Complaints Procedure

At Astraea Group Limited, we are very keen to ensure that that the service we offer is of the highest quality. If at any time you have any concerns about the quality of the services of our solicitors, barristers or other members of staff you should inform us as soon as possible so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.

In line with our friendly and open approach, in the first instance, we would also encourage you to discuss any day-to-day concerns about our services directly with us. Any concerns can be raised with James Ramsden KC or Nina Stewart.

We would very much hope that the matter can be resolve at this point, and that you will be satisfied with the outcome. However, if you feel that the concern or matter you have raised has not been dealt with to your satisfaction, then you may wish to make a formal complaint. We set out the steps in our formal complaints procedure below. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case and you will not be charged for time spent handling your complaint.

FORMAL COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

Please address your formal letter of complaint to James Ramsden KC, 7 Down Street, London, W1J 7AJ or alternatively email complaints@astraea-group.com. Please give the following details: your name and address, which member of staff you are complaining about; the detail of the complaint; and what you would like done about it.

Within 21 days of your letter being received, we will investigate the complaint and form a complaints committee if necessary. The persons investigating the complaint will be someone other than the person you are complaining about. The person handling the investigation will write to you as soon as possible to let you know they have been appointed and that they will reply to your complaint within 21 days. If they find later that they are not going to be able to reply within 21 days they will set a new date for their reply and inform you.

Their reply will set out:

  • The nature and scope of the investigation;

  • Their conclusion on each complaint and the basis for their conclusion; and

  • If they find that you are justified in your complaint, their proposals for resolving the complaint.

At the conclusion of the complaints process, the person handling the investigation will forward a further copy of this complaints procedure to the complainant with their formal response to the complaint.

What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint
The Legal Ombudsman may be able to help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at the complaints independently and accessing the Ombudsman will not affect how we handle your case. Most ‘consumer’ clients (as opposed to large businesses) will be able to make sure of the Ombudsman scheme however there are restrictions for some larger clients. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

  • Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint from us

    and

  • From 1 April 2023, the Legal Ombudsman also expects complaints to be made to them within 1 year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within 1 year of you realising there was a concern.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them:

Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9am and 5pm
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

Please note that the Ombudsman are there to deal with concerns about the level of service received. Where there are more serious concerns that a solicitor or solicitor’s firm have been involved in professional misconduct then reports can also be made to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the regulator of solicitors and solicitor firms (www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/). This could be for quite unusual and serious acts of misconduct such as dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic. Obviously we do not anticipate any such problems arising and would ask that you notify the matter supervisor straight away if you have any such concerns. You can find out more about the Solicitors Regulation Authority including their contact details and professional conduct rules on their website: www.sra.org.uk.

CONFIDENTIALITY

All conversations and documents relating to the complaint will be treated as confidential and will be disclosed only to those people necessary to involve in the complaint and its investigation. If such a complaint is made, we will assume that you are authorising those investigating the complaint to view all the papers or other correspondence relevant to the matter.

OUR POLICY

As part of our commitment to client care we will make a written record of any formal complaint.

Your use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use of the website is subject to the laws of England and Wales and the English Courts will have exclusive jurisdiction in any dispute.