The Lawn

Ealing Green
London W5 3ER

+44 (0)75 3359 0765

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Complaints Procedure

  1. Our aim is to ensure you receive good service at all times. However if you have a complaint you are invited to let us know as soon as possible. It is not necessary to involve your solicitor in order to make your complaint but you are free to do so should you wish.
  1. Please note that the Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints body for service complaints about lawyers, has a twelve-month time limit from the date of the act or omission about which you are complaining within which to make your complaint. Perceval Chambers must therefore have regard to that timeframe when deciding whether they are able to investigate your complaint. We will not deal with complaints that fall outside of the twelve month time limit.

Complaints made by telephone

  1. You may wish to make a complaint in writing and, if so, please follow the procedure in paragraph 4 and 5 below. However, if you would rather speak on the telephone about your complaint call  on 07915026138.
  1. The person you contact will make a written note of the details of your complaint and what you would like done about it. He or she will discuss your concerns with you and aim to resolve them. If the matter is resolved we will record the outcome, check that you are satisfied with the outcome and record that you are satisfied. You may also wish to record the outcome of the telephone discussion in writing.If your complaint is not resolved on the telephone you will be invited to write to us about it within the next 14 days so it can be investigated formally.

Complaints made in writing

  1. Please write to the practice manager or other identified person and give the following details:
  • Your name and address;
  • Which member(s) of Chambers or staff you are complaining about;
  • The detail of the complaint; and
  • What you would like done about it.Please address your letter to Perceval Chambers and email it to complaints@percevalchambers.com. We will, where possible, acknowledge receipt of your complaint within five days and provide you with details of how your complaint will be dealt with.Within 14 days of your letter being received your complaint will be investigated. The person or body appointed to deal with your complaint will be someone other than the person you are complaining about.The person or body appointed to investigate will write to you as soon as possible to let you know they have been appointed and that you will receive a reply to your complaint within 14 days. If it is found later that it is not going to be possible to reply within 14 days, you will be given a new date by which you should receive a reply. The reply will set out:
  • The nature and scope of the investigation;
  • A conclusion on each complaint and the basis for reaching that conclusion; and
  • If it is found that you are justified in your complaint, our proposals for resolving the complaint.

Confidentiality

  1. All conversations and documents relating to the complaint will be treated as confidential and will be disclosed only to the extent that is necessary. Disclosure may be to the management and to anyone involved in the complaint and its investigation. Such persons will include the barrister or staff member who you have complained about, management or the relevant senior member of chambers and the person or body who investigated the complaint.The Bar Standards Board is entitled to inspect the documents and seek information about the complaint when discharging its auditing and monitoring functions.

Our policy

  1. As part of our commitment to client care we make a written record of any complaint and retain all documents and correspondence generated by the complaint for a period of six years. Our management inspects an anonymised record regularly with a view to improving services.

Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman

If you are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation you may take up your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints body for complaints about lawyers, at the conclusion of our consideration of your complaint. The Ombudsman is not able to consider your complaint until it has first been investigated by Chambers. Please note that the Legal Ombudsman has a 3 month time limit from the date of the act or omission about which you are complaining within which to make your complaint. The ombudsman’s contact details are:

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk