1. Purpose of this Complaints Policy

1.1 Franckel Law welcomes and encourages feedback of all kinds from clients.  If you have a complaint about any aspect of our services or any member of staff or level of service, not only do we want to resolve it to your satisfaction but we also want to learn from it in order to improve our business and client service in the future.

1.2 It is our policy to address and try to resolve complaints quickly and fairly, where possible without recourse to formal investigations or external bodies.  In particular, the aims of this Complaints Policy are:

1.2.1 To provide a clear and fair procedure for any clients who wish to make a complaint about our services or employees;

1.2.2 To ensure that everyone working for or with us knows how we handle complaints made by our clients;

1.2.3 To ensure that all complaints are handled equally and in a fair and timely fashion;

1.2.4 To ensure that important information is gathered from complaints and used in the future to avoid such a situation arising again.

 

2. What this Complaints Policy Covers

2.1 This Complaints Policy applies to provision of our services and representation, and employee conduct.

2.2 For the purposes of this Complaints Policy, any reference to Advocate Simon Franckel or Franckel Law includes our employees, agents and subcontractors.

2.3 Complaints may relate to any of our activities and may include (but not be limited to):

2.3.1 The quality of customer service you have received from us;

2.3.2 The behaviour and/or professional competence of our employees agents or subcontractors;

2.3.3 Delays, or complaints of poor service or other problems associated with the provision of services;

This Complaints Policy does not cover matters relating to issues arsing in connection with the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018. 

 

3. Making a Complaint

3.1 All complaints may be made in one or more of the following ways:

3.1.1 In writing, addressed to Advocate Simon Franckel, Franckel Law, PO Box 285, St. Helier, Jersey JE4 0FL;

3.1.2 By email, addressed to Advocate Simon Franckel at simon@franckel.law;

3.1.3 By contacting us by telephone on 01534 486367.

3.2 When making a complaint, please include the following information in as much detail as is reasonably possible:

3.2.1 Your name, address, telephone number and email address. We will contact you using your preferred contact method as your complaint is handle);

3.2.2 If you are making a complaint on behalf of someone else, that person’s name and contact details as well as your own;

3.2.3 If you are making a complaint about a particular employee, the name and, where appropriate, position of that employee;

3.2.4 Further details of your Complaint including, as appropriate, all times, dates, events, and people involved;

3.2.5 Details of any documents or other evidence you wish to rely on in support of your complaint;

3.2.6 Details of what you would like us to do to resolve your complaint and to put things right.  (Please note that whilst we will make every reasonable effort to accommodate such requests, we are not bound to take any action beyond that which we may be contractually or otherwise legally obliged to take.)

 

4. How We Handle Your Complaint

4.1 Following our complaints procedure, our aim is to always resolve complaints to your satisfaction without further recourse to External Resolution (see below).  If you are not satisfied with the resolution of your Complaint, you may refer to External Resolution as detailed below.

Upon receipt of your complaint, it will be logged and acknowledge receipt of it in writing within seven days.

4.2 As I am a sole trader, all complaints will be handled by me alone.

4.3 If your Complaint relates to a specific agent or subcontractor, that person will be informed of your Complaint and given a fair and reasonable opportunity to respond.  Any communication between you and the employee agent or subcontractor in question should take place only through the person handling your complaint and we respectfully ask that you do not contact the employee agent or subcontractor in question directly concerning the complaint while we are working to resolve it.

4.4 If we require any further information or evidence from you, we will contact you as quickly as is reasonably possible to ask for it.  We ask that you use reasonable efforts to supply any such information or evidence quickly in order to avoid delaying the complaints handling process.  If you are for any reason unable to provide such information or evidence we will use all reasonable efforts to proceed without it, however please be aware that we will not ask for further information or evidence unless we consider it important to the successful resolution of your complaint.

4.5 We aim to resolve complaints within 10 working days, however in some cases, particularly if your complaint is of a complex nature, this may not be possible.  If this is not possible for any reason you will be informed of the delay, the likely length of the delay and the reasons for it.

4.6 At the conclusion of the complaints procedure, regardless of the outcome, we will provide you with full details of our conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result.  Our decision at this stage is final, subject to your right to seek External Resolution of your complaint.

4.7 Advocate Franckel (and any other lawyer engaged as an employee of by Franckel Law) is a member of the Law Society of Jersey, and as such is required to adhere to the Advocates and Solicitors (Jersey) Law 1997 and the Code of Conduct. As part of those obligations, we are required to make you aware that you have the right to seek External Resolution of your Complaint from that organisation if you are not satisfied with the outcome.

4.8 If you are not satisfied with the resolution of your Complaint you may seek External Resolution of your complaint from the President of the Law Society of Jersey, care of Mr Neville Benbow, CEO, The Law Society of Jersey, P.O. Box 493, St. Helier, Jersey, JE4 5SZ, 01534 613 920 or 01534 734826. The website of the Law Society of Jersey contains helpful information and a link to a Complaint Form.

 

5. Confidentiality and Data Protection

5.1 All complaints and information relating to a complaint are treated with the utmost confidence.  Such information will only be shared with those employees agents or subcontractors who need to know in order to handle your complaint; or with such entities as we are required to inform and communicate with (such as the Law Society or our Insurers if appropriate).

5.2 We may ask for your permission to use details of your complaint (with your personal details removed) for internal training and quality improvement purposes.  If you have given such permission, you may revoke it at any time.

5.3 All personal information that we may collect (including, but not limited to, your name and address) will be collected, used and held in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018 and your rights under that Law.

 

6. Questions and Further Information

If you have any questions or require further information about any aspect of this Complaints Policy or about our Complaints Procedure, please contact Advocate Simon Franckel by post at Franckel Law, PO Box 285, St. Helier, Jersey JE4 0FL, by telephone on 01534 486367, or by email at simon@franckel.law.

 

7. Policy Responsibility and Review

7.1 Overall responsibility for this Complaints Policy and the implementation thereof lies with Advocate Simon Franckel.

7.2 This Complaints Policy is regularly reviewed and updated as required.

7.3 This Complaints Policy was adopted on 1 January 2021.

7.4 This Complaints Policy was last reviewed on 26 April 2022.