VICTOR HOUSE CHAMBERS
Complaints Procedure

1. My aim is to give all my clients a good service at all times. However if you have a complaint please let me know as soon as possible, by telephone or in writing. I will treat your complaint as confidential although I may discuss it with other barristers or officials from the Bar Standards Board for their advice. I will not reveal your name to others unless I am setting up mediation or arbitration. I will deal with your complaint promptly.

2. Please note that I will only consider complaints that are raised within six months of the act or omission complained of.

Complaints made by telephone

2. If you wish to make a complaint by telephone, I will make a note of the details of your complaint and what you would like done about it. I will endeavour to resolve matters with you on the telephone. If after discussion you are satisfied with the outcome I will make a note of the outcome and the fact that you are satisfied. If you are not satisfied you may wish to make a written complaint.

Complaints made in writing

3. If you wish to make a written complaint please give me the following details:­

  • Your name, telephone number an address;
  • The detail of your complaint; and
  • What you would like done about it.

Procedure for dealing with your complaint

4. There are a number of ways in which your complaint may be dealt with:

  1. Discussion over the telephone;
  2. Dealt with by correspondence;
  3. Discussion at a meeting between us;
  4. The appointment of a mediator who will try to facilitate the resolution of your complaint;
  5. The appointment of an arbitrator whose decision we both agree shall be binding.

If we decide to appoint an arbitrator we both would need to agree how the arbitrator should approach his/her task and the limit of the compensation that can be awarded. The Bar Sole Practitioners Group (BSPG) or local circuit will be approached and a barrister will be appointed to arbitrate. We will decide together whether it will be the BSPG or the local Circuit who should be approached. However neither of us may veto the person chosen. It is expected that the BSPG and the Circuit will chose someone who has considerable experience in the area that is the subject matter of the dispute.

5. Upon receipt of a written complaint I will

  1. Reply in writing, normally within 48 hours, to acknowledge the complaint and inform you how I shall be dealing with it.
  2. Reply within 14 days responding in full to your complaint. I will offer you the opportunity to meet with you if that is appropriate. If I find later that I am not going to be able to reply within 14 days I will set a new date for my reply and inform you. My reply will set out:
    • The nature and scope of my investigation;
    • My conclusion on each complaint and the basis for my conclusion;
    • and If I find that you are justified in your complaint, my proposals for resolving the complaint.
  3. If you indicate that you are not happy with my written response you may ask for mediation or arbitration or you may make a formal complaint to the Bar Standards Board. You are free to make a complaint to the Bar Standards Board at any stage should you decide that you do not want to submit a complaint directly to me. Please note that the Bar Standards Board has a six-month time limit from the date of the act or omission about which you are complaining within which to make your complaint. However, should you raise your complaint with me first, there is a three month time limit from the conclusion of my investigation in which to raise your complaint with the Board.

They can be contacted at:

Complaints Team
Bar Standards Board
289-293 High Holborn
London WC1V 7HZ

Tel: 020 7611 1444
Fax: 020 7831 9217

See also: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

6. I 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.

7. I will retain all correspondence and other documents generated in the course of your complaint for a period of six years and I will review complaints at least once a year to ensure that I maintain good standards of service.