Make a complaint against us

If you have a complaint about any aspect of our service you can contact us in one of the following ways:

• By telephone: 0345 257 0018
• From our website:www.accscheme.com/contact-us
• By email: info@accscheme.com
• Or by letter to The Complaints Manager, Age Check Certification Scheme, Unit 321B, Broadstone Mill, Broadstone Road, Stockport, SK5 7DL.

We find that most issues can be resolved quickly and informally, but if not, or if you are not satisfied with the outcome, your complaint will enter our process to ensure that you are treated fairly and reasonably.

The Scheme regards:

1. A complaint against the service as being any expression of dissatisfaction by any person with the service provided by the Scheme Owner, a participating Conformity Assessment Body, or a registered Approved Test Laboratory or any staff, contractors or subcontractors involved in scheme activities, excluding any decision made by a Certification Decision Maker;
2. A complaint against a certified client or applicant as being any expression of dissatisfaction by any person about the conduct or behaviour of a Certification Client specifically related to the scope of their certification, their use of the certification mark, or conduct that has the potential to bring the Scheme into disrepute
3. A complaint about the Scheme – any expression of dissatisfaction by any person – including a participating Conformity Assessment Body, registered Approved Test Laboratory, Certification Applicant, Regulator, Stakeholder or member of the public – about the design, governance, rules, policies or conduct of the Scheme Owner in its capacity as a Scheme Owner;
4. A complaint concerning data protection includes the collection, use, storage, disclosure, retention or deletion of personal data, data subject rights handling, confidentiality or information security concerns, the conduct of personnel, auditors, contractors in relation to personal data and certification related processing activities involving personal data.
5. An appeal against a certification decision as being against any challenge by a Certification Applicant of Certification Client to a certification decision made by a Certification Decision Maker – including decisions to refuse, defer, suspend, withdraw or reduce the scope of certification. Information about appeals can be found on our Appeals Page.

NOTE: Decisions made or positions adopted by auditors or technical evaluators are not subject to appeal until after they have been reviewed and a decision is made by a Certification Decision Maker, but the behaviour or conduct of auditors or technical evaluators can give rise to a complaint against the service.

Complaints against the service

Complaints will be dealt with in accordance with the documented complaints process of the Scheme.

In many cases, a complaint is best resolved by the person responsible for the issue being complained about. If the complaint has been received by that person, they may be able to resolve it swiftly and should do so if possible and appropriate. However, if this is not possible, the complaint should then be reviewed and approved by person(s) not involved in the certification activities related to the complaint.

All complaints will be acknowledged in writing by the person handling the complaint within 10 working days, and will say who is dealing with the complaint and when complainant can expect a reply. A definitive reply should be provided within 20 working days. If this is not possible because, for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a progress report will be provided to the complainant with an indication of when a full reply will be given.

Where appropriate the person handling the complaint should describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.

If the complainant is of the view that the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved, they can appeal the outcome and request that the complaint is reviewed at Senior Officer level. The Senior Officer concerned should provide confirmation of the escalation of the complaint, who is dealing with it and when the Complainant can expect a reply, within 10 working days, and a formal response within a maximum of 20 working days.

The determination of a Senior Officer may be reviewed by an Independent Mediator if the complainant remains dissatisfied. The Scheme will facilitate this process and the Mediator will be appointed by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution. The Participating Conformity Assessment Body of Registered Approved Test Laboratory will pay 50% of the cost of an Independent Mediator. In its absolute discretion, the Conformity Assessment Body of Registered Approved Test Laboratory may at its discretion pay the other 50% of the cost of an Independent Mediator where it determines that:

1. The complaint is not frivolous or vexatious
2. The complainant is a private individual, and
3. The complaint raises an important point for consideration by an Independent Mediator

To make a complaint, just get in touch by any of the means on our Contact Us page.

Complaints against a Certification Client

All Certification Clients shall maintain their own publicly accessible complaints procedure for complaints relating to their certified product, process or service. Where a complaint is received by the ACCS (Scheme Owner) or a Participating Conformity Assessment Body that relates to a Certification Client’s conduct, the complainant may be directed to the Certification Client’s own complaints process in the first instance.

Where the Certification Client’s complaints process does not resolve the matter to the complainant’s satisfaction, or where the complaint relates to mark misuse, misleading claims about certification status, or conduct that may affect the integrity of the scheme, the Participating Conformity Assessment Body should investigate the complaint under its complaints procedure.

The Participating Conformity Assessment Body’s investigation can determine whether the complaint indicates a nonconformity with scheme requirements. 

A record of all complaints made against a Certification Client shall be maintained by the Participating Conformity Assessment Body and made available to ACCS (Scheme Owner) on request. Patterns of complaints against a Certification Client may be taken into account in surveillance planning.

 A Senior Officer of the Scheme may decide it is appropriate to seek external assistance with resolution. Irrespective of this, the complainant has the right to challenge the decision by referral to an independent mediator as set out above.

Complaints about the Scheme

A complaint about the scheme is a complaint about the Scheme Owner’s exercise of its functions as scheme owner – as distinct from a complaint about the service provided by a Participating Conformity Assessment Body or the conduct of a Certification Client. Because the Scheme Owner is potentially the subject of such a complaint, the handling of scheme complaints requires independent oversight that the standard complaints process cannot provide.

A scheme complaint should be submitted to the Scheme Owner in writing. On receipt, the Scheme Owner should:
a) acknowledge the complaint within 5 working days;
b) assess whether the complaint falls within the scope of scheme complaints under this section or whether it should be handled under another category;
c) appoint a person to handle the complaint who is independent of the matter complained about – where the complaint concerns the conduct of the Scheme Owner’s senior personnel, this person may be a member of the Scheme Owner’s Impartiality Panel;
d) provide an initial response within 20 working days, setting out the Scheme Owner’s position on the complaint and any action proposed.

Where a scheme complaint:
a) alleges a conflict of interest or impartiality failure at scheme level;
b) concerns the Scheme Owner’s conduct in the provisional Conformity Assessment Body review process;
c) is made by a Participating Conformity Assessment Body, registered Approved Test Laboratory or regulatory authority;
d) raises a matter that the Scheme Owner’s initial assessment identifies as having potential significance for scheme integrity

the complaint should be referred to the Scheme Owner’s Impartiality Panel for independent review.

The Scheme Owner shall respond to the complainant within 10 working days of receiving the Impartiality Panel’s findings, setting out what action the Scheme Owner proposes to take in response and the reasons for any departure from the Panel’s recommendations.

Where a scheme complaint relates to ACCS 2 or ACCS 3 and raises concerns about the scheme’s compliance with the ICO’s certification framework requirements, the Scheme Owner shall notify the ICO of the complaint and its outcome in accordance with the ICO’s approved scheme requirements.

Data Protection Complaints

Complaints may be raised verbally or in writing through any of our publicised channels.

To enable us to conduct an efficient investigation, please provide the following information: name and contact details, a description of the issue; relevant dates; copies of any supporting documents or correspondence and details of the outcome sought.

Should we need to verify your identity we will request proof of ID at the earliest opportunity. If you are making a complaint on behalf of another, we will verify you are authorised to act on the other person’s behalf through suitable evidence (power of attorney or signed letter of authority).

We will acknowledge receipt of the complaint within 30 days (the 30 days start the day after we receive your complaint). The acknowledgment will confirm that your complaint has been received; provide you with a reference number; explain the next steps in the process and identify the contact responsible for managing the complaint.

Where a complaint falls outside of the scope of the process, we will inform you and where appropriate direct you to the relevant process or authority.

The investigation will take place without undue delay and may include reviewing relevant records and correspondence; interviewing relevant personnel; assessing applicable legal contractual, accreditation and certification requirements; identifying any failures in controls, procedures or compliance obligations.

Throughout the investigation we will keep you informed of progress, request additional information only where necessary and proportionate and take appropriate corrective or remedial action where required.

We will provide you with a written response without undue delay. Where additional time is required due to complexity, we will inform you of the reasons for the delay and provide you with an anticipated response timeframe.

Our response will include a summary of the complaint; the outcome of the investigation; any corrective actions taken or proposed and information regarding escalation rights.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the complaint, you may request an internal review by senior management not previously involved in the matter.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commission: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-protection-complaints/

We encourage you to allow us the opportunity to resolve concerns before referring the matter to the Information Commission.

 To make a complaint, just get in touch by any means on our Contact Us page.