to find that the team at Winston made sure we were fully informed as things progressed, responded promptly to all of our requests and were friendly and approachable throughout. Highly recommend.
Anonymous
I highly recommend the services by Winston Solicitors. My solicitor went above and beyond to complete the conveyancing process during my house purchase. She always remained accessible and was available to answer my queries at all times. Her instructions were always crystal clear and i was continously updated to ensure i am aware of any progress. Winston Solicitors should be your first choice if you are wanting to work with highly professional individuals.
Nusrhat
Really efficient and helpful, especially Amanda and Olivia. This was a whole new experience for me and other people gave me much longer dates for expected completion whereas Olivia managed to complete everything in a comparatively quick time even when unexpected situations arose, thank you.
Anonymous
Really helpful and responsive. Used them for my remortgage which included taking someone off the deed and making the mortgage for me only and it was all very smooth and I felt very well informed throughout. Felt like good value for money. Would use again.
Katrina
Fantastic experience!After a couple of previous houses unfortunately fell through over the last year, alongside a few other issues, we ended up dealing with four different conveyancers over a two-year period. Our frustrating experiences with the first three corporate firms are what ultimately pushed me to go local and choose a smaller company and I am so glad I did!The entire process with this firm was incredibly smooth. Michelle replied promptly to every single query and the service was still very reasonably priced. Even our estate agents remarked on how impressed they were with Michelle's quick responses and ease of communication.Whenever I had a question, I knew it would be answered often on the exact same day via email and we received constant, transparent updates as milestones were completed. I vastly preferred this direct, human communication over the overly complex online portals I had to use with past firms.I would highly recommend Michelle and this firm to anyone looking to buy a house, especially first-time buyers who want a stress-free experience. Thank you so much!
Miss Dawson
Recently I have used the services of Winston Solicitors to deal with my wife's estate and to update my will. In both cases everything was explained in straightforward language and so was easy to understand. Things were dealt with promptly and I was always kept informed of progress. The friendly approach of members of the team made a difficult situation much easier to deal with. My family will certainly seek the services of Winstons when required in the future.
David
Amazing service from start to finish, Our questions were answered quickly and there were no holds up from our side of the house sale what so ever. Would 100% recommend and use in the future. Special thank you to Samantha & Aishah.
Robyn
We were really impressed with the service that we received from both Leasa and Julie. The process was efficient, communication was great and we liked the online portal where you could see the progress of the sale/purchase easily. Despite some delays from our buyer’s solicitor, both Leasa and Julie seemed to push this daily for us to complete on time. We would recommend Winston’s to others and will use them in the future if we move again!
Charlotte
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