Harwood Building Control Ltd (HBC) appreciates that although we make every effort to provide the best possible service, things can go wrong and mistakes can occasionally be made. In this unlikely event, we will act promptly with the people involved and make every effort to learn from the experience. Hence, improve the way we deliver our service.

HBC operates, maintains and makes available on request a complaints procedure in accordance with the requirements contained within the relevant Registered Building Control Approver performance guidance documents. HBC will always ensure that they act with honesty, integrity, competency and accountability in full accordance with requirements within the Health and Safety Executive, as the Building Safety Regulator, Professional conduct rules for Registered Building Control Approver (April 2024 version).

HBC operates a Quality Management System which meets the international standard BS EN ISO9001:2015. which has been independently certified to the standard by BSI.

HBC accepts that complaints made orally are no less important than those made in writing and its complaints procedure incorporates action to be taken in respect of oral complaints.

Complaints Procedure

Should you feel it necessary to complain about Harwood Building Control Ltd (HBC) in anyway, this guidance note sets out the procedure which will be followed when handling your complaint.

1. HBC has a dedicated Complaints Officer who will deal with your complaint. The contact details are as follows:

   Mark Goldsmith
   Technical and Compliance Associate Director
   Harwood Building Control Ltd
   3 Beer Cart Lane
   CANTERBURY
   CT1 2NJ
   Telephone: 01227 931777
   E-mail: enquiries@harwood.uk.com

2. If you initially make your complaint face-to-face or by telephone, you will be requested to also make it in writing, addressed to the Complaints Officer. Alternatively, the Complaints Officer will be more than happy to complete our confidential complaint record form on your behalf, summarising your complaint.
3. Once HBC have received your complaint, our Complaints Officer will contact you in writing within 14 working days. At this stage we will give you our understanding of your complaint and invite you to make any further comments you may have in relation to it, in order to resolve the complaint at the earliest opportunity.
4. Within 28 working days of receipt of your written complaint or the completion of our complaint record form, our Complaints Officer will write to you This will be to advise you of the outcome of our investigations into your complaint and inform you of what actions we have taken or will be taken.
5. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our handling of your complaint or the outcome of our investigation, inform our Complaints Officer in writing and he/she will instigate a separate Building Control Panel review of your complaint. This will consist of the Complaints Officer and at least two HBC professionally qualified Registered Building Control Inspectors, depending on the nature of the complaint.  The outcome of which will be forwarded to you within 21 working days to inform you of the conclusion(s) of the separate review.
6. During this process should no correspondence or communication response from the complainant be received, for a period of 21 working days, the complaint will be considered closed.
7. If you remain dissatisfied with the separate Building Control Panel review, then HBC will advise the complainant they will enter into a legally binding dispute resolution process i.e. Adjudication or Arbitration, depending on the nature of the complaint. Whereby, both parties will share the financial responsibility for this process and own legal costs, until such award of costs or financial readdress is instructed by the Adjudicator or Arbitrator.
8. HBC’s complaints system will allow for the:
   1. Provision for the monitoring the progress of the complaint.
   2. A record of the process for any subsequent independent audit which will be archived for not less than 5 years.
   3. A mechanism for reviewing complaints to improve and prevent re-occurrence.
9. Should a dispute arise which relates to technical interpretation of the Building Regulations, HBC will follow the determinations and appeals procedure as detailed in Guide to determinations and appeals under the Building Act 1984 – Sections 16(10) a, 39 and 50(2) of the Building Act 1984.