Complaints Procedure

< Back to Legal

The purpose of an effective complaints procedure is to ensure all complaints are resolved quickly, efficiently and amicably. The credibility of IMS Certification is paramount and it should be perceived as a benchmark of quality. It is IMS Certification’s policy to view each complaint as an opportunity to improve our services so that similar instances do not occur again.

The information gained from complaints will be used to inform and improve practice within the company in reviewing its strategy, operations, procedures and its Licensed Centres / Consultants.

Scope
The complaints procedure is applied to all IMS Certification working practices and extends to all its Licensed Centres and Consultants.

Responsibility
The IMS Certification ‘Quality Manager’ has the ultimate responsibility for this procedure.

What is a complaint?
It may sometimes be difficult to differentiate between a complaint and a general enquiry. Therefore, for practical reasons, the Quality Manager will decide whether or not a request constitutes a complaint for the purposes of this procedure.

How are complaints received?
In keeping with common practice, complaints must be submitted using the ‘Enquiry Form’ on the IMS Certification website. Complainants must provide their ‘name’ and ‘address’ and contact ‘telephone’ or ‘email’ addresses for reply purposes as well as the ‘nature of the complaint’. In dealing with bona-fide complaints, IMS Certification will, given the highly sensitive nature of some allegations against organisations or individuals, ensure confidentiality wherever possible.

Initial Formal Response
It is company policy that all complaints are treated seriously. IMS Certification will treat all complainants with courtesy and sympathy, using them to improve IMS Certification services.

Once a complaint has been received, the Quality Manager will ensure that the complainant receives a formal response as the first part of the process of investigating the complaint.

Complaint Investigation Process
Each complaint will be investigated by the Quality Manager relating to:

IMS Certification Products or Services
IMS Certification Staff or Departments
IMS Certification Licensed Centres including Licensed Auditors
IMS Certification Licensed Consultants
IMS Certification Partners

The Quality Manager will investigate each complaint and provide a written response of the investigation to the complainant.

Reporting of complaints
All complaints and outcomes of the complaints investigation will be reported to the IMS Certification Board on a monthly basis.

Storing information relating to the complaint
Documentation relating to individual complaints will be stored for a period of 12 months after the complaints investigation has been concluded.

Costs relating to investigating complaints
Costs relating to complaint investigations will be met by IMS Certification and where appropriate IMS Certification Licensed Centres or IMS Certification Licensed Consultants.