Key Terminology in this webpage:
Complainant – the person or company that raises the complaint with ATTMA. A complainant may act on behalf of another individual or company.
Certification Complaint – an expression of dissatisfaction, other than appeal, by any organisation to ATTMA, relating to the activities of that body or an ATTMA
certified company, where a response is expected.
Operation Complaint – an expression of dissatisfaction made to ATTMA, related to its services, procedures, policies, support, technology, employees, or overall
operations, where a response is expected.
Appeal – a request by an applicant, candidate, or certified company for reconsideration of any decision made by ATTMA related to their desired certification status.
The following guidelines are to be followed when raising either a complaint (certification or operation) or an appeal:
1) By submitting a complaint or an appeal, the complainant is confirming that the information presented is accurate and factual.
2) Complainants who have presented false statements will see their complaint or appeal ended.
3) Any unsubstantiated elements – not supported with genuine evidence – of a complaint or an appeal (hearsay, rumours, unproven accusations, etc.) will not be considered in any complaint or appeal.
4) Complaints made anonymously will be investigated but anonymity may prevent any investigation from being conducted to the fullest extent possible.
5) During an investigation, the complaint may need to be disclosed to the individual being accused so that they have fair recourse to respond to it.
6) ATTMA will take appropriate measures to ensure that any documents resulting from the implementation of this policy shall be and remain confidential except as required by law, or as necessary to fully investigate a complaint and appeal.
All complaints relating to a ATTMA certified company, or the certification / assessment process are managed by the Scheme Manager, or a designated employee assigned by them. The designated ATTMA employee should not have been part of the certification / assessment process of which the complaint is being raised against.
In cases where the complainant is not satisfied with the review and decision made regarding the complaint, they may consider raising an appeal.
All appeals are managed by the ATTMA Chairman, or a designated employee assigned by them. The appeals process is described within section 5 of this document.
Where an applicant, candidate, or certified company disagrees with a decision made by ATTMA regarding their certification, or the assessment process, they must declare in writing the reasons for the disagreement to ATTMA and ask for a re-evaluation.
This request must be made within 30 days of the issuance of ATTMA’s initial decision. Re-evaluation requests received after 30 days will not be reviewed.
Requests for re-evaluation are not considered by ATTMA to be complaints.
Where applicants, candidates, or certified company still disagree with the findings of a re-evaluation decision from ATTMA, they should submit a formal certification complaint in writing to ATTMA.
This complaint must be made within 30 days from the issuance of the re-evaluated decision. Complaints relating to re-evaluations received after 30 days will not be reviewed.
Certification complaints / assessment complaints should include personal or business information (full name, address, contact details) of the complainant, and
the complainant’s personal opinion about the assessment / decision, the reasons for disagreement with the decision reached during the initial decision re-evaluation, as well as the outcome being sought. ATTMA will issue an acknowledgement of the complaint within 5 working days (where practicable).
As previously referenced, certification complaints will be managed by the Scheme Manager, or a designated ATTMA employee assigned by them. The designated employee should not have been part of the certification / assessment process of which the complaint is being raised against. The complaint manager should consider the complainant’s explanation and evidence and provide a written response.
The complaint manager should issue their response within 90 days (where practicable). This response timeframe takes into account the complexity of the case in situations where the case involves multiple parties and necessitates a more comprehensive investigation.
If the complainant agrees with the outcome at this stage, the complaint process does not need to proceed further.
If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome, then they may choose to file an appeal. This should be made within 30 days of the issuance of the ATTMA’s formal decision.
If required, ATTMA will take appropriate corrective actions which will be logged in accordance with ‘CAA001 – Corrective Actions Policy’.
All certification complaints, including actions taken will be tracked and recorded within ATTMA’s QMS.
Note: The submission, investigation, and the decision on certification complaints will not result in any discriminatory actions against the complainant.
Complaints should be reported to the Scheme Manager either by:
• Email: manager@attma.org.uk
• In writing to: The Scheme Manager, ATTMA, Unit 3 Tannery Road Industrial Estate, Loudwater, Buckinghamshire, HP13 7EQ
Complaints should include the following information:
• Complainant name.
• Address of complainant.
• Contact details (telephone and email).
• Availability for feedback (preferred time to discuss feedback / research the complaint further etc.).
• Nature of the complaint
If the complaint is concerning another scheme member company or registered tester, the following additional information is also required:
• The ATTMA membership number (if known) and/or name of the tester who carried out the works.
• The task and/or test number if available.
• The date the test was undertaken.
Where complainants disagree with ATTMA’s finding and decisions regarding the certification complaint, they then may proceed to the appeal stage, explaining the reasons for disagreement.
Appeals should be lodged made within 30 days of the issuance of the ATTMA’s formal decision.
The appeal should include the complainant’s personal opinion about the assessment, the reasons for disagreement with the decision reached during the
initial decision re-evaluation, as well as the outcome being sought. ATTMA will issue an acknowledgement of the complaint within 5 working days (where practicable).
All appeals are managed by the ATTMA Chairman, or a designated employee assigned by them. The designated ATTMA employee should not have been part of the initial complaint or investigation.
There will be an advance fee lodged before an Appeal with a value commensurate with the financial risk assessed with the particular Appeal. Should this Appeal be successful, the advance fee will be returned. This is typically the cost of the time of the independent as quoted.
The complainant may choose to object to the Independent, giving a clear reason as to why the objection has taken place.
Should the complainant and the Scheme not agree an Independent, ATTMA will pass the complaint to the Government of the country that the complainant is complaining about. For instance, if the complaint is regarding an ATTMA member company in Scotland about work carried out in Scotland, ATTMA will pass on
details of the initial complaint, and details of ATTMA’s attempts to resolve the issue to the Scottish Government.
5.1.8 The appeal manager should issue their response within 90 days (where practicable). This response timeframe takes into account the complexity of the case in situations where the case involves multiple parties and necessitates a more comprehensive investigation.
Note: The submission, investigation, and the decision on appeals will not result in any discriminatory actions against the complainant.
Appeals should be reported to the ATTMA Chairman either by:
• Email: chair@attma.org.uk
• In writing to: The Chairman of the Board of Directors, ATTMA, Unit 3 Tannery Road Industrial Estate, Loudwater, Buckinghamshire, HP13 7EQ
All complaints relating to ATTMA’s operations, or it process / procedures are managed by the Scheme Manager, or a designated employee assigned by them.
The designated ATTMA employee should not have been part of the operational process or procedure of which the complaint is being raised against.
In cases where the complainant is not satisfied with the review and decision made regarding the complaint, they may consider raising an appeal.
All appeals are managed by the ATTMA Chairman, or a designated employee assigned by them. The appeals process is described within section 5 of this document.
Operations complaints will be managed by the Scheme Manager, or a designated ATTMA employee assigned by them. The designated ATTMA employee should not have been part of the operational process or procedure of which the complaint is being raised against. The complaint manager should consider the complainant’s explanation and evidence and provide a written response.
The complaint should include the complainant’s personal opinion about the disagreement, including the reasons for, and outcome being sought. ATTMA will
issue an acknowledgement of the complaint within 5 working days (where practicable).
The complaint manager should issue their response within 90 days (where practicable). This response timeframe takes into account the complexity of the case in situations where the case involves multiple parties and necessitates a more comprehensive investigation.
If the complainant agrees with the outcome at this stage, the complaint process does not need to proceed further.
If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome, then they may choose to file an appeal. This should be made within 30 days of the issuance of the ATTMA’s formal decision.
If required, ATTMA will take appropriate corrective actions which will be logged in accordance with ‘CAA001 – Corrective Actions Policy’.
All operational complaints, including actions taken will be tracked and recorded within ATTMA’s QMS.
Note: The submission, investigation, and the decision on operational complaints will not result in any discriminatory actions against the complainant.
Complaints should be reported to the Scheme Manager either by:
• Email: manager@attma.org.uk
• In writing to: The Scheme Manager, ATTMA, Unit 3 Tannery Road Industrial Estate, Loudwater, Buckinghamshire, HP13 7EQ
Complaints should include the following information:
• Complainant name.
• Address of complainant.
• Contact details (telephone and email).
• Availability for feedback (preferred time to discuss feedback / research the complaint further etc.).
• Nature of the complaint
ATTMA will endeavour to keep the complainant or appellant up to date as far as is reasonably practicable throughout the course of any investigation and in cases with protracted periods of investigation will establish formal line of regular dialog. At the end of all investigator process, the certification body shall provide those
involved with formal notice of the decided out comes and options as appropriate.
A malicious complaint is one that has been made with the intention of causing harm.
Examples of this could be:
• Deliberately seeking to defame another person within the scheme, another company, or the scheme itself.
• Making a complaint based on rumour and/gossip with the intention of causing harm.
Complaints that have been raised, investigated, and found to be malicious in intent and founded will not be tolerated and will lead disciplinary actions in line with the Scheme’s code of conduct.
All complaints that directly relate to the provision of services under the TrustMark Scheme will be handled with the same diligence and process as other complaints. However, ATTMA shall also inform TrustMark of the outcome of any investigations and the actions taken. This ensures transparency and accountability in the provision of services under the TrustMark Scheme.
ATTMA will inform TrustMark of the outcome of the investigation and any actions taken. This includes providing TrustMark with a summary of the complaint, the investigation process, and the final decision.
As part of its contractual arrangement with TrustMark ATTMA shall:
• Provide the same level of co-operation with local consumer advisers, Ofgem, energy suppliers, government departments or any other intermediary acting
on behalf of a consumer when managing a dispute, as they would when dealing directly with the complainant. Provide suitable help and assistance when dealing with vulnerable people.
• Co-operate fully with TrustMark and its appointed agents on any dispute handling issues and provide related documents and statements upon request. Where it is deemed necessary by TrustMark to commission an independent site visit/survey, associated costs may be charged back to the Scheme Provider.
• Where TrustMark, or its appointed agents engage with a Scheme Provider, the Scheme Provider shall conclude the issue directly from the point of TrustMark engagement and in a period not exceeding 3 months, unless otherwise stipulated by TrustMark.
• Ensure robust arrangements are in place to support consumers if a Registered Business unreasonably refuses to co-operate with the Scheme’s disputes investigation or dispute resolution process – this can only occur if prior permission has been granted. For example, provide the consumer with a summary of findings and/or statements to support their claim or identify alternative tradesman to rectify and/or complete the work and provide the consumer with the remediation plan.
• A Scheme Provider may choose to suspend actions within the dispute resolution process if either party to the dispute takes legal action. If legal action results in a successful prosecution, the Scheme Provider will initiate immediate review of the Registered Business as described in 7.2.1 – Enforcement and Sanctions.
• For works outside of the Schemes’ remit and the TrustMark scope, disputes services must be provided to consumers when making a complaint against a Registered Business.
• Taking account of who has contracted the Registered Business, ensure that landlords of private rental properties /their tenants have access to the same disputes process as owners/occupiers.
Ref: PUA013 – Issue 1.4
