How to complain about our legal service

Complaints about our legal service  

If you are unhappy about any aspect of the legal service you have received, you should initially tell the person who is dealing with your case.  

If you are still unhappy once you have spoken to that person, you should set out your complaint in writing to: 

Gemma Abbott,
Legal Director,
The Howard League for Penal Reform,
1 Ardleigh Road
London
N1 4HS 

If your complaint is about Gemma Abbott, address your complaint to Andrea Coomber, Chief Executive of the Howard League.  We will write to acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 5 working days and will respond in writing to your complaint within 28 days. 

If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider your complaint. You can contact the Legal Ombudsman at:

PO Box 67806,
Wolverhampton,
WV1 9WJ
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Telephone: 0300 555 0333.  

From 1 April 2023, you must make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within one year of the issue that you are complaining about, or within one year of when you realised there was something to complain about. The Legal Ombudsman can decide to accept complaints after this if it thinks it is ‘fair and reasonable’ to do so. 

You must also make the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving our final response in relation to any complaint made.