COMPLAINTS HANDLING PROCEDURE
This Complaints Handling Procedure is published in accordance with the SRA Transparency Rules
INTRODUCTION
Marshall Haines is committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all of its clients. When something goes wrong it is important that you inform Adam Haines who is the Principal of Marshall Haines. You can raise a complaint about any aspect of the Firm’s services including in relation to its bills and you may also have a right to object to the Firm’s bill by applying to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. Without limiting your redress below, if you have valid reason to believe we have not provided services to you to a high standard we will not charge you for such work. 
Without limiting your redress below, if you have valid reason to believe we have not provided services to you to a high standard we will not charge you for such work. 
DEFINITION OF COMPLAINT
We define a complaint as any dissatisfaction or problem with any aspect of our behaviour or service made by or on behalf of the client.
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
If you have a complaint, please contact Adam Haines with the details. If Adam needs to change any of the timescales set out below he will let you know.
Adam will then record your complaint, open a file for your complaint and investigate your complaint. This may involve one or more of the following steps:
  •  If Adam acted for you, Adam will consider your complaint again. Adam will then send you a detailed reply or invite you to a meeting to discuss the matter;
  • If someone else acted for you, Adam will ask them to give him their reply to your complaint. Adam will then examine their reply and the information in your complaint file. Adam may also speak to the person who acted for you. Adam will then write inviting you to meet him and discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint;
  • Adam may ask another independent solicitor or the local law society to investigate and report on your complaint.
Adam would aim to be in a position to be able to meet with you at your earliest convenience and no later than 14 days of first receiving your complaint. If you would prefer not to meet, or if we cannot arrange this within an agreeable timescale, Adam will write fully to you setting out his views on the situation and any redress.
Within 2 days of the meeting Adam will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions he may have agreed with you. In appropriate cases Adam could offer an apology, a reduction of any bill or a repayment in relation to any payment received.
If you are still not satisfied, please contact Adam again. Adam will then arrange to review his decision within the next 10 days. This may happen in one of the following ways:
  • Adam will review the decision himself;
  • Adam will arrange for someone who is not connected with the complaint to review his decision;
  • Adam will ask his local Law Society or another independent firm of solicitors to review your complaint. This may take longer than 10 days in which case Adam will let you know how long this process will take;
  • Adam will invite you to agree to an independent mediation. This again may take longer than 10 days and Adam will do his best to let you know how long this will take.
Adam will let you know the result of the review within 5 days of the end of the review. At this time Adam will write to you confirming his final position on your complaint and explaining his reasons. If you are not satisfied with the final position reached, you may be entitled to ask the Legal Ombudsman (www.legalombudsman.org.uk) to handle the complaint.
CONTACTING THE LEGAL OMBUDSMAN
The Legal Ombudsman’s full contact details are as follows:
Visit www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Call 0300 555 0333 between 8.30am to 5.30pm.
Calls to 03 numbers will cost no more than calls to national geographic numbers (starting 01or 02) from both mobiles and landlines.
Calls are recorded and may be used for training and monitoring purposes.
For minicom call 0300 555 1777
Email enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
The Legal Ombudsman offers its service to members of the public, charities, clubs, trusts and ‘micro business’ (an enterprise which employs less than 10 people and whose annual turnover or annual balance sheet total does not exceed 2 million euro).
Please do not send original documents to the Legal Ombudsman. They will scan any documents you send to them to make computer copies and then destroy the originals.
CONTACTING THE SOLICITORS REGULATION AUTHORITY
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.
Visit their website (https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/) to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority
A. Job Applicants
What personal data we collect:
We may receive your personal data where you apply to us for employment.
The personal data we collect will depends on the personal data that you send to us set out on your CV or resume. Typically this will include your name, home address, telephone number, email address, details relating to your past employment and education and could include ethnic origin, age and gender. We do not collect more information than we need to use in order to evaluate your applicable.
How we use your personal data:
We use your personal data for our recruitment purposes only, to contact you to progress your application and to assess your suitability for the role you applied for.
The lawful basis for our collection and use of your personal data:
Our processing of this personal data is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests in evaluating you as a candidate for employment within our firm.
Who we may disclose your personal data to:
We will not disclose your personal data to any third party unless we are required by law or regulation to do so.
How long we keep your personal data:
If you are successful, we will keep your personal data for the duration of your employment plus 6 years following the end of your employment.
If you are unsuccessful or if you have provided personal data to us where we do not have a position then we will delete the personal data you have provided within 30 days.
B. Customer Personnel
When we work on a project, we collect a small amount of personal data relating to employees of our clients as well as employees of any counterparties who are involved in the transaction. We process this personal data on behalf of our clients as a data processor only and our processing is governed by a separate agreement with our clients.
C. Supplier Personnel
What personal data we collect:
We may collect your personal data when you correspond with us on behalf of the company or organisation that you work for.
The personal data we collect will typically include your name, the name and address of the company you work for, your business telephone number, your mobile telephone number and your email address.
How we use your personal data:
We will use your personal data only to correspond with you in the course of business conducted between us and the organisation you work for or represent. This may include contacting you in connection with existing products and services which your organisation provides to us, for billing and payment and in response to your enquiries.
The lawful basis for our collection and use of your personal data:
Our processing of this personal data is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests in carrying out business with the organisation which you work for or represent and to correspond with you.
How long we keep your personal data:
If we have purchased goods or services from your organisation then we will keep all records relating to that transaction for 6 years. In all other cases we will delete the personal data within 90 days of your last correspondence to us.
D. Prospective Clients' Personnel
What personal data we collect:
We may collect your personal data where we correspond with you to offer our services to the company which you represent.
The personal data we collect will typically include your name, the name and address of the company you work for, your business telephone number, your mobile telephone number and your email address.
How we use your personal data:
We will use your personal data only to correspond with you in connection with our provision of services to the organisation you work for or represent. 
The lawful basis for our collection and use of your personal data:
Our processing of this personal data is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests in offering services to the organisation which you work for or represent and to correspond with you.
How long we keep your personal data:
We will only keep your personal data for the duration of the sales process which will end either when the organisation becomes a client or when it declines our offer to provide services. Once this process has run its course (which should only be a few months) we will delete your personal data.
E. Website Visitors
What personal data we collect:
When you visit our website, we may collect your personal information where you submit a form containing your personal data or where the website helps you send an email to us.
The personal data we collect will typically includes your name, the name of the company you represent, your email address, your telephone number and the information contained in any correspondence with you.
How we use your personal data:
We will use your personal data only for the purpose of communicating with you in response to your enquiries.
The lawful basis for our collection and use of your personal data:
Our processing of this personal data is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests in communicating with or providing our services to the company you represent.
How long we keep your data:
This depends on the nature of the communication. Please see Section D above which relates to how we deal with personal data of personnel from prospective clients. 
REVISIONS TO THIS COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
We may change this Complaints Procedure from time to time to reflect regulatory requirements. If we make any material changes we will endeavour to place a notice on our website in advance of the changes.