External Complaints Procedure
Cullimore Dutton are committed to providing a high-quality legal service.
We acknowledge that we may not always get it right so if something has gone wrong, including any issues you have regarding a bill or bills that we have sent you, we need you to tell us.
How do I make a complaint?
You can contact us in writing (letter or email), or by telephone.
In the first instance, it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues. If you do not feel able to discuss your concerns with them, please contact the person responsible for the overall supervision of your matter, who will be named in the client care letter we sent you at the beginning of your matter.
If you do not feel able to raise your concerns with either of these people, or you are unsatisfied with their response, please contact:
Mr Andrew Wright
27 Newgate Street,
Chester
CH1 1DE
Email: andrew.wright@cullimoredutton.co.uk
To help us to understand your complaint, and in order that we do not miss anything, please tell us:
- your full name and contact details
- what you think we have got wrong
- how you would like your complaint to be resolved, and
- your file reference number (if you have it)
How will you deal with my complaint?
We will write to you within three working days acknowledging your complaint, enclosing a copy of this policy.
We will investigate your complaint. This will usually involve:
- reviewing your complaint
- reviewing your file(s) and other relevant documents, and
- liaising with the person who dealt with your matter
We may also need to ask you for further information or documents. If so, we will ask you to provide the information within a specific period of time.
We will update you on the progress of your complaint at appropriate times.
We may also, if appropriate, invite you to a meeting to discuss your complaint. You do not have to attend if you do not wish to or if you are unable to. We will be happy to discuss the matter with you by telephone.
We will write to you at the end of our investigation to tell you what we have done and what we propose to do to resolve your complaint. Where possible, we will aim to do this within 21 days of the date of our letter of acknowledgement.
What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint
If you are unhappy with the outcome of our complaints handling procedure, please first let us know and we will review the matter.
We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time, you may be able to complain to the Legal Ombudsman. This applies if you are an individual, a business with fewer than 10 employees and turnover or assets not exceeding a certain threshold, a charity or trust with a net income of less than £1m, or if you fall within certain other categories (you can find out more from the Legal Ombudsman). The Legal Ombudsman will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your matter.
Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then 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. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.
If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them at:
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH
Tel: 0300 555 0333
Web: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
The Legal Ombudsman is the designated scheme for dealing with legal services complaints. However, we are also obliged to inform you that other Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service providers exist, e.g., Northwest Mediation Solutions www.nwmediationsolutions.co.uk, which offer a consumer complaint resolution service. However, we are not obliged to and do not agree to use this or any other ADR providers. If, therefore, you wish to complain further, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman.
What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour
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.
You can visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority at: www.sra.org.uk
What Will It Cost?
We will not charge you for handling your complaint. Please note that if we have issued a bill for work done on the matter, and all or some of the bill is not paid, we may be entitled to charge interest on the amount outstanding.
The Legal Ombudsman service is free of charge.
How do I make a complaint?
You can contact us in writing (letter or email), or by telephone.
In the first instance, it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues. If you do not feel able to discuss your concerns with them, please contact the person responsible for the overall supervision of your matter, who will be named in the client care letter we sent you at the beginning of your matter.
If you do not feel able to raise your concerns with either of these people, or you are unsatisfied with their response, please contact:
Mr Andrew Wright
27 Newgate Street,
Chester
CH1 1DE
Email: andrew.wright@cullimoredutton.co.uk
To help us to understand your complaint, and in order that we do not miss anything, please tell us:
- Your full name and contact details
- What you think we have got wrong
- How you would like your complaint to be resolved, and
- Your file reference number (if you have it)
How will you deal with my complaint?
We will write to you within three working days acknowledging your complaint, enclosing a copy of this policy.
We will investigate your complaint. This will usually involve:
- reviewing your complaint
- reviewing your file(s) and other relevant documents, and
- liaising with the person who dealt with your matter
We may also need to ask you for further information or documents. If so, we will ask you to provide the information within a specific period of time.
We will update you on the progress of your complaint at appropriate times.
We may also, if appropriate, invite you to a meeting to discuss your complaint. You do not have to attend if you do not wish to or if you are unable to. We will be happy to discuss the matter with you by telephone.
We will write to you at the end of our investigation to tell you what we have done and what we propose to do to resolve your complaint. Where possible, we will aim to do this within 21 days of the date of our letter of acknowledgement.
What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint
If you are unhappy with the outcome of our complaints handling procedure please first let us know and we will review the matter.
We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time, you may be able to complain to the Family Mediation Standards Board (FMSB).
You may complain to the FMSB if you have exhausted an FMC registered mediator’s own complaints process in the last three months. You may also complain to the Family Mediation Standards Board if you have made a complaint to an FMC registered mediator and they are not responding to the complaint.
Who can make a complaint?
You may make a complaint if:
- You are a client or former client of the mediator concerned;
- You are a prospective client who has been directly affected by a mediator’s professional behaviour;
- You are a person who has been invited to participate in the mediation process, for example, another professional who attends a mediation.
For the avoidance of doubt, it is common for a mediator to contact you as a potential mediation participant after seeing your ex-partner/your child’s other parent. Complaints about a mediator making contact with you in this way do not need to be investigated by mediators and will not be accepted by the FMSB.
Likewise, mediators may sign Court forms to say one person has attended a Mediation, Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) without notifying you as a potential second participant to the mediation or inviting you to attend a MIAM yourself. Complaints about a mediator not making contact with a potential participant do not therefore need to be investigated by mediators and will not be accepted by the FMSB.
Please note, that neither mediators nor the FMSB will be able to disclose any information to you that is confidential between the mediator and the mediation participant(s). It is therefore normal that if you are not a client or a former client of the mediator, you will only receive a limited amount of information in response to your complaint, even in circumstances where it is considered by the FMSB.
Who can a complaint be made about?
The FMSB can only consider complaints made about FMC registered mediators. You can check if your mediator is FMC registered by using the FA Mediators search here: www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk/find-local-mediator/
What types of complaints will be considered?
The FMSB will consider complaints that concern breaches of the FMC’s professional standards. The professional standards are set out in the FMC’s Code of Practice, the FMC’s Code of Practice for Professional Practice Consultants and the FMC’s Manual of Professional Standards and Self-Regulatory Framework.
How can the complaint be made?
A complaint can be made to the FMSB by completing our complaints form.
If you struggle to complete the form, you can ask someone to help you to do this or phone the FMC office on 01707 594 055 between 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday.
What will happen once a complaint has been made?
The complaint will be considered in accordance with set procedures and timescales. If the complaint proceeds, it will go to a panel convened by the FMSB.
As a result of the complaint, the FMSB may take disciplinary measures regarding the mediator concerned. This may include a requirement for further training, attachment of conditions to the terms under which the mediator can practise whilst on the FMC Register, suspension, or removal of Family Mediation Council accreditation, and/or suspension or removal from the FMC Register.
If you are not happy with the outcome, it may be possible to appeal if the FMSB’s complaints panel did not take into account relevant evidence or did not give sufficient weight to that evidence, or the correct process was not followed by the FMSB’s complaints panel.
Are there any circumstances in which my complaint might not be considered even if it meets the criteria above?
Yes. Complaints that appear to be vexatious or of a purely personal nature do not have to be investigated by mediators and will not be considered by the FMSB. Complaints can be considered vexatious when:
- The purpose appears to be to intimidate, disturb, disrupt and/or unduly or unfairly pressurise the mediator or the FMSB;
- They are persistent/repetitive, in repeating the same or substantially similar complaints which have already been investigated;
- They are clearly unfounded and unsupported by evidence;
- They are irrelevant and relate to matters other than mediation;
- Abusive or offensive language is used.
Complaints are of a purely personal nature if they are discriminatory or focused on the personal attributes or circumstances of a mediator rather than their actions as a mediator.
Complaints escalated from a mediator’s own complaints process before 1 March 2022
The FMC operates a final stage complaints process for complaints about breaches of the Code of Practice.
Before appealing to the FMC, you must first complain to the mediator concerned. Once you have exhausted the mediator’s own complaints process (or their practice’s complaints process), if relevant, you may complain to the FMC member organisation to which the mediator belongs.
To find a member’s FMC member organisation, search for the mediator here www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk/find-local-mediator/ and look to the bottom of the page. If a mediator is a member of more than one FMC member organisation, you will find details of which organisation to complain to in your Mediation Agreement.
If the FMC member organisation’s complaints process has been exhausted and you are not satisfied with the response, you can appeal to the FMC.
The Family Mediation Standards Board (FMSB) has delegated authority to hear appeals on behalf of the FMC.
Grounds and procedure for appealing to the FMSB before the 1st of March 2022
When can the appeal be made?
An appeal can be made once the relevant member organisation’s complaints process has been exhausted. An appeal must be made within 8 weeks of a decision being made by the member organisation.
Who can appeal?
An appeal may be considered from a complainant (whether a participant in mediation or in an initial meeting, or a third party who has reported a breach of the Code of Practice), or from a mediator who is facing disciplinary action.
On what grounds can the appeal be made?
- The mediator’s complaints or disciplinary procedure did not conform with requirements set out in this document.
- The mediator deviated from its own complaints or disciplinary procedure.
- The mediator’s decision was contrary to the FMC Code of Practice and where relevant, the FMC Professional Competence Standards.
- The mediator failed to take account of all the relevant evidence that was provided.
How can an appeal be made?
An appeal can be made by writing to the FMSB at Familymediationcouncil.org.uk or via:
Family Mediation Council
International Dispute Resolution Centre
70 Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1EU.
What will happen once an appeal has been made?
The appeal will be considered in accordance with set procedures and timescales. If the appeal proceeds, it will go to a panel convened by the FMSB, which will consider it and make a recommendation to the FMSB. As a result of the appeal, the FMSB may make recommendations to member organisations about its decisions or processes.
Where a mediator is guilty of serious or recurring misconduct but has not had their membership revoked by his/her member organisation, the FMSB may also revoke a mediator’s FMCA status or remove the mediator from the FMC Register.
What will it cost?
We will not charge you for handling your complaint.
Please note, that if we have issued a bill for work done on the matter, and all or some of the bill is not paid, we may be entitled to charge interest on the amount outstanding. The Family Mediation Service Board service is free of charge.
