Our barristers accept instructions through two sets of chambers: Ibraheem Dulmeer through KBG Chambers and Mark Loveday through Tanfield Chambers. Which complaint procedure applies depends on which chambers your matter was booked through. If you are unsure, ask and we will tell you.
KBG Chambers
All members and employees of KBG Chambers aim to provide high quality advice and a high standard of service. Chambers takes all feedback seriously and aims to find a solution in each situation. If you are unhappy with the service you have received, please let us know as soon as possible. It is not necessary to involve solicitors in order to complain, though you are free to do so.
KBG Chambers is fully committed to ensuring that everyone who uses the complaints procedure is treated fairly, with respect, and without discrimination on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion or belief.
Time limits
Chambers will only consider a complaint raised within one year of the act or omission complained of, and will not usually deal with a complaint that falls outside the Legal Ombudsman's time limits. Since 1 April 2023, a complaint must be referred to the Legal Ombudsman:
- within one year of the act or omission, or within one year of when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint; and
- within six months of receiving a final response from your barrister, where that response complies with rule 4.4 of the Legal Ombudsman's Scheme Rules.
The Legal Ombudsman may extend these limits where it is fair and reasonable to do so.
By telephone
You may make a complaint by telephone, by email or in writing. Writing is preferred, but if you would rather speak to someone, please call Colin Palmer, Chambers' Director, on 01752 221551. He is the person nominated to deal with complaints.
He will note the details of your complaint and what you would like done about it, discuss your concerns with you and try to resolve them. If the matter is resolved, he will record the outcome and check that you are satisfied with it. You may also wish to record the outcome in writing yourself. Your complaint may instead be passed to Jonathon Bosanko, Head of Chambers, or to a member of the complaints panel, and you will be told if so.
If your complaint is not resolved over the telephone, you will be invited to write to us so that it can be investigated formally.
In writing
A formal complaint will be addressed if it is made within one year of the cause of the complaint, or of informal resolution having failed, whichever is the later.
Please give the following details:
- Your name and address
- Which member or members of Chambers you are complaining about
- The detail of the complaint
- What you would like done about it
Address your complaint to:
Mr Colin Palmer (Chambers' Director)
KBG Chambers
Unit 18, Mills Bakery
Royal William Yard
Plymouth
PL1 3GE
Telephone 01752 221551
Email [email protected]
Written complaints are considered by a panel headed by Jonathon Bosanko, Head of Chambers, and made up of experienced members of Chambers and a senior member of staff. Within 14 days of receiving your complaint, the head of the panel (or a deputy) will appoint someone to investigate it. That person will never be the person you are complaining about. If your complaint is about the head of the panel, the next most senior member of the panel will investigate.
Within a further 14 days, or as soon as possible, the person investigating will write to you setting out the nature and scope of the investigation, the conclusion on each complaint and the basis for it, whether your complaint is found to be justified, and proposals for resolving it. If a reply cannot be sent in that time, you will be told when to expect it.
On request, the response can be sent by post, provided in braille or in another language, or read to you over the telephone.
Complaints about mediation
Mediators at KBG Chambers are regulated by the Civil Mediation Council. A complaint about a mediation or a mediator will be acknowledged in writing within 5 working days, and investigated and answered within 21 working days of receipt. If you do not accept the response, you may be able to appeal to the Civil Mediation Council. Details are at civilmediation.org/complaints.
Confidentiality and records
All conversations and documents relating to a complaint are treated as confidential and disclosed only to the extent necessary. The Bar Standards Board is entitled to inspect documents and seek information about complaints when discharging its auditing and monitoring functions. A written record of each complaint, and all documents and correspondence it generates, is kept for six years.
If you are not the barrister's client
If you are not the barrister's client and are unhappy with the outcome of Chambers' investigation, please contact the Bar Standards Board rather than the Legal Ombudsman:
Bar Standards Board
Contact and Assessment Team
289-293 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7JZ
Telephone 0207 6111 444
www.barstandardsboard.org.uk
A printed copy of the KBG Chambers complaint procedure is available from the clerks at [email protected]. The full procedure is published at kbgchambers.co.uk/complaint-procedure.
Tanfield Chambers
Our aim is to give you a good service at all times. However, if you have a complaint you are invited to let us know as soon as possible. It is not necessary to involve solicitors in order to make your complaint but you are free to do so should you wish.
Time limits
The Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints body for service complaints about lawyers, has time limits within which a complaint must be raised with it. The Ombudsman can extend the time limit in exceptional circumstances. Chambers must therefore have regard to that timeframe when deciding whether it is able to investigate your complaint, and will not usually deal with complaints that fall outside the Legal Ombudsman's time limits.
The Ombudsman will also only deal with complaints from consumers. This means that only complaints from the barrister's client are within its jurisdiction. Non-clients who are not satisfied with the outcome of the Chambers' investigation should contact the Bar Standards Board rather than the Legal Ombudsman. It may not always be possible to investigate a complaint brought by a non-client; Chambers will make an initial assessment of the complaint and, if the issues raised cannot be satisfactorily resolved through the Chambers complaints process, will refer you to the Bar Standards Board.
Complaints made by telephone
You may wish to make a complaint in writing and, if so, please follow the procedure below. However, if you would rather speak on the telephone about your complaint then please telephone the individual nominated under the Chambers Complaints Procedure to deal with complaints, Eamonn Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, on +44 (0) 20 7421 5300. If the complaint is about the Chief Executive Officer, telephone the Head of Chambers, Philip Rainey KC.
The person you contact will make a note of the details of your complaint and what you would like to have done about it. He will discuss your concerns with you and aim to resolve them. If the matter is resolved he will record the outcome, check that you are satisfied with the outcome and record that you are satisfied. You may also wish to record the outcome of the telephone discussion in writing.
If your complaint is not resolved on the telephone, you will be invited to write to us about it so it can be investigated formally.
Complaints made in writing
Please give the following details:
- Your name and address
- Which member or members of Chambers you are complaining about
- The detail of the complaint
- What you would like done about it
Please address your letter to:
Eamonn Kelly (Chief Executive Officer)
Tanfield Chambers
2-5 Warwick Court
London
WC1R 5DJ
DX 46 London Chancery Lane
Telephone +44 (0) 20 7421 5300
Email [email protected]
We will, where possible, acknowledge receipt of your complaint within two days and provide you with details of how your complaint will be dealt with.
Chambers has a panel headed by Philip Rainey KC, made up of experienced members of Chambers and a senior member of staff, which considers any written complaint. Within 7 days of your letter being received, the head of the panel, or his deputy in his absence, will appoint a member of the panel to investigate it. If your complaint is against the head of the panel, the next most senior member of the panel will investigate it. In any case, the person appointed will be someone other than the person you are complaining about.
The person appointed to investigate will write to you within 28 days of receipt of the complaint. If they find later that they are not going to be able to reply within the 28 days, they will set a new date for their reply and inform you. Their reply will set out:
- Their name and experience
- The nature and scope of their investigation
- Their conclusion on each complaint and the basis for their conclusion
- If they find that your complaint is justified, their proposals for resolving it
- If the complaint is not upheld, contact details for the Legal Ombudsman
Confidentiality
All conversations and documents relating to the complaint will be treated as confidential and will be disclosed only to the extent that is necessary. Disclosure will be to the Head of Chambers, members of the management committee and anyone involved in the complaint and its investigation, including the barrister or member of staff you have complained about, the head or relevant senior member of the panel and the person who investigates the complaint. The Bar Standards Board is entitled to inspect the documents and seek information about the complaint when discharging its auditing and monitoring functions.
Our policy
As part of our commitment to client care we make a written record of any complaint and retain all documents and correspondence generated by the complaint for a period of six years. Our management committee inspects an anonymised record regularly with a view to improving services.
The full Tanfield Chambers complaint procedure is available as a PDF from Tanfield Chambers.
The Legal Ombudsman
If you are unhappy with the outcome of Chambers' investigation, and you fall within its jurisdiction, you may take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints body for complaints about lawyers. The Ombudsman cannot consider your complaint until it has first been investigated by Chambers.
The Ombudsman can deal with complaints from individuals, micro-enterprises, charities and clubs with an annual income under £1 million, trustees of trusts with assets under £1 million, and personal representatives or beneficiaries of an estate.
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH
Telephone 0300 555 0333
Email [email protected]
www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Alternative dispute resolution
If you and the barrister both agree, you may use an alternative complaints scheme approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute instead. Please contact Chambers first to discuss this, including the provider's own time limits. Neither you nor the barrister is required to accept a resolution proposed through mediation, and if it does not resolve your complaint you may still go to the Legal Ombudsman, provided you fall within its jurisdiction and time limits.