Complaints Policy

Our Complaints Policy

RAIMS Mahmood Zaeem Limited is 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, please get in touch with us in writing (by letter or email) or by speaking with the Complaints Handling director, whose contact details are as follows:

Name:                   Mr Syed Raza Mehdi

Address:              Raims Mahmood Zaeem Ltd 2^nd Floor, Suite 5, 12 Bridewell Place, London, EC4V 6AP

Email:                    syed.mehdi@rmzlaw.co.uk

Ph:                          020 8187 9849

Complaint Details:

1. To help us better understand your complaint, please tell us:

-Your full name and contact details;

-Your file reference number;

-What you believe we have done wrong; and

-What you wish to reach because of your complaint.

 

What happens next?

2. We will record your complaint.
3. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within 14 working days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure. If you require a specific format, then please contact Mr Syed Mehdi and advise him of your specific requirements.
4. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve the following:

-Scrutinising your complaint

-Review of your matter file and relevant documentation

-Speaking to the member of staff who acted for you.

 

5. Mr Syed Raza Mehdi will then invite you to a meeting (personal/over telephone or zoom) to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. He will do this within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
6. Within 7 days of the meeting, Mr Syed Raza Mehdi will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions he has agreed with you.
7. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Mr Syed Raza Mehdi will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including his suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
8. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for another director or someone unconnected with the matter at the firm to review his decision.
9. 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.
10. We have in total 10 weeks, from to receipt of your complaint, to consider your complaint and provide a final response.

Costs of Complaint:

11. We will not charge you for handling your complaint.

Legal Ombudsman:

12. If we are unable to resolve your complaint within 10 weeks from receipt, then you can have the complaint independently looked at by the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about poor service from lawyers.
13. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.
14. From 01.04.2023, the Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them

-within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or

-within one year of you realising there was a concern.

15. The date of a complaint to them cannot be before either we have issued our final response, or 10 weeks has passed since the complaint was raised with us.
16. The contact details for the Legal Ombudsman are as follows:

 

• Website: legalombudsman.org.uk
• Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
• Telephone: 0300 555 0333 between 8.30am to 5.30pm
• In writing: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH.

17. Anyone making a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must be:
    1. An individual;
    2. An enterprise with less than ten staff or with a balance sheet of less than 2 million Euros as defined by the European Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003;
    3. A club, association or society with an annual income of less than £1 million;
    4. A charity with an annual income less than £1 million;
    5. A trustee of a trust with a net asset value of less than £1 million;
    6. A personal representative or the residuary beneficiaries of an estate where a person with a complaint died before referring their complaint to the Legal Ombudsman;
    7. If you do not fall into the list of above complainants then the only option open to you is to seek redress through the firm’s Complaints Handling Procedure or by mediation, arbitration or by action through the Courts.

Alternate Dispute Resolution:

18. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has confirmed that the following Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) entities are currently available to deal with disputes in the legal services sector: Ombudsman Services, ProMediate and Small Claims Mediation in the event you wish to engage in mediation concerning your complaint. However, we are not agreeable to enter into ADR mediation until the Legal Ombudsman have been approved as an ADR provider.

Complaints About Your Bill – Follow Our Complaint Procedure

19. The above complaints procedure also applies to complaints arising concerning our bill. There may also be a right to object to the bill by applying to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974; and that if all, or part, of a bill, remains unpaid, the firm may be entitled to charge interest.

What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

20. The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help 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.

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.