Legal and Regulatory

The following information is provided as required by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. It is also included in the terms of business we supply to our clients before starting work. We will be happy to answer any questions you have, about any of the following provisions:

Financial Services – Insurance Mediation Activities

We are not authorised by the Financial Services Authority. However, we are included on the register maintained by the Financial Services Authority so that we can carry on insurance mediation activity, which is broadly the advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts. This part of our business, including arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong, is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The register can be accessed via the Financial Services Authority website at www.fsa.gov.uk/register.

The Law Society is a designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 but responsibility for regulation and complaints handling has been separated from the Law Society’s representative functions. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is the independent regulatory body of the Law Society and the Legal Ombudsman is the independent complaints handling body of the Law Society.

Incidental Investment Business

If our clients need advice on investments, we usually refer them to someone who is authorised by the Financial Services Authority. However, as we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, we may be able to provide certain limited investment services where these are closely linked to the legal work we are doing.

Complaints Procedure

Our formal complaints procedure will be copied to our clients on request. Any complaint about our work or about our bills should be notified to Mrs Davies as soon as possible by telephone, letter or email. She will give it her immediate attention and respond in writing. If after we have responded to a complaint, or after 8 weeks, our client is not happy with the outcome, he or she has the right to send the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman at PO Box 15870, Birmingham B30 9EB, telephone number 0300 555 0333 (8.30 am to 5.30 pm), or email enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.

Any complaint to this firm or to the Legal Ombudsman must be made within 12 months of the client first becoming aware of the complaint. A client may also have the right to object to our bill by applying to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. Note: the Legal Ombudsman cannot deal with a complaint about a bill if a client has already applied to the court for an assessment of it.

Provision of Service Regulations 2009

We comply with the above regulation by displaying the required details of our Professional Indemnity Insurance in our office.

The name of the insurer which provides our mandatory cover is XL Insurance Company Limited of XL House, 70 Gracechurch Street, London EC3V 0XL. Policy no: PISRXL010169.
Current period of insurance expires 30 September 2011.