Complaints Policy.

How to make a complaint

All complaints must be made in writing in the first instance and submitted to our Compliance Officer at:

Email: complaints@devall.law

Please include:

• Your name and matter reference (if known)
• Details of the service you are unhappy with
• Relevant dates and supporting information
• The outcome you are seeking

What we will do

We will acknowledge receipt of your written complaint within 7 days, where possible.

Your complaint will be investigated by our Complaints and Compliance Team and/or a senior member of staff not directly involved in the matter, where appropriate. Where it is possible to do so, we will provide an indication of the anticipated timescale for our investigation and response.

The time required to investigate a complaint will depend on factors such as its complexity, the issues raised, the individuals involved, and whether information is required from other parties. We will seek to resolve complaints as promptly as possible and will not delay matters unnecessarily.

We will provide a final response within 8 weeks of receiving the complaint. This represents the maximum timeframe for our response, rather than a target. Where we are unable to conclude our investigation as quickly as anticipated, we will keep you informed of progress periodically, and any factors affecting the timescale for resolution.

If you are not satisfied

If we do not respond within eight weeks, or you are dissatisfied with our final response, you may refer the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, who is independent and free to use. The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) may refuse to investigate or may stop investigating a complaint if the issues are already being decided by a court or have been decided by a court. However, it is not an automatic bar in every case. The key question is whether the Ombudsman complaint concerns the same issues that are the subject of the court proceedings. If the court case is about a different matter, the LeO may still be able to investigate aspects of the service we have provided.

Legal Ombudsman contact details

Before the Legal Ombudsman can consider your complaint, you must first have given Devall Law the opportunity to resolve it.

Time limits

The Legal Ombudsman will usually only consider complaints made:

• Within one year of the act or omission complained of, or
• Within one year from when you should reasonably have become aware of the issue

You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.

Making a complaint will not affect how your legal matter is handled.

Reporting to the Solicitors Regulation Authority

If you have already complained to the firm and pursued the matter through the Legal Ombudsman, you may still report the firm to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) if you believe there has been professional misconduct or a breach of the SRA's rules. The report can be submitted directly through the SRA's online reporting process, setting out the facts and providing any relevant evidence. The SRA will assess the information and decide whether there is evidence of a serious regulatory issue requiring investigation. Unlike the Legal Ombudsman, which deals with poor service and compensation, the SRA's role is to investigate conduct and regulatory breaches and, where appropriate, take disciplinary action against solicitors or firms.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) can be contacted to report concerns about a solicitor or law firm through its online reporting service at www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor. Reports can also be made by telephone on 0370 606 2555 (from outside the UK: +44 (0)121 329 6800) or by email at report@sra.org.uk. When making a report, it is helpful to provide a clear summary of the concerns, together with any relevant documents or evidence, so that the SRA can assess whether there has been a breach of its regulatory standards and whether a formal investigation is required.

Data Protection Complaints

In addition to our general complaints procedure, you have the right to raise concerns specifically about how we process your personal data.

Under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, individuals are entitled to make a complaint directly to us regarding the handling of their personal data before escalating the matter to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

How to raise a data protection complaint

You may submit a data protection complaint:

• By email to: complaints@devall.law
• By post to our registered office
• Through any member of staff involved in your matter

You are not required to follow a specific format, but providing clear details will assist us in responding promptly.

How We Will Handle Your Complaint

We are committed to handling complaints concerning data protection, privacy, and the processing of personal information in a fair, transparent, and timely manner. Upon receipt of your complaint, we will acknowledge receipt within 30 calendar days of receiving your complaint and confirm the next steps in the process. We will then review the information provided and assess the nature, scope, and seriousness of the concerns raised.

We will take appropriate and proportionate steps to investigate your complaint, which may include reviewing relevant records, correspondence, policies, procedures, and systems, and obtaining information from employees, contractors, or third parties where necessary.

Investigation steps include considering whether any remedial action is required to address identified issues, improve compliance, or prevent similar concerns from arising in the future. We will keep you informed of progress where appropriate, particularly where the investigation is complex, requires additional enquiries, or is likely to take longer than anticipated. We aim to provide a written outcome without undue delay, setting out our findings, any actions taken or proposed, and the reasons for our decision.

Where a complaint relates to personal data rights under applicable data protection legislation, we will seek to resolve the matter directly wherever possible. However, if you remain dissatisfied with our response, you may have the right to raise your concerns with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent authority responsible for overseeing data protection and privacy matters. The ICO will determine the extent to which it investigates complaints based on the circumstances of each case.

In certain circumstances, including where the subject matter of the complaint is already the subject of court proceedings, regulatory action, or another dispute resolution process, we may limit, suspend, or conclude our investigation where it is appropriate to do so. Where this occurs, we will explain the reasons for our decision and, where relevant, provide information about alternative routes available to the complainant.

We will maintain appropriate records of all complaints received and use the information gathered to identify trends, improve our services, strengthen data protection compliance, and support continuous improvement across the organisation.

Where a complaint relates to a data subject request (e.g. subject access request), we will ensure this is considered alongside our statutory obligations.

Escalation

If you remain dissatisfied following our response, you may raise your concerns with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

This process does not affect your right to raise a complaint with the Legal Ombudsman where appropriate.