Appeals and Complaints
All written or verbal complaints addressed to CERTOP shall be investigated within 60 days following the receipt of the complaint. Following the announcement of complaints, the director of certification shall examine the application if it actually related to the certification activity for which CERTOP is responsible.
If so, the director of certification shall notify within the shortest possible time the complainant in writing that the investigation process is started and within deadline the complainant has to be informed in writing about the result of the investigation. If the complaint is not related to certification activity, the director of certification shall inform the complainant in writing of this fact as soon as possible.
The investigation process shall take place in the management system operated by CERTOP, where all information and documents are subject to confidentiality. Information about the process and result of the investigation can be forwarded only to affected parties, just as the complainant. An exception in the following cases:
- Public proceedings, litigation and non-litigation, or
- Accreditation Bodies’ request for providing information.
When any valid complaint is against a certified client of CERTOP, all the results of previous audit reports shall be reviewed by the director of certification what output the individual reviews had.
Upon receipt and filed of complaints the quality manager records a nonconformity with a unique serial number which ensures the traceability, so on the related corrective actions, at the same time, the quality manager gives a feedback in writing to the complainant that the investigation began. All documents, records, correspondence – e-mail – related to the investigation process shall be marked by the unique serial number of the nonconformity. If during the investigation CERTOP shall take any corrective actions, the quality manager shall arrange for the proper documentation and the effectiveness of all of the taken actions.
Following arrival of the complaint the director of certification is responsible to gather sufficient information and documents as soon as possible, to determine the sufficient degree of objectivity and reasonableness. Investigation and decision-making are carried out by personnel delegated by the director of certification who are independent of the matter of complaint. At the end of the investigation all affected parties , included the complainant shall be informed by the director of certification in a writing report.
After disclosure, the director of certification can initiate a written agreement, if resolution, result of complaints should be publicized, if so, in what form and content. The decision on publicizing the result of the inspection shall be made by in accordance with the complainant and the client. If they decide on publicizing, it shall be made within 30 days of closing the complaint.