Our Complaints Policy

We aim to provide you with a high-quality legal service. However, if you are concerned about that service or something goes wrong we need you to tell us about it so that we can do our best to put things right and improve our service standards.

Our complaints procedure

If you have a complaint, please set it out in writing to Mr John Wroblewski, our Complaints Director. You can write to him at Cook & Talbot Limited, Ground Floor, The Old Courthouse, 2A Albert Road, Southport PR9 0LE or by email to john.wroblewski@cookandtalbot.co.uk. 

Please provide as much information as possible including your full name and contact details and an explanation about the basis of your complaint. If you have a file reference number please ensure that this is also provided.

What happens next

 Following receipt of your complaint the following timetable will ordinarily be applied.  If, for any reason, we are unable to comply with that timetable, we will let you know.  We always aim to deal with any complaints as quickly as possible.

 Action                                                                                 Timescale

 

Acknowledge your complaint in                                    Within three working days.

writing, provide you with a

copy of our complaints procedure

and record your complaint in

our central register.  We will also

invite you to clarify any issues                                     

in your complaint that require

explanation.

 

Confirm receipt of any such                                           Within five working days of any

clarification to ensure that we                                       further clarification that is provided.

have all relevant details to deal

with your complaint.

 

Investigate your complaint.                                           Within the next ten working days.

 

Report the outcome of our                                            Within the next fifteen working days

investigation to you in writing.                                       of completing our investigation.

 

Conclude our review of                                                Within eight weeks of your initial

your complaint.                                                             complaint. 

 

If you remain dissatisfied at the end of our complaints process, you would then be at liberty to contact the Legal Ombudsman, provided you are a) an individual;  b) a business or enterprise that was a micro-enterprise (European Union definition) when it referred the complaint to the authorised person13;   c) a charity that had an annual income net of tax of less than £1 million when it referred the complaint to the authorised person;   d) a club/association/organisation, the affairs of which are managed by its members/a committee/a committee of its members, that had an annual income net of tax of less than £1 million when it referred the complaint to the authorised person;   e) a trustee of a trust that had an asset value of less than £1 million when it referred the complaint to the authorised person; or   f) a personal representative or beneficiary of the estate of a person who, before they died, had not referred the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

 The Legal Ombudsman can investigate complaints no later than one year from the date of the problem happening or one year from when the complainant should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.  However, if we send a final written response to your complaint within eight weeks of receiving it, the time limit for you to refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman would be six months from the date of that final response.  If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, their contact details are as follows:-

·         Website – www.legalombudsman.org.uk

·         Telephone – 0300 555 0333 between 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday (calls to 03 numbers will cost no more than calls to national geographic numbers starting 01 or 02) from both mobiles and landlines.  Calls are recorded and may be used for training and monitoring purposes.

·         Email – enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

·         Postal address – Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6167 Slough SL1 0EH

   Alternative complaints resolution bodies also exist and are competent to deal with complaints about legal services, should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme at the end of our internal complaints process.  They provide Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services.  Small Claims Mediation is one such body, details of which can be found at www.small-claims-mediation.co.uk; and another is Ombudsman Services, details of which can be found at www.ombudsman-services.org.  Under the provisions of the EU Directive on

Consumer Alternative Dispute Resolution, to pursue this process you would have to be a “consumer”, namely an individual acting for purposes which are wholly or mainly outside your trade, business, craft  or profession.

If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.

Got a question?

We want to hear from you. If you have any queries for Cook & Talbot, just CLICK HERE and complete your details and arrange your FREE 30 Minute consultation.

Our clients say...

  • Mr and Mrs H – Suffolk
    Thank you for the great service during our house selling/buying process. It is the 2nd time we have used you for a house move and once again you have been really easy to deal with, efficient, quick to respond to queries etc……So really I just wanted to say thank you to you and the team for making the process nice and stress free (and quick!) for us. It is much appreciated and we will continue to recommend you to friends.
    Mr and Mrs H – Suffolk
  • JB – Southport
    Thank you so much for dealing with my sale and purchase. I was very pleased with the way you dealt with my concerns and the online system was very impressive.
    JB – Southport
  • Miss B – Southport
    This is just a huge thank you for all your professionalism, hard work and total kindness during my flat purchase.
    Miss B – Southport
  • Miss B and Mr S – Southport
    As always the service we have received from Cook and Talbot has been first class. As you know this has not been the easiest and most straightforward of sales and purchases, and your prompt responses to queries and requests have been most helpful.
    Miss B and Mr S – Southport
  • Mrs K – Southport
    May I take this opportunity to thank you and your staff for dealing with all my transactions smoothly and efficiently and I am now very pleased to be in my new home at last.
    Mrs K – Southport
  • Miss P – Southport
    I just wanted to thank you for the efficient and excellent service we have received from you regarding the sale and purchase of our property. The experience was not at all stressful (which it has been in the past) and I´d like to extend our thanks to you for that!
    Miss P – Southport
  • Mrs M – Cornwall
    I wanted to thank you so much for overseeing my application for remortgage so brilliantly. From the beginning to completion you were consistently helpful, informative and reassuring and kept me up to date with each step of the process, which was greatly appreciated. I was really impressed and delighted that you made the whole thing so straightforward and painless especially as my previous legal experience when securing my original mortgage was anything but.
    Mrs M – Cornwall
  • Mr H – Bedfordshire
    Excellent service and advice as usual in what proved a slightly difficult case.
    Mr H – Bedfordshire
  • Mrs H – Bolton
    Thank you to all your staff for the smooth sale of my property……I would have no qualms about recommending your firm of solicitors to any of my friends…
    Mrs H – Bolton
  • Mortgage Brokers – Watford
    Thank you very much for the attention to detail and the speed in which you work for us…
    Mortgage Brokers – Watford
  • Mr and Mrs G – Southport
    We would like to say a huge thank you for all your efforts during our recent house purchase. Your professional service and constant updates has ensured that the process was as stress-free as possible and for that we are very grateful. We would have no hesitation in recommending your services for the future”
    Mr and Mrs G – Southport