We are committed to providing a high-quality service and to dealing with all our clients fairly. We acknowledge that we may not always get it right so if something has gone wrong, please tell us as soon as possible and no later than 40 working days (8 weeks) after the experience you are unhappy with.
Who can make a complaint?
You may make a complaint if:
• you are a client or former client of MSUK.
• you are a prospective client who has been directly affected by the professional conduct of a staff member.
• you are a person who has been invited to participate in a mediation process, for example another professional who attends a mediation.
For the avoidance of doubt, it is common practice for us to contact potential mediation participants after seeing one party. Contact in this way will not be considered as valid grounds for complaint unless there are professional conduct issues or other potential breaches of MSUK policy and procedure that may need to be investigated.
It is also common practice for MSUK mediators to sign court forms to say that one person has attended a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) without notifying another potential party to mediation or inviting them to attend a MIAM. Likewise, this will not be considered as valid grounds for complaint unless there are professional conduct issues or other potential breaches of MSUK policy and procedure that may need to be investigated.
How do I make a complaint?
We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need our clients to tell us about it. This will help improve our standards. Whenever possible, please raise any initial client care problems with the person acting on your case to give them the opportunity of resolving matters with you. Often, matters can be quickly resolved in this way.
If you are unhappy about any aspect of the service you have received, about the bill or in relation to data protection matters, please contact us by post to our office at 7 Enaworks, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 2AY, telephone 01925 393 532 or email talk@mediationsolutionsuk.com. We have a procedure in place which details how we handle complaints as follows:
1. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within five days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
2. We will investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to our Mr David Ross, who will review your matter file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you. If your complaint relates directly to Mr Ross, then your complaint will be passed onto Jamie Doyle.
3. We will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. We will do this within 10 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
4. Within three days of that meeting we will write to you to confirm what took place and to set out any solutions that have been agreed with you.
5. If you do not want a meeting, or it is not possible, you will be sent a detailed written reply to your complaint, including the suggestions for resolving the matter, within 15 days of sending you the acknowledgement latter.
6. If we have to change any of the above timescales, we will let you know and explain why.
The Family Mediation Standards Board (FMSB)
If you are still not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, then a complaint can be made directly to the FMSB by completing their complaints form which you can download here.
Once completed, please send this form and any supporting documents to complaints@familymediationcouncil.org.uk
Complaints will be acknowledged within 5 working days and considered in accordance with the FMSB’s complaints process.
For more information visit the FMSB at www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk/complaints-about-mediators/
Complaints in relation data protection
The procedure above also applies to complaints about our handling of personal data. Should you remain dissatisfied having followed our complaints procedure you have the right to take the complaint to the Information Commissioner. Please refer to the ICO website at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-protection-complaints/