Complaints Policy

Updated 19 May 2025

Our complaints policy

We are committed to providing a high quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards.

Our complaints procedure

If you have a complaint about our service or a bill that we have rendered or both, please contact us with the details.

The person to contact is Emma Lewis, and she can be reached at:

3 Norman Road, Sale, Cheshire M33 3DF, emma@el-law.co.uk and on 07896 837197.

What will happen next?

  1. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within 14 days of us receiving the complaint, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
  2. We will then investigate your complaint.
  3. Emma Lewis will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. This will be done within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
  4. Within 14 days of the meeting, Emma Lewis will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions she has agreed with you.
  5. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Emma Lewis will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including her suggestions for resolving the matter, within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
  6. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for Emma Lewis to review her own decision or arrange for another local solicitor to review the decision.
  7. We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
  8. If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.
  9. The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic. You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
  10. If you are still not satisfied, you can then contact the Legal Ombudsman at: PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ. Tel: 0300 555 0333 or 0121 245 3050. Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

There are time limits within which complaints must be made to the Legal Ombudsman, as indicated below.

Generally speaking, your complaint should be made to the Ombudsman no later than 12 months from when the problem occurred or from when you should reasonably have become aware of the problem.

Additionally, you should make your complaint to the Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final response from us following the complaint that you have made to us.

Normally, your complaint needs to fall inside both rules if the Ombudsman is going to investigate it.

You also need to be aware that the Ombudsman only deals with complaints from the following:

  1. an enterprise which, at the time that the complaint is made, is a micro-enterprise within the meaning of arts.1, 2(1) and (3) of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, as that Recommendation had effect at the date it was adopted;
  2. a charity with an annual income net of tax of less than £1 million at the time at which the complainant refers the complaint to the respondent;
  3. a club, association or organisation, the affairs of which are managed by its members or a committee or committees of its members, with an annual income net of tax of less than £1 million at the time at which the complainant refers the complaint to the respondent;
  4. a trustee of a trust with an asset value of less than £1 million at the time at which the complainant refers the complaint to the respondent;
  5. a personal representative of an estate of a person; or
  6. a beneficiary of an estate of a person.