1. Scope of this policy

This policy covers the website found at the following URL:

https://wwwvmsolicitors.co.uk

The website referred to is provided by Vincent McCarthy Solicitors. Third-party developers – I am Emily– are employed by Vincent McCarthy Solicitors to develop and host the website. Appropriate agreements are in place to ensure optimum quality control measures.

The materials contained on the above website are deemed to be for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal or professional advice. Vincent McCarthy Solicitors do not accept any responsibility for any loss which may arise from accessing or relying upon the information contained in this website.

2. Organisation details

Registered address: Suite 5, Royce House, 630-634 London Road Westcliff on-Sea, Essex SS0 9HW.

Vincent McCarthy Solicitors are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with SRA number 567332.

For more information about the SRA and their regulatory role in England and Wales please visit www.sra.org.uk

3. Responsibilities

The Compliance officer for legal practice (COLP) is Vincent McCarthy and he has overall responsibility for managing the website.

The responsibilities include:

• ensuring content is up to date
• approving and monitoring content
• ensuring the website complies with legal and regulatory requirements
• overseeing linking arrangements
• ensuring posting of a privacy notice explaining how any data collected from visitors will be managed by the practice.

The COLP offers regular guidance to  I am Emily with regard to appropriate content creation. All content must pass his approval to ensure that all content placed on the website is permitted and appropriate. Only once content has passed this approval is it put live

The COLP will review this policy annually, or when new legislation is applicable.

4. Security

Vincent McCarthy Solicitors takes the protection of confidential data very seriously. So much so that the website does not store any user or client information whatsoever. The website is hosted on a secure server.

All access to the website and its server is handled by I am Emily who will only make changes.

5. Cookies Policy

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. They are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site.

These are the cookies we use, and why:

Google analytics Tracking Cookies – Minimally-intrusive cookies, do not share personal information. Classified as a first-party anonymous cookie used only for analytical purposes.

• _ga is used to distinguish users and has an expiration of 2 years.
• _gid is used to distinguish users and has an expiration of 24 hours.
• _gat is used to throttle requests and has an expiration of 10 minutes.

More information on Google Analytics can be found here:

https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245

By using our website, you agree that we can place these types of cookies on your device.

Our Complaints Policy

We are committed to providing a high quality legal service to all our clients.    When something goes wrong we need you to tell us about it.   This will help us improve our standards.

Our complaints procedure

If you have a complaint, you are entitled to complain, so please contact us with as much information as you can provide.   The best way is to write, with details of your complaint, to our office, for the attention of Vincent McCarthy or email: Vincent@vmsolicitors.co.uk.

What will happen next?

1. Mr McCarthy will send you a letter, or email you, acknowledging your complaint. He may ask you to further confirm or explain the details of your complaint. You can expect to receive this letter within 7 days of us receiving your complaint.

2. We will record your complaint in our central register and open a file for your complaint. We will do this within 7 days of receiving your complaint.

3. Before the 7 days expire, we will start to investigate your complaint.

The above process can take up to 21 days, though we will try and complete this initial investigation much faster.

4. If Mr McCarthy feels he has sufficient information to offer a resolution to the complaint, he will then write to you with our proposals. If more information is required, you will be contacted before you receive this letter of proposed resolution. This stage can take up to 14 days.

5. If you are not satisfied with our proposals, you should inform us of your thoughts and request that Mr McCarthy looks again at your complaint. Alternatively, and if convenient, you may request a face to face meeting at our offices. Within 7 days of such a meeting Mr McCarthy will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions he has agreed with you.

6. At this stage if you are still not satisfied, you can take your complaint further by writing to the Legal Ombudsman at:-

The Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ or e-mail: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk or telephone 0300 555 0333.

Normally, you must notify the Legal Ombudsman of your complaint within 6 months of our final written response to you.   Your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must be notified to them within 6 years of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring (or if outside of this period, within 3 years of the date you should reasonably have been aware of it).

If we have to change any of the timescales above, for reasons such as holidays or illness, we will let you know and explain why.

Should you have any questions about this policy, please contact Vincent McCarthy.

Tel:  01702 804106

Email:  vincent@vmsolicitors.co.uk