Our Approach - Harrison Morgan Solicitors

Our Approach

Harrison Morgan Solicitors is committed to providing a high standard of service. Our responsibility to you included the following:

Advising you on the law following your instruction, reviewing your matter regularly, and discussing with you whether the potential outcome justifies the expense and risk involved in your matter.

We will update you by telephone or in writing with the progress on your matter at least every six week and will communicate with you in plain language

How long will my application take?

We cannot guarantee how long the Home office will take to process application. Please read the current Home Office processing times. We would submit your application within 3 weeks of accepting your instruction and receiving payment. We will let you know at the earliest opportunity if it is likely to take longer than this

Who will work on my case?

All immigration casework is carried out by our solicitor and supervised by Mr Sam Ewo who is the principal of this firm and a qualified solicitor of over 10 years’ experience in dealing with all aspects of the UK immigration and Human Rights Law in the United Kingdom. We strive to provide excellent services to all our clients and would utilise our contacts with carefully elected Barrister’s chambers to deal with emergency situations.

Typical stages of an application

Every application is different, and every situation is unique. This makes it difficult to provide an accurate overview of an application process. Guideline below would help our client and potential client know what to expect. Not all case will follow the format, because shorter deadline or special circumstances may extend or shorten these stages.

Contacting our office to arrange a meeting

You can call our office to book an appointment with us about your immigration matter. We would arrange an appointment with you to discuss your case.

You are not under obligation to instruct us to proceed with your case if you do not wish to do so.

Initial consultation

If you wish, we can arrange a consultation first. This meeting is for a fee and fees are in the guide. Your first consultation provides comprehensive oral advice about your case and offers suggestions on how to proceed.

You are not obligated to use our services, if you do not wish to.

Client care letter

If you decide to instruct us, we will provide you with a client care letter which explains the terms of our business and conditions of your contract with us.

We will include what we have agreed to do for you, who will work on your case, the likely costs involved as well as details about what other cost you may incur. We will ask you to sign and return to us the agreement slips and consent forms. If someone else is paying your fees, we shall ask you to provide their details and proof of their identity also.

Timing

We will advise you of the likely time scale of your application. The Home office publishes guideline about how long they will take to process various types of application, but these are only guideline. Based on our experience, we will advise you on how long the Home Office usually takes to make decision on the kind of application you instructed us to make for you. We will also advise you on how long it is likely to take us to prepare your application and any other factors that will help speed up or delay the process.

Information we require from you

At the outset of your application, we will ask you to provide us with proof of your identification such as passport, driving licence and utility bill as proof of address. Depending on your circumstances, we may require further information from you.

When our fees are payable

Our fixed fee, will be payable at the start of your matter. We can discuss this with you and make an arrangement to suit your circumstances.

Other fees

The Home Office fee and Immigration Health Surcharge and Tribunal fee is payable at the time of your application or appeal is lodged. We will advise you when other fees are payable such as medical report, DNA, translation and tribunal and barrister’s fee.

Unpaid fees and cost

If you do not pay all of our fee and cost associated with your application, we may refuse to submit your application. If we submit your application and there are fees and cost outstanding at the conclusion of your matter, we are entitled to hold your documents until our fees are paid in full.

Advice on your case

Depending on your instructions and the time frame, we will provide you with a letter setting out our advice and recommendation.

If we require further information and documents from you.

We will ask you to provide us the information we require to start the work you instructed us to do. How soon you are able to provide us with the information and accuracy of the document will help speed up the process and how long it will take us to submit the application.

Draft application form

Where we can, we will complete the application form for you and ask for your comment on the information on the form. It is your responsibility to correct the errors, or omission on it.

Final application form

We will prepare a final application form and ask you to confirm that this correct before we submit this on your behalf. Again, we stress that important of ensuring that this information is absolutely accurate.

Covering letter

Depending on your application, we will prepare a covering letter to submit with the documents for you. We will provide you a draft for you to check and before submitting.

Creating bundle

We will create a bundle of documents f to submit for you. It some cases, there may be original or photocopies or certified copies. We will advise accordantly.

Biometric

In some circumstances, you may be asked to submit your biometric, this means that you have to attend appropriate centres to provide your finger prints. Your signature and a digital photograph will be taken.

Home office interview

Some application requires that you have an interview with the Home Office. Your application can be submitted in person for urgent cases. Depending on the type of application there is various method of submission. They take different length of time and different cost such as postal, on line, priority and premium service. Depending on your particular application and circumstances, we will advise you on which is available and cost. We will discuss this with you before selecting the option for you.

Outcome

The Home office will usually advise us directly of the outcome of your application and where applicable will send your passport, biometric card and documents to us. We will advise you as soon as we receive them and arrange how to send them to you.

Additional evidence based on the information provided

The immigration rules and policies are constantly changing and as we prepare your matter, if becomes apparent that we require additional information or documents from you before submission. The speed and accuracy with which you provide the information or documents will impact of how quickly we completer and submit your application.

Your obligation

Depending on the application and the status have been given granted, you may be obliged to take further steps such as registry with police or collecting your biometric card from the post office. We will advise you accordingly including the consequence of not meeting the obligations.

Further steps

We will advise of the expiry and renewal dates which are applicable to you and step you will need to take meet these dates. We will advise you of the consequences of not meeting these dates.

Data Protection

We use the information you provide primarily for provision of legal services to you and for related purposes including. Updating and enhancing client records, analysis to help us managing our practice, statutory return and legal and regulatory compliance.

Our use of that information is subject to your instructions, the UKGDPR, other relevant UK and EU legislation and our professional duties includes our duty of confidentiality. Please note that our work for you requires us to give information to third parties such as expert witness and other professional adviser. You have a right of access under data protection legislation to the personal data that we hold about you.

We may from time to time use the t information we think might be of interest to you. If you do not wish to receive that information, please notify our office in writing.

Complaints Information

Harrison Morgan Solicitor are committed to providing high quality legal services to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it so that we can resolve the problem and continue to improve our services.

If you have a complaint, please contact Mr Sam Ewo by email at

Info@harrisonmorgans.co.uk or by post 7 Mare Street, Hackney London E8 4RP.

What will happen next?

1. Within seven days of receiving your complaint we will send you a letter or email acknowledging receipt. We will provide details of who will be dealing with your complaint, and when you can expect to receive a response. If necessary at this stage to ask you for more information or invite you to meet with us to discuss your complaint

2. We will record your complaint in our central register and will investigate your complaint reviewing the relevant file and the issue you raise.

3. We will then provide you with a detailed written response to your complaint; this may include our suggestions for resolving the matter. We will aim to do this within fourteen days of acknowledging your complaint. If your complaint is very detailed or your matter is complex, it may take us longer to complete a review and to respond to you, but we will keep you informed if this is It may be necessary to ask you to meet with us in order to discuss your complaint before we are able to respond fully.

4. Within seven days of meeting you, we will write to you to confirm the outcome of the meeting and any suggestion we have agreed with you.

5. At this stage if you are still not satisfied, please let us know. We will then arrange to review our decision. We would generally aim to do this within fourteen days.

6. We will write to you confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons. We will do this within eight weeks of receiving your complaint. Unless there are exceptional reasons why we cannot do so, we will keep you informed this.

7. If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman (contact details below) to consider the complaint. Normally you will need to bring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint. The legal Ombudsman will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

8. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve the complaint with us first. If you have then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman,

*Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint and
*No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or
*No more than three years from when you have reasonably have known there was cause for complaint

Contact details

Visit: WWW.Legalombudsman.org.uk

Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9:00 to 17.00

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Legal Ombudsman

P.O. Box 6806 Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ

Complaining to the Solicitors Regulation Authority

Some types of complaints about solicitors conduct such as dishonesty, taking or losing your money, treating you unfairly because your age, disability or characteristic, you may contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). This is the regulatory body which authorises and regulates UK law firms.

Complaining to the Legal Ombudsman or the SRA about us.

You must always complain to us first and in most case you will not be able to take your complaint any further if you have not done so. Please use the process set out above to complain to us about the service you receive from us. We will always try to resolve your complaint as quickly and satisfactorily as we can.

More information about how to complain to the Legal Ombudsman or SRA can be found on the SRA website. You can also contact them on:

Solicitors Regulation Authority The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street Birmingham
B1 1RN
Email:report@sra.org.uk Website: www.sra.org.uk
Tel: 0370 606 2555