My aim is to give you the best possible service that I can give at all times. However, problems or misunderstandings can sometimes occur. If you do have a concern or complaint about any of the services provided by me to you as part of my paid instruction by you, please do not hesitate to contact me to let me know as soon as possible. 

 

I will consider all concerns and complaints as expeditiously and fairly as possible. 

You can contact me by telephone, by e-mail or by letter. 



Contact me

Tel: 07743 07810

E-mail: ctipper@eclegal.co.uk 

 

 

Documents can be sent by Royal Mail, Document Exchange, courier, or e-mail.

 

As a sole practitioner, I do not have anyone else in chambers to refer your concern or complaint to. I am always willing to consider consulting with colleagues from other chambers to get an alternative viewpoint in respect of any comments or complaints received.

​

Complaints made by telephone

 

If you wish to make a complaint by telephone, I will make a note of the details of your complaint and what you would like done about it. I will endeavour to resolve matters with you on the telephone. If after discussion you are satisfied with the outcome I will make a note (written record) of the outcome, check that you are satisfied, and note (make a written record) that you are satisfied. 

If you are not satisfied you will be invited to make a written complaint within 14 days of the last telephone discussion regarding the complaint. Kindly follow the written complaints procedure set out below.

​

Complaints made in writing

​

It would be helpful if you could include the following details in any written comments or complaint that you wish to make: 

 

1. Your contact details. 

 

2. The date(s) of the events about which complaint is made. 

 

3. The name any Solicitor who was also instructed in relation to the events about which complaint is made. 

 

4. The reason(s) for the complaint. 

 

5. Options you consider might be appropriate to resolve your complaint. 

 

6. Your preferred method of communication in handling your complaint. 

 

I aim to acknowledge any written complaints within 2 days and aim to reply to your complaint within 14 days. 

 

If, for any reason, that time frame may not be achievable, I will advise you accordingly and give an indication as to when I will be able to respond to you. I will try to respond to, and resolve any complaints, within 28 days of such complaint being drawn to my attention as above. 

 

Confidentiality

​

All conversations and documents relating to a complaint will be treated as confidential. Telephone conversations may be recorded for training and quality purposes. As part of the commitment to client care, a written record will be made of any complaint and all documents generated by the complaint will be kept for a period of six years and I will review complaints at least once a year to ensure that I maintain good standards of service.

Disclosure will be to only such persons as it is deemed necessary to meet the needs of the complaint. It is important to note that this may include any person other than me about whom you have complained. 

If you are unhappy with my final response to your complaint, or if your complaint has not been dealt with in eight weeks then you can complain to the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman (Leo) generally deals with complaints from individuals, small businesses and charities.

You can check on whether you can use the service at the following web address

https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/?faqs=who-can-use-our-service

 

For further information on the how to contact the Legal Ombudsman see below

 

Mediation

​

However, if you are unhappy with my final written response, yet do not wish to go to the Legal ombudsman, alternative complaints bodies such as Small Claims Mediation also exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services. 

If you wish to use small claims mediation please contact me to discuss this. There is no time limit for contacting small claims mediation but kindly note that I will not engage in mediation if you have failed to approach them within two months of my final response which dealt with your complaint. If we choose to use mediation, neither you nor I am required to accept the proposed resolution. If mediation does not resolve the complaint, you may still make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman (provided you fall within their jurisdiction and you do so within the time limit). 

 

Legal Ombudsman (LeO)

​

In the event that you are not satisfied with my response to your comments or complaint on a matter in which I have advised or represented you, then you may refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. The Office of the Legal Ombudsman is the regulatory body which deals with complaints regarding Barristers and Solicitors in England and Wales. The Legal Ombudsman will require you to have made a complaint to chambers before investigating further. so that the matter may be referred to the Ombudsman, if necessary, without undue delay. Equally, it may transpire that we find that we can resolve issues between ourselves. 

​

The Legal Ombudsman (LeO ) will look at your complaint if it meets all of the three of the steps below:

• The problem or when you found out about it, happened after 5 October 2010; and

• You are referring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within either of the following: Six years of the problem happening or three years from when you found out about it; and

• You are referring your complaint to Leo within six months of my final response.

Full details of how to proceed can be found on their website https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk 

Please click here for the LeO's decision data where you can find details of those providers who have received an ombudsman's decision in the previous 12 months 

 

The Office of the Legal Ombudsman’s contact details are: 

 

Address: PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

Telephone: 0300 555 0333

E-mail: general.counsel@legalombudsman.org.uk

Website: https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk

 

Bar Standards Board 

 

You may contact the Bar Standards Board (“BSB”) if you have comments or a complaint about me in a matter in which I did not advise or represent you. 

 

The BSB is entitled to inspect complaints documents and seek information about the complaint when discharging its auditing and monitoring functions. 

 

The Bar Standards Board website: https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/