Complaints Procedure

We are a firm of dynamic and approachable solicitors and we believe in excellent client care. United Solicitors 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. If you have a concern or a complaint in respect of our service, our bill or any other matter, please contact us as soon as you are aware of the problem so this can be addressed. The firm’s complaints director is Mr Sohaib Ahmad, the address to write to is United Solicitors, 1016-1018 Stockport Road, Levenshulme, Manchester, M19 3WN. The telephone number is +44 161 225 8181. The email address is .

What happens after your complaint?

Once we receive your complaint, we will follow the below steps:

1. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within 2 working days of our receiving the complaint, enclosing a copy of this procedure. If you require a specific format then please contact Mr Sohaib Ahmad and advise him of your specific requirements.
2. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to our client care director, Mr Sohaib Ahmad, who will review your matter file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you.
3. Sohaib Ahmad will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and, it is hoped, resolve your complaint. He will do this within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
4. Within three days of the meeting, Sohaib Ahmad will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions he has agreed with you.
5. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Sohaib Ahmad will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including her suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
6. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again to explain why you remain unhappy with our response and we will review your comments. Depending on the matter we may at this stage arrange for another director 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. In the event, we are unable to address your concern’s here at the firm you may complain to the Legal Ombudsman directly. Ordinarily, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to look at your complaint if it meets all of the conditions below:
   • The problem or when you found out about it, happened after 5 October 2010; and
   • You are referring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within either of the following:
   • One year of the problem happening
   • One year from when you found out about it
   • You are referring your complaint to us within six months of your service provider’s final response.
9. Anyone making a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must be:
   • An individual;
   • 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;
   • A club, association or society with an annual income of less than £1 million;
   • A charity with an annual income less than £1 million;
   • A trustee of a trust with a net asset value of less than £1 million;
   • 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;
   • 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.
10. Contact details for the Legal Ombudsman are:
    • Address: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH.
    • Telephone: 0300 555 0333
    • Email: 
    • Website: www.legalombudsman.co.uk
11. If you need information in another language, large print, Braille or on audio CD please call the Legal Ombudsman on 0121 245 3071 or email . You can find out more about their accessibility here.
12. 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

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.

Raising Concerns With Our Regulator

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) 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 find information about raising your concerns with the SRA at www.sra.org.uk in the ‘For the public’ section.