Complaints Procedure
1. This procedure applies to all complaints about either Roderick Moore or his Practice Manager, Arabella.
2. Our aim is to give all clients a good service at all times. However, if you have a complaint, please let us know as soon as possible, by telephone or in writing. We will treat your complaint as confidential although we may discuss it with other barristers or officials from the Bar Standards Board for their advice. We will not reveal your name to others unless we are setting up mediation. We will deal with your complaint promptly.
3. Please note that the Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints body for service complaints about lawyers, has time limits in which a complaint must be raised with them. The time limits are:
• Six years from the date of the act/omission
• Three years from the date that the complainant should reasonably have known there were grounds for complaint (if the act/omission took place before the 6 October 2010 or was more than six years ago)
• Within six months of the complaint receiving a final response from their lawyer, if that response complies with the requirements in rule 4.4 of the Scheme Rules (which requires the response to include prominently an explanation that the Legal Ombudsman was available if the complainant remained dissatisfied and the provision of full contact details for the Ombudsman and warning that the complaint must be referred to them within six months)
4. The Ombudsman can extend the time limit in exceptional circumstances. Chambers must therefore have regard to that timeframe when deciding whether they are able to investigate your complaint. Chambers will not therefore usually deal with complaints
that fall outside of the legal Ombudsman’s time limits.
5. 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 investigation should contact the Bar Standards Board rather than the Legal Ombudsman.
6. It should be noted that it may not always be possible to investigate a complaint brought by a non-client. This is because our ability to satisfactorily investigate and resolve such matters is limited and complaints of this nature are often better suited to the disciplinary processes maintained by the Bars Standards Board. Therefore, we will make an initial assessment of the complaint and if we feel that the issues raised cannot be satisfactorily resolved through this complaints process we will refer you to the Bar Standards Board.
How to make a complaint
7. You can make a complaint yourself or through your solicitor. This can be done by telephone or in writing, or both.
Complaints made by telephone
8. If you wish to put your complaint in writing straightaway please see the next section for details.
9. If you wish to make a complaint about Roderick Moore (barrister) by telephone, please ring the Practice Manager, Arabella, on 07590 632089.
10. If you wish to make a complaint about Arabella (Practice Manager) by telephone, please ring Roderick Moore on 07889 540588.
11. In either case we will make a note of the details of your complaint and what you would like to have done about it. We will discuss your concerns with you and aim to resolve them. If the matter is resolved, the outcome will be recorded. We will 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.
12. If your complaint is not resolved on the telephone you will be invited to write to us about it so that it can be investigated formally.
Complaints made in writing
13. Please give the following details:
• Your name and address;
• Who you are complaining about
• The details of the complaint; and
• What you would like done about it.
14. If your complaint is about Roderick Moore, please address your letter or email to his Practice Manager, Arabella. If the complaint is about Arabella, please address the letter to Roderick Moore.
15. There are a number of ways in which your complaint may be dealt with:
• Discussion over the telephone
• Dealt with by correspondence
• Discussion at a meeting between us
• The appointment of a mediator who will try to facilitate the resolution of your complaint
16. A mediator will only be appointed if all parties agree (a) that there is a reasonable likelihood that this will resolve the complaint and (b) who shall be appointed to mediate and (c) how the mediation will be funded.
17. Upon receipt of a written complaint we will:
• Reply in writing as soon as possible (normally within 48 hours) to acknowledge the complaint and inform you how we shall be dealing with it.
• Reply within 21 days responding in full to your complaint. We will offer you the opportunity to meet if that is appropriate. If we find that we are not going to be able to reply within 21 days we will set a new date for our reply and inform you.
Our reply will set out:
(a) The nature and scope of the investigation
(b) The conclusion on each complaint and the basis for the conclusion; and
(c) If your complaint is found to be justified, our proposals for resolving the complaint.
18. If you indicate that you are not happy with our written response you may ask for a mediation (see paragraph 16 above). Or, if you fall within their jurisdiction, you may make a formal complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints handling body for complaints about lawyers. Please note the timeframe for referral of complaints to the Ombudsman as set out at paragraph 3 above. [You may of course also complain to the Ombudsman after a mediation that has not resolved your complaint, but again please note the timeframe set out at paragraph 3 herein].
They can be contacted at:
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Phone: 0300 555 0333
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Frequently asked questions about the Legal Ombudsman's scheme can be found on the Legal Ombudsman’s website here:
Information on how the Bar Standards Board approaches enforcement can be found on the BSB’s website here:
Legal Ombudsman Decision Data can be found on the Legal Ombudsman's website here:
This will show any decisions made against legal providers within the last 12 months and what remedy, if any, was provided for.
19. If you are not Roderick Moore’s client and are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation then please contact the Bar Standards Board at:
Bar Standards Board
Professional Conduct Department
289-293 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7JZ
Phone: 0207 6111 444
Web: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk
20. We will maintain confidentiality at all times and discuss your complaint only to the extent that is necessary for its resolution and to comply with requests for information from the Bar Standards Board discharging its auditing and monitoring functions.
21. We will retain all correspondence and other documents generated in the course of your complaint for a period of six years and we will review complaints at least once a year to ensure that we maintain good standards of service.
November 2018
West Mildon, Oakford, Tiverton, EX16 9HA. DX: 33953 SOUTH MOLTON
www.roderickmoore.co.uk
Direct Dial: 07889 540588; Practice Manager: 07590 632089
Email: rm@roderickmoore.co.uk
Roderick Moore is an independent self-employed barrister registered with the Bar Standards Board of England and Wales (ID No: 45007); whose practice is governed by the Code of Conduct of the Bar of England and Wales which code can be found at www.barstandardsboard.org.uk; has full professional liability insurance provided by the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund Limited (Mem No: 2620/143) (details of the world-wide cover are provided at www.barmutual.co.uk); and is registered for VAT (Reg No: 267 1358 88). All work is undertaken under The Standard Contractual Terms for the Supply of Legal Services by Barristers to Authorised Persons 2012 (updated for GDPR 2018) unless bespoke alternative terms are agreed in writing in advance. The Privacy Policy (GDPR 2018) is available at www.roderickmoore.co.uk.