Complaints Procedure – Deluxe Law Chambers
We are a firm of experienced and qualified immigration lawyers and we believe in excellent client care. Deluxe Law Chambers is committed to providing a high-quality and transparent legal service to all our clients. If at any point you become unhappy with the service we provide to you, then please inform us immediately so that we can do our best to resolve the problem for you. This will help us to improve our standards. If you have a concern or a complaint in respect of our service, our bill or any other matter, please contact us as soon as you are aware of the problem so this can be addressed.
What is a complaint?
The OISC and the Legal Ombudsman define a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction (oral or written) which alleges that the complainant has suffered (or may suffer):
- financial loss;
- distress;
- inconvenience; or
- other detriment
Who should a complaint be addressed to?
We ask that in the first instance you address your complaint to the caseworker and relevant supervisor. At the same time, you can raise your compliant and concern to firm’s director. The firm’s complaints director is Mr. Muhammad Usman Rasheed, the address to write to is Deluxe Law Chambers, 1041 Stockport Road, Levenshulme, Manchester, M19 2TF. The telephone number is +44 161 464 4140. The email address is info@deluxelawchambers.co.uk.
Investigation of complaints
Where a complaint is received, we will investigate it. We aim to deal with complaints promptly, fairly, openly and effectively to determine whether it should be upheld and, if so, what remedial action or redress may be appropriate. We shall seek to resolve complaints at the earliest opportunity with the aim of doing so within 8 weeks of receipt.
Timescale for initially responding to complaints
We will acknowledge your complaint promptly (generally within 5 working days) in writing, and will include written details of our complaints handling procedures. Where we are able to provide a final response immediately, the acknowledgement may be combined with the final response. You will be kept informed of the progress of the investigation.
Final or other response within 8 weeks
Within 8 weeks of receipt of a complaint, we will either send:
- a final response which upholds the complaint and, where appropriate, offers redress or rejects the complaint and gives reasons for doing so; or
- a response explaining that we are not in a position to make a final response, giving reasons for the delay and indicating when we expect to be able to provide a final response.
Our response detailed above will inform you that, if you are still not satisfied, you may be entitled to refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman and will provide full contact details for the Legal Ombudsman and a warning that the complaint must be referred to the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of the date of our written response.
Referring complaints to the Legal Ombudsman and Court of Assessment
The Legal Ombudsman can be contacted by telephone on 0300 555 0333, by email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk; or by writing to PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ. Typically, the Legal Ombudsman will only consider complaints if you have first used our complaints procedure. Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman must normally be referred within 6 months of the date of our final written response in respect of the complaint.
The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within six years of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within three years 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.
From 1 April 2023, the time limits for referring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman will be no later than:
- one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or
- one year from the date when the complainant should have realised that there was cause for complaint.
Further details on referral of complaints to the Legal Ombudsman can be found at http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk.
Referring complaints to the OISC
In addition to the above, complaints about our behaviour can also be raised with the OISC. See https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-the-immigration-services-commissioner/about/complaints-procedure for further details.