Robert Jonathan PitmanSRA-regulated freelance solicitor

Complaints procedure

I want to provide a clear and reliable service. If you are unhappy with my services or charges, please tell me so that I can consider your concerns and try to resolve them.

I handle complaints promptly, fairly and free of charge.

Tell me what has gone wrong

Please contact me directly:

Please provide your name, contact details, the matter concerned, what you are unhappy about and the outcome you would like. Include relevant dates or correspondence if you can. You do not need to use legal terminology.

If you need help making a complaint or require this information in another format, please tell me what would assist you. Please do not submit confidential matter documents through the general website contact form; contact me to agree a suitable way to provide them.

How I will consider your complaint

I will acknowledge your complaint promptly and clarify any points I need to understand. I will review the relevant correspondence and records and consider the concerns you have raised. I may ask you for further information or offer to discuss the complaint with you.

I will provide a written response explaining my findings and any action I propose to take. I aim to resolve complaints within eight weeks of receiving them. If your complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction within eight weeks, I will write to explain any right you have to contact the Legal Ombudsman, the applicable time limits and its full contact details.

My final response will explain whether my complaints procedure is complete and the next steps available to you.

If you remain dissatisfied — Legal Ombudsman

You may be able to ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider a complaint about my services or charges if you are dissatisfied with my final response, or if eight weeks have passed without a final response.

The Legal Ombudsman is independent. It decides whether a complaint is eligible under its Scheme Rules; not every business or organisation is eligible.

Normally, you must refer a complaint within one year of the problem happening or of becoming aware of it, and within six months of my final response. The Scheme Rules govern these time limits and any exceptions. Contact the Legal Ombudsman promptly if you are unsure.

Concerns about professional conduct — SRA

You can report concerns about my professional conduct to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. This is a separate route from a complaint about service or charges. Examples include dishonesty or serious breaches of professional obligations.

You do not need to wait for my complaints procedure to finish before reporting a conduct concern to the SRA. The SRA does not generally resolve service or fee disputes or award compensation for poor service.

Report a concern to the SRA

External complaints resolution and ProMediate

If I cannot resolve your complaint, the external complaints route I use is the statutory scheme operated by the Legal Ombudsman, subject to its eligibility requirements, time limits and Scheme Rules.

I do not agree to use ProMediate to resolve complaints about my services or charges. I have not appointed ProMediate as my complaints-resolution provider.

This does not affect any right you have to refer an eligible complaint to the Legal Ombudsman or report a professional-conduct concern to the SRA.