Complaints Policy
We hope that the service and experience provided by First Legal Solicitors is a good one however we do realise that matters don’t always go as planned and therefore this policy explains how First Legal will deal with any concerns you have about the service received.
How do I make a complaint?
If you do have a concern or complaint, please contact us as soon as you are aware of the problem in order that this can be addressed. You can contact us by:
Telephone: 0151 319 3200
Email: info@firstlegalsolicitors.com
Post: First Legal Solicitors
4th Floor 8 Princes Parade
Liverpool
L3 1DL
Please include the following information:
- Your full name
- Reference number (if you have one)
- Contact telephone number
- Contact email address
- Full details of your concern
What happens next?
We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within five days of our receiving the complaint, enclosing a full copy of the complaints procedure and advising you who will be responding to the complaint. We aim to resolve your complaint fully within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
What happens if I am unhappy with the response?
The matter will be referred to our Head of Legal Practice, who will consider the complaint further.
Although we aim to resolve complaints within 21 days of acknowledgement the Legal Ombudsman guidelines allow for 8 weeks from the date we receive your complaint. If we have not been able to resolve the complaint within 8 weeks or following receipt of our final formal response (whichever happens first) you have the option of referring the matter to the Legal Ombudsman.
Legal Ombudsman
There are time limits for submitting a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. Where you have not followed our complaints procedure, you must submit your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within a year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within a year of you realising there was a concern
Where you have followed our complaints procedure, the time limit for pursuing a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman is no later than 6 months from the date on which you received a definitive response to your complaint from this firm, or from the last day of the 8 week period, whichever is the earlier.
There are exceptions to the 8 week and 6 months rules. For information relating to those exceptions, please refer to the scheme rules on the Legal Ombudsman website.
Legal Ombudsman contact details:
Post: The Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ
Telephone number: 0300 555 0333
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Reporting the matter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (‘SRA’)
You also have the right to complain direct to the SRA at any time. Details of how to complain can be found in the link below
https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor
Data Protection Complaints
Under the Data (Use & Access) Act 2025 (DUAA) you have the right to complain directly to us about how we handle your personal data. Data protection complaints are managed alongside our general complaints procedure.
Scope of a Data Protection Complaint
A data protection complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction relating to our processing of your personal data, including how it is collected, used, stored, shared, secured, or retained. We will treat a complaint as a data protection complaint regardless of the channel through which it is received (email, telephone, social media, post, or in‑person). We also have an electronic data protection complaints form, which will be supplied to you upon request.
How to Raise a Data Protection Complaint
You can raise a data protection complaint using the contact details published in our website Privacy Policy, by requesting and submitting our electronic complaints form or by contacting our Compliance Team at:
Telephone: 0151 319 3200
Email: info@firstlegalsolicitors.com
Post: First Legal Solicitors
4th Floor 8 Princes Parade
Liverpool
L3 1DL
How We Handle Data Protection Complaints
When we receive a data protection complaint, we will:
- Refer the matter immediately to our Compliance Team.
- Acknowledge the complaint within 30 days, as required by the DUAA
- Record the complaint in our Data Protection Complaints Register
- Investigate the issues raised, including reviewing relevant systems, records, and internal processes
- Request further information from you, if needed
- Provide a clear and reasoned response as soon as possible and without undue delay
- Explain the outcome, including whether your complaint is upheld, partially upheld, or not upheld
- Inform you of your right to escalate the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), if you remain dissatisfied
Relationship with Our General Complaints Procedure
Data protection complaints are handled under this dedicated process because they relate to statutory rights under the DUAA, UK GDPR, and the Data Protection Act 2018. Where a complaint includes both service‑related issues and data protection concerns, we will:
- manage the data protection elements under this DUAA‑aligned process, and
- manage any service‑related issues under our standard complaints procedure.
We will ensure you receive a coordinated and consistent response.
Interaction with Your Data Subject Rights Requests
If a complaint also includes a request to exercise a data protection right (e.g., access, rectification, erasure, objection), we will process the rights request under the UK GDPR while also handling your complaint under this section.
COMPLAINTS ARE HANDLED AT NO COST TO THE CLIENT