GDPR Complaints Policy

 1. Our Policy

You have the right to complain to us in the event you consider our Firm has breached the UK GDPR.

You will not be charged for any time spent handling your complaint. 

 You can request a copy of this Complaint Procedure at any time.

We will issue a copy of this Complaint Procedure:

• On request.
• When you raise a complaint.
• On our website.

We shall aim to deal with any complaint that we may receive promptly, fairly, openly, and effectively.

We will aim to issue a final response within 8 weeks of the date your complaint is received.

 2. Making a Complaint

If at any point you become aware of or believe the Firm has breached the UK GDPR or any other data protection law or regulations, then you should inform us immediately so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.

You should raise your concerns with the Data Privacy Manager who is Raanan Berlad, by emailing info@bglaw.co.uk.

Making a complaint will not affect our relationship with you.

If you need to make a complaint, you should:

• Complain as soon as possible.
• Provide your full name and contact details.
• Provide us with information for us to identify you.
• Be clear on what the issue is and how you would like it to be resolved.
• Wait for an acknowledgement within 3 days.
• Our aim is to resolve all complaints within eight weeks from the date of receipt.

If you require any help in making your complaint, we will try to help you.

 3. Handling and Resolving a Complaint

We will write to you within 3 days acknowledging your complaint.

We will investigate your complaint. This will usually involve:

• Reviewing your complaint.
• Reviewing any relevant documents.
• Liaising with those in the Firm who have engaged with you.

We may also need to ask you for further information or documents. If so, we will ask you to provide the information within a specified period.

We will update you on the progress of your complaint at appropriate times.

We will provide you with a written outcome following an investigation into your complaint, outlining what we have done and what we propose to do to resolve it.

We will respond to your complaint in writing within 8 weeks of the date we receive it. If you are not happy with our outcome, or we have not acknowledged your complaint within 3 days, or we have not responded with an outcome within 8 weeks, you can raise your complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the ICO will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have not they are likely to reject your complaint and refer you to us.

If you would like more information about the ICO and its complaints procedure, please visit their website for guidance on how to complain: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-protection-complaints/.

 5. The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)

As a law Firm, in addition to meeting the requirements of the UK GDPR we are also required to meet the requirements of the LeO and SRA.

Therefore, if you do not wish to raise your complaint with the ICO and we have not provided you with an outcome within eight weeks, you may also be able to contact the Legal Ombudsman or the SRA, depending on the nature of your complaint.

The Legal Ombudsman service considers complaints about the quality of legal services that clients receive. The Legal Ombudsman will normally expect you to have exhausted this complaints procedure before referring to them. The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints independently and accessing the service will not affect how we handle your case (if ongoing). Time limits apply to the service. The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.

The Legal Ombudsman’s contact details are:

Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

Telephone: 0300 555 0333

Email address: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

In the unlikely event that you have concerns about a solicitor’s conduct, it may be appropriate for you to contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA – Telephone: 0370 606 2555 Website: sra.org.uk – or write to them at The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham B1 1RN).  We do not anticipate any such problems arising and would ask that you notify the matter supervisor straight away if you have any such concerns.