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info@agacertifications.com
Mon - Sat: 8.30am to 5.30pm
Procedure
Appeals and Disputes
- All appeals/disputes are taken seriously and given a high priority for action. Formal proceedings will be initiated if:
- The Office first hearing of the Appeal/Dispute shall advise the customer in writing, of the contents of this procedure and also draw their attention to the Certification Regulations (A copy of both should be supplied to the customer). The letter must state that the actions shown will be followed.
- Copies of all correspondence will be held on Management Review meeting and ensure the complaints are closed.
- When the Appeal/Dispute reaches t h e Office, the Manager must convene an Appeals Complaints Committee, which will consist of not less than 3 ACC members and must exclude AGA officers. The committee members must not have any involvement with the appellant and any interest must be declared. Any member with an interest cannot sit on the committee
- The committee must meet within 30 days of receipt of the appeal by AGA. The date and location of the meeting will be sent to the appellant in writing, at least 7 days before the meeting. The appeals committee shall hear the appellant and the Manager separately. Minutes of the meeting shall be made with a copy held in the appeals file. Appellant should be informed about ongoing progress for the same.
- The decision of the Appeals Complaints Committee shall be final and shall be recorded in writing, with copies to the appellant and the Manager. The result of an Appeal may result in Corrective or Preventive Actions being taken, these are to be recorded in accordance with Non Compliance, Corrective and Preventive Actions.
> The appeal/dispute is made in writing.
> AGA receives the appeal/disputes within 21 days of a decision being given to the customer by an auditor, member of management or the Appeal and Complaints Committee (ACC).
> The customer is an applicant or registered organization.
Complaints
- Complaints may concern a certified customer of AGA or they may be about AGA and its representatives. A Complaint may be from a customer or a third party e.g. from a customer of the registered customer, their competitor or other source. All Complaints will be treated seriously irrespective of the nature of the Complaint. They include any matter that is not the subject of an Appeal e.g.
- When an AGA receives a Complaint, by whatever means (phone, e mail etc.) it must be logged and handled in accordance with Procedure Non Conformities, Corrective and Preventive Action. If the customer complains to an auditor/evaluator directly, e.g. while he/she is on site, the auditor/evaluator must notify the nature of the Complaint as soon as possible. An NC report must be raised and handled in accordance with Procedure Non Conformities, Corrective and Preventive Action. All Complaints must be recorded even if, after investigation, they prove to be unfounded.
- The office handling the Complaint will appoint an Investigating Officer who is independent of all parties involved in the Complaint. When AGA is the subject of the Complaint the Investigating Officer will be found from a department or office not directly involved with the problem ( eg. The Member of ACC ). After investigating the cause of the Complaint and taking any necessary corrective action the Investigating Officer must write to the person who made the Complaint advising them of the action taken and closing the matter. All Complaint letters being filed in the respective client files.
- The result of a Complaint may result in Corrective or Preventive Actions being taken, these are to be recorded in accordance with Non Compliance, Corrective and Preventive Actions.
- Complaints about organizations certified by AGA are to be passed to the customer for them to resolve in the first instance. The individual receiving the complaint will consider the Management System of the subject of the Complaint and in particular the effectiveness of its complaints handling processes. The complaint will be examined in detail at the next scheduled audit to ensure that it has been handled correctly. If it has not, Non- conformity is to be raised on the customer.
- All Complaints and actions taken will be discussed at the next Regulatory Affairs and RAC meeting. Any trends identified after analysis of Complaints will be discussed at RAC Meetings.
- When a complaint is received it must be forwarded to the Manager for logging into client file and setting appropriate tasks.
• Fee structure.
• Lateness in response to customer queries.
• Poor attitude by AGA staff towards customers.
• Dissatisfaction with a certified customer of AGA
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