What can you do if you disagree with a formal decision?

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Dear Solicitors Regulation Authority,

There is information on your website what to do if you want to complain about the service (which I have found to be abysmal). I have complained and the treatment of my complaint has also been abysmal. There is no information about how to challenge a decision. The investigation of my original complaint has been sub-standard and the SRA has not been transparent (as it claims to be). I wish to challenge the decision - what steps should I take and why aren't these published clearly on your website or written in your response / decision letters in line with your transparency policy?

Yours faithfully,

F Lewis

SRA Information Compliance, Solicitors Regulation Authority

Thank you for contacting the Information Governance and Compliance Team at
the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

 

We aim to respond to request for information under our Transparency Code
requests within 20 working days. Information on how we handle these
requests, including a copy of our Transparency Code, can be found on our
website [1]here.

 

We will process and respond to Subject Access Requests within the
statutory timeframes as set out in the relevant data protection
legislation.

 

This mailbox does not deal with reports about solicitors. For information
about how to report an individual or firm please see our website [2]here.

 

 

 

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References

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1. http://www.sra.org.uk/sra/how-we-work/tr...
2. http://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems...
3. http://www.sra.org.uk/dpa

SRA Information Compliance, Solicitors Regulation Authority

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Lewis,

Thank you for your email.

Please find our response attached.

Yours sincerely,

Jack Baraczewski
Information Governance Officer
Solicitors Regulation Authority
The Cube, Birmingham
www.sra.org.uk

show quoted sections

Dear SRA Information Compliance,

Thank you for your response. This is the theory, but in practice it is not working. Complaints are not taken seriously. Deadlines are repeatedly missed. Report the missed deadlines and insincere (and very late) apologies follow but nothing changes. If you escalate the service complaint to the highest level the SRA is not obliged to act on the recommendations, so what is the point? If you escalate the complaint to the highest level it must end there. There is no onward path to judicial review - and what ordinary mortal can afford judicial review anyway?

Complainants are raising serious issues and expect to be taken seriously. If the SRA does not deal with complaints seriously how can it begin to challenge the misconduct of the solicitors it regulates? How can it expect to be taken seriously itself?

Yours sincerely,

F Lewis

SRA Information Compliance, Solicitors Regulation Authority

Thank you for contacting the Information Governance and Compliance Team at
the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

 

We aim to respond to request for information under our Transparency Code
requests within 20 working days. Information on how we handle these
requests, including a copy of our Transparency Code, can be found on our
website [1]here.

 

We will process and respond to Subject Access Requests within the
statutory timeframes as set out in the relevant data protection
legislation.

 

This mailbox does not deal with reports about solicitors. For information
about how to report an individual or firm please see our website [2]here.

 

 

 

For information on how we handle your personal data, see our [3]privacy
notice.
This email is intended for the addressee only. This includes any
attachments. Its unauthorised use, further processing, storage or copying
is not allowed. If you are not the intended recipient, please let the
sender know and then destroy all copies.
Please note the sender is not authorised to conclude any contract on
behalf of the Solicitors Regulation Authority by email.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.sra.org.uk/sra/how-we-work/tr...
2. http://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems...
3. http://www.sra.org.uk/dpa

SRA Information Compliance, Solicitors Regulation Authority

Dear Ms Lewis,

Thank you for your email.

Concerns about the handling of an individual's complaint cannot be addressed under our Transparency Code, these should be raised with the relevant department.

Yours sincerely,

Jack Baraczewski
Information Governance Officer
Solicitors Regulation Authority
The Cube, Birmingham
www.sra.org.uk

show quoted sections

Dear Jack
You have missed the point. I have approached the relevant department(s) and my complaints have been handled very badly and I get the feeling that nothing will change as many complaints are handled badly according to feedback on Trust Adviser and elsewhere. There is no point in escalating a complaint because no one will take any notice and I doubt very much whether anything will change. It is very disappointing but thank you for taking the time to reply.

Yours sincerely,

F Lewis

SRA Information Compliance, Solicitors Regulation Authority

Thank you for contacting the Information Governance and Compliance Team at
the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

 

We aim to respond to request for information under our Transparency Code
requests within 20 working days. Information on how we handle these
requests, including a copy of our Transparency Code, can be found on our
website [1]here.

 

We will process and respond to Subject Access Requests within the
statutory timeframes as set out in the relevant data protection
legislation.

 

This mailbox does not deal with reports about solicitors. For information
about how to report an individual or firm please see our website [2]here.

 

 

 

For information on how we handle your personal data, see our [3]privacy
notice.
This email is intended for the addressee only. This includes any
attachments. Its unauthorised use, further processing, storage or copying
is not allowed. If you are not the intended recipient, please let the
sender know and then destroy all copies.
Please note the sender is not authorised to conclude any contract on
behalf of the Solicitors Regulation Authority by email.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.sra.org.uk/sra/how-we-work/tr...
2. http://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems...
3. http://www.sra.org.uk/dpa