Complaints and appeals

The difference between them

A complaint

Dissatisfaction with our conduct, our auditors, our process, or with a certified client's conformity. Anyone can raise one, and you do not have to be our client. Tell us if you believe an organization is not operating the system we certified.

An appeal

A formal request to reconsider a certification decision we made about you: a refusal, a suspension, a withdrawal, a scope reduction, or a nonconformity you consider unfounded. Only the organization subject to the decision can appeal it.

Reporting a suspect certificate

If you have been shown a certificate naming Viscount that does not appear in our public register, treat it as a possible falsification and tell us. We investigate every such report. The register exists so that this check takes seconds.

What happens after you submit

1. 01

   Submit it in writing

   Email cert@viscount.ae with "Complaint" or "Appeal" in the subject line. Include the certificate number if there is one, the decision or conduct concerned, and what outcome you are seeking.

2. 02

   We acknowledge receipt

   You receive written acknowledgement confirming what we understand the complaint or appeal to be, and who is handling it. Tell us straight away if we have misunderstood it.

3. 03

   Review by someone not involved

   The review is conducted by personnel who were not involved in the audit or decision being challenged. Where the complaint concerns an auditor, that auditor takes no part in investigating it.

4. 04

   Decision and reasons

   You receive a written decision with the reasoning behind it, and confirmation of any corrective action taken. If the appeal is upheld, the certification decision is revised.

5. 05

   Escalation beyond us

   If you remain dissatisfied, you can take the matter to our accreditation body. That route exists precisely so a certification body is not the final judge of its own conduct, and we will tell you which accreditor applies to your certificate.