Complaints Policy

Levy & McRae is committed to providing a high-quality service to all our clients. However, we recognise that occasionally things might go wrong. If they do, please tell us about it as this will help us to improve our service.

If, however, you wish to make a formal complaint, then this policy explains how we will deal with it.

Our Complaints Procedure

In the first instance, it may be useful to contact the individual who is working on your case to discuss any concerns as that individual will understand the situation best and will try to resolve any issues. Contact details will be in our engagement letter sent to you.

If you do not feel able to raise your concerns with them, or if you are unsatisfied with the response, then you can raise a complaint with a more senior member of our team.

Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

The best way to contact us is by email or in writing. In that way, we will fully understand your concerns. Please tell us:

1. your full name and contact details, and file reference number (if you have this);
2. what you think we have got wrong (for example an issue with fees, delays in response, the advice given);
3. how you would like your complaint to be resolved; and

Who to Contact?

As stated above, in the first instance, please call the solicitor acting for you to raise your concerns.

If you are dissatisfied with the response, your complaint can be escalated to a more senior member of our team.

Ultimately, our complaints officer is Senior Partner David McKie whose contact details can be found on our website www.lemac.co.uk . A complaint can be sent in writing to us to our office at Pacific House, 70 Wellington Street, Glasgow, G2 6UA or by email to info@lemac.co.uk

What Will Happen Next?

1. Once a complaint is received, we aim to send you an acknowledgement within five working days. We may ask you for further details of your complaint in order that we can properly understand and respond to it. If you have raised your complaint by telephone, we will summarise our understanding of the issues and our acknowledgement within 5 working days, and we would be grateful if you would clarify any errors or discrepancies as soon as you can.
2. We will investigate your complaint. This is likely to involve discussing the matter with the members of our team who acted for you, reviewing the documents and correspondence contained in your file.
3. We will provide you with a final response to your complaint in writing. This may include proposals to resolve the complaint. We aim to provide this final response within 4 weeks. (If we cannot complete our investigations within the timescales above, we will let you know and explain the reasons for any extension or delay.)
4. If you are unhappy with our written response, or if you wish to escalate matters separately, you have the right to do so. The independent body charged with handling complaints is the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC). Their services are free of charge. More detail is provided below.
   

The SLCC

There are strict time limits within which you must submit a complaint to the SLCC. Details of these time limits and of the complaints process is laid out in their website: https://www.scottishlegalcomplaints.org.uk/. The SLCC can be contacted in 0131 201 2130, by email at: enquiries@scottishlegalcomplaints.org.uk or by post at Capital Building, 12-13 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2AF.

Third Party Complaints

In some situations, persons or businesses who are not our clients (known as Third Parties) may be entitled to make a complaint. These must be made to us by email or in writing. We will investigate permitted Third Party complaints and set out by email or in writing whether or not we have upheld them. However, we are normally unable to disclose any information to Third Parties which is confidential or privileged to our clients. As such we will be limited in the detail we can provide to Third Parties explaining the decision we have reached on their complaint.

In some situations Third Parties can also complain to the SLCC. Their contact details are as set out above. Please note that the time frames for Third Party complaints may differ.