Complaints Procedure

I am Aaron Johnson, the solicitor who does the work at Safe Harbour Legal. If I have not met your expectations, I want to know. I take every complaint seriously and deal with it promptly and fairly. Making a complaint costs you nothing and does not affect how I handle your matter.

Safe Harbour Legal is a trading name of Legal Studio Solicitors, itself a trading name of MDLS Solicitors Limited, the firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. I handle your complaint first. If you are not satisfied with my answer, the firm reviews it. Both steps share one eight-week clock, which starts on the day you first complain.

Raise your complaint with me first. I did the work, so I am the person best placed to look into it and to put it right. You can call, email or write:

Please tell me as much as you can, including:

• What happened, or did not happen
• When it occurred
• Who was involved
• What outcome you are looking for

1. Acknowledgement

I acknowledge your complaint within five working days and send you a copy of this procedure.

2. Investigation

I look at your file and at what happened. If I need to speak to anyone else at MDLS Solicitors Limited, I do.

3. My response

I give you a full written response as soon as I can, and in any case within the eight weeks described below. If I need more time, I tell you why and when to expect my answer.

4. The eight-week clock

The eight weeks run from the day you first make your complaint, and they cover Step 1 and Step 2 together. If your complaint is still unresolved eight weeks after you first raised it, whatever stage it has reached, you may take it to the Legal Ombudsman (Step 3).

If you are not satisfied with my response, or you would rather not raise the matter with me directly, you can ask the firm, MDLS Solicitors Limited, to review your complaint. Ian McCann, Solicitor and CEO, reviews complaints for the firm:

The firm completes its review within the same eight weeks that started on the day you first complained. The review does not start a new eight-week period. Asking for a review does not affect how your matter is handled, and there is no charge for it.

If Steps 1 and 2 have not resolved your complaint, or if eight weeks have passed since you first complained, you may refer it to the Legal Ombudsman.

The Legal Ombudsman is the independent body that investigates complaints about the service given by solicitors in England and Wales. It can help resolve disputes between clients and solicitors, and its service is free.

You must refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving the final written response, and within one year of the act or omission you are complaining about, or within one year of when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints about poor service. If your concern is about my professional conduct or behaviour (for example dishonesty, a serious breach of the SRA Standards and Regulations, or a failure to act with integrity), you can report it directly to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The SRA can investigate professional misconduct but cannot award compensation or deal with complaints about poor service: those go to the Legal Ombudsman.

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is where an independent body considers a dispute and tries to resolve it without going to court. For complaints about legal services in England and Wales, the Legal Ombudsman is the approved ADR body, and Step 3 above is how you reach it.

The firm is not obliged to use any other ADR provider, and does not currently do so. If a complaint cannot be settled through Steps 1 and 2, the Legal Ombudsman is the route.

Raise any concern with me as soon as you can, so that I can deal with it promptly. I consider complaints made at any time, but the bodies you can go to afterwards have their own limits:

• Legal Ombudsman: within six months of the final written response, and within one year of the act or omission, or within one year of when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint
• SRA: no fixed time limit for reporting professional misconduct, though earlier reporting is encouraged

There is no charge for making a complaint, for my investigation of it, or for the firm's review. The Legal Ombudsman's service is also free to use.

In the 12 months to 16 September 2026 I received no complaints, so none were upheld and none went to the Legal Ombudsman.

Nothing needed to change as a result. I update this record once a year.