The material on this site is intended to provide only general information and it should not form the basis of legal advice concerning your rights or obligations on any particular issue nor does it preclude or restrict the need for you or anybody else.

Where possible, we do our best to assist you even should that mean signposting you to other organisations who might be better suited to your needs.  Please note that emailing Jim Hester for advice does not create a solicitor-client relationship.

Website Privacy policy

We are  committed to preserving the privacy of all visitors to our website and our policy aims to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations. Most importantly, when visiting this site, you may decide to provide us with information about yourself, such as your name, address, telephone and e-mail address in order that we can contact you about a case. We will be very pleased should you choose to do so. Unless we are required by law, we will never disclose any information provided by you about yourself to any third parties without your express and informed consent.

Complaints Policy

We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service we have provided then you should inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem to your satisfaction. In the first instance you should telephone the person who is acting for you to discuss your concerns and he or she will do their best to resolve your issues. Note that disagreeing with our legal advice is not usually regarded as a complaint.
If you remain dissatisfied, then we ask that you to write to us so we may investigate it further. You should please provide the following details:

• Your full contact details and case reference
• The details of your complaint
• The remedy you are seeking

We shall, wherever possible, acknowledge your complaint within 48 hours and confirm how your complaint is being dealt with. We would normally outsource your complaint to another specialist lawyer to investigate it. In any case, the person appointed will be someone other than the person you are complaining about. The person appointed by us will write to you as soon as possible to let you know that they are conducting a review and they will reply to your complaint within 28 days. If in the event it is not possible to reply within 28 days, then they will explain why and a new date will be set.
The response to your complaint will explain:

• The nature and scope of the investigation which has taken place;
• The decision about your complaint and the basis for that decision; and
• If they find that you were justified in your complaint, their proposals for resolving the complaint to your satisfaction

All conversations and documents relating to the complaint will be treated as confidential. We will keep a written record of your complaint for a period of six years.

What do to if we cannot resolve your complaint

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will expect that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first.  There are time limits for taking your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. These are:

• Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint
  and
• No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or
• No more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint

For more information about the Legal Ombudsman:
www.legalombudsman.org.uk
0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm.
enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ