Complaints procedure

How to make a complaint to the British Hallmarking Council.

Introduction

The British Hallmarking Council (BHC) is a statutory body constituted under the Hallmarking Act 1973 (the Hallmarking Act). As a statutory body its powers are limited to those set out in the Hallmarking Act, and this procedure is set within that context.

Our standards for handling complaints

  • we treat all complaints seriously, whether they are received by letter or email
  • you will be treated with courtesy and fairness at all times – we would hope, too, that you will be courteous and fair in your dealings with our people at all times
  • we will deal with your complaint in a timely manner – we will acknowledge receipt of a written complaint within 10 working days and will endeavour to send you a full reply within a further 20 working days
  • if we cannot send a full reply within 30 working days of receipt of your complaint we will tell you the reason why and let you know when we hope to be able to reply in full or provide you with an update

How to complain

You can make a complaint by email or post:

British Hallmarking Council Secretary
c/o Shakespeare Martineau
60 Gracechurch Street
London
EC3V 0HR.

Your complaint must be received by the BHC Secretary within 3 months of the issue arising.

Your complaint should contain:

  • your contact details
  • details of the complaint
  • any supporting evidence

How we will deal with your complaint

The BHC Chair will review the complaint. If the complaint relates to the BHC Chair, the BHC Secretary will request the BHC Council to appoint another BHC Council member to review the complaint.

The BHC may request that you provide clarification of the complaint.

The BHC will ascertain whether the complaint falls within areas it can consider in line with its constitution under the Hallmarking Act 1973 and inform you accordingly.

What our complaints policy does not cover

Our complaints policy does not cover:

  • matters that have already been fully investigated through this complaints procedure
  • anonymous complaints
  • complaints about access to information where procedures and remedies are set out in legislation, for example the Freedom of Information Act or Data Protection Act
  • any issue that does not fall within areas the BHC can consider in line with its constitution under the Hallmarking Act 1973

If you remain dissatisfied

If having followed our complaints procedure you still remain dissatisfied, you can ask to have your complaint reviewed externally by someone not connected with the BHC.

You should contact your Member of Parliament and ask for your complaint to be referred to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can carry out independent investigations into complaints about public bodies, including the BHC.

Contact details for the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP

You can write to your MP at:

House of Commons
Westminster
London
SW1A 0AA

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