Complaints
Garden Court North Chambers’ Members and staff aim to provide the highest standards of service at all times, but should you have a complaint we invite you to let us know as soon as possible.
On this page you will find information regarding your right to complain together with Chambers’ complaints procedure, including information on how to complain to the Legal Ombudsman and the time limits for doing so.
- Your rights
Barristers must notify clients in writing at the time of engagement or if not practicable at the next appropriate opportunity of:
- their right to make a complaint, how and to whom this can be done, including their right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman at the conclusion of the complaints process, the time-frame for doing so and the full details of how to contact the Legal Ombudsman;
- that the lay client may complain directly to Chambers without going through their solicitors; and
- of the name and web address of an approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) body which can deal with any complaint in the event that: the barrister is unable to resolve the complaint through the complaints process, and both the barrister and the client agree to use the scheme.
On receipt of instructions, those instructing will be forwarded a letter and a Client Information Sheet which explains that The Bar Standards Board requires Chambers to secure an unequivocal agreement from our professional client, that they will pass our Client Information Sheet to the lay client on our behalf. We ask those instructing to confirm that the Client Information Sheet has been passed on to the lay client. If you require a copy of the Client Information Sheet please contact a member of the Practice Management Team.
A monthly review is undertaken and reported to each Chambers Meeting.
- The Legal Ombudsman and accessing the decision data
Clients can complain to the Legal Ombudsman if they are unhappy with the final response to a complaint; or if their complaint has not been dealt with within eight weeks. Further details can be found in our Complaints Procedure below.
Clients who have a right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman are individuals and, broadly speaking, small businesses and charities.The full list of who has a right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman is available on their website here
The Legal Ombudsman publishes its decision data on its website and this information shows which providers received an ombudsman’s decision in the previous 12 months. In each case, the data shows whether the Legal Ombudsman required the provider to give the consumer a remedy. The decision data can be accessed here
- Complaints Procedure
The aim of chambers is to give clients a good service at all times. However if you have a complaint you are invited to let us know as soon as possible. We aim to deal with all complaints comprehensively and swiftly. It is not necessary to involve solicitors in order to make your complaint, but you are free to do so if you wish.
If you require a copy of this procedure is an alternative format please contact Annmarie Nightingale, Head of Practice Management on anightingale@gcnchambers.co.uk or by telephone on 0161 817 6377.Complaints Made by Telephone
You may wish to make a complaint in writing and, if so, please follow the procedure under the heading Complaints Made in Writing below. However, if you would rather speak on the telephone about your complaint then please telephone Annmarie Nightingale, Head of Practice Management on 0161 817 6377. If your complaint is about the Head of Practice Management then please put your complaint in writing to the Head of Chambers at the address below.
The Head of Practice Management will make a note of the details of your complaint including your name and contact details; the details of your complaint and how you would like your complaint to be resolved and will then discuss your concerns with you and aim to resolve them.
If the matter is resolved the Head of Practice Management 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
We are happy to accept a complaint via hard copy letter but if you have access to the internet please send your letter of complaint to us by e-mail to anightingale@gcnchambers.co.uk.
Please give the following details:
- Your name and address
- The date of the complaint
- Which Barrister or staff member your complaint concerns
- The detail of your complaint; and
- How you would like your complaint resolved.
Please address your letter to either the Head of Practice Management or the Head of Chambers. If your complaint is regarding the Head of Chambers, another senior member of Chambers will be appointed to investigate the complaint. In any case, the person appointed will be someone other than the person you are complaining about.
We will where possible, acknowledge receipt of your complaint within two clear days and every effort will be made to provide you with a substantive response to your complaint within 14 days, but where this is not possible an interim letter will be sent, explaining what is happening and advising you when you are likely to receive a final reply. The substantive reply will set out:
- The nature and scope of the investigation
- The conclusion on each complaint and the basis for the conclusion; and
- If found you are justified in your complaint, proposals for resolving the complaint.
Confidentiality
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 will be to the Head of Chambers/ Head of Practice Management and to anyone involved in the complaint and its investigation. Such people will include the barrister member or staff who you have complained about and the person who investigates 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
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.
Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman/ alternative dispute resolution
If you are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation and you fall within their jurisdiction, you may take up your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints body for service complaints about lawyers, at the conclusion of our consideration of your complaint. The Ombudsman is not able to consider your complaint until it has been investigated by Chambers. The Legal Ombudsman has time limits within which a complaint can be raised with them.
The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within a year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within a year of you realising there was a concern. You must refer the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.We will have regard to the timeframes of the Legal Ombudsman when deciding whether we are able to investigate your complaint and will not therefore usually deal with complaints that fall outside of the Legal Ombudsman’s time limits.
You can contact the Legal Ombudsman by post, telephone or e-mail:
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH
Tel: 0300 555 0333
E-mail: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.ukMore information about the Legal Ombudsman is available on their website: legalombudsman.org.uk.
If you are unhappy with the outcome of the investigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) bodies (such as Promediate promediate.co.uk) exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services, should both parties agree to use such a scheme. Neither the barrister nor the client is required to use ADR. You should be aware that the time limits for contacting an ADR approved body will likely be different to the time limits for contacting the Legal Ombudsman.
The ombudsman will also only deal with complaints from consumers. This means that only complaints from the barrister’s client are within their jurisdiction. Non-clients who are not satisfied with the outcome of the Chambers’ investigation should contact The Bar Standards Board at:
Bar Standards Board
Contact and Assessment Team
289-293 High Holborn
London, WC1V 7JZ
Tel: 0207 611 1444
barstandardsboard.org.uk
If you require any of the above information in an alternative format, please contact a member of the Practice Management Team