Complaints Handling Procedure
1. Introduction and scope
EPC Choice Limited is a firm regulated by RICS, a Gas Safe registered business (No. 980224) and a NAPIT Corporate Member (No. 83792). As an RICS regulated firm, we conduct our business in accordance with the RICS Rules of Conduct, which set the standards of integrity, competence and client care that we apply across all of our services. This Complaints Handling Procedure (CHP) follows the RICS requirements.
The technical standard of our energy assessments, gas work and electrical work is regulated by the specialist bodies that accredit and certify that work, rather than by RICS. Complaints about those technical matters are therefore referred at Stage Two to the relevant scheme or certification body, as set out below.
Our CHP has two stages. Stage One gives our firm the opportunity to review and consider your complaint in full, and we will try to resolve it to your satisfaction. If you are not happy with our response, Stage Two gives you the opportunity to have your complaint reviewed by an independent body. The body that applies depends on the service your complaint relates to:
| Service complained about | Stage Two body |
|---|---|
| Energy assessments (EPCs and related reports) | The assessor’s accreditation scheme: Elmhurst Energy, ECMK or Quidos (section 3) |
| Surveying services regulated by RICS | CEDR, the redress provider approved by RICS (section 4) |
| Gas work | Gas Safe Register (section 5.1) |
| Electrical work | NAPIT, or NICEIC where the attending contractor is NICEIC registered (sections 5.2 and 5.3) |
In every case, please complete Stage One with us first.
2. Stage One – our internal review
If you have spoken to us about your complaint, please put the details in writing. We ask this to make sure that we have a full understanding of the reasons for your complaint. Please send your written complaint to:
| Name of contact at firm | Christopher Grant MRICS |
| Firm name | EPC Choice Limited |
| Address | 43 East Street, Bromley, BR1 1QQ |
| Telephone | 0208 522 0001 |
| [email protected] | |
| Website | www.epcchoice.com |
We will consider your complaint as quickly as possible and will acknowledge receipt within 7 days. If we are not able to give you a full response, we will update you within 28 days. When we acknowledge your complaint, we will send you a copy of this procedure and confirm the name of the person handling it. Our final response will explain the Stage Two options available to you and how to use them.
Where your complaint concerns gas or electrical work, please also tell us the date of the visit, the name of the engineer who attended and the certificate or report number, and enclose any photographs. If you believe an installation is unsafe, tell us immediately by telephone so that we can arrange for it to be re-inspected.
Stage One applies to every service we provide. Whatever your complaint concerns, we will handle it in line with the RICS standards of client care and professional conduct that govern our firm.
3. Stage Two – energy assessments (accreditation schemes)
Every energy assessor is a member of a government-approved accreditation scheme. Our assessors are accredited by Elmhurst Energy, ECMK or Quidos. The scheme that applies to your complaint is the one named on your certificate under “Assessor’s accreditation scheme”, and we will confirm it in our Stage One response.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of Stage One, you may escalate your complaint to that scheme for independent review. Each scheme will review complaints from both consumer clients and business-to-business clients, and each will ask for the full property address, the assessor’s name and accreditation number, and the certificate reference number. The schemes consider the accuracy and quality of the assessment and the conduct of the assessor; they do not deal with fees or other financial disputes.
3.1 Elmhurst Energy
Elmhurst Energy Systems Ltd will review your complaint where your assessor is accredited by Elmhurst.
| Address | Unit 16, St Johns Business Park, Lutterworth, LE17 4HB |
| Telephone | 01455 883 250 |
| [email protected] | |
| Website | www.elmhurstenergy.co.uk |
Complaints must be referred to Elmhurst within 12 months of EPC Choice’s final written response and should state the full property address, assessor’s name and accreditation number.
3.2 ECMK
Where your assessor is accredited by ECMK, you may refer your complaint to the ECMK Scheme Manager. Making a complaint is free of charge and does not affect your statutory rights.
- Write, email or telephone the Scheme Manager using the details below. ECMK will acknowledge your complaint within two working days and give you a reference number.
- The Scheme Manager will investigate with all relevant parties and reply to you in writing.
- If you are not satisfied, write to ECMK’s General Manager, who will reply in writing within five working days.
- If you remain dissatisfied, you may ask for referral to ECMK’s Independent Appeals Panel of three senior built-environment professionals. The panel reports within fifteen working days, and any further action it recommends is completed and reported to you within five further working days.
| Addressed to | The Scheme Manager, ecmk Ltd |
| Address | Fore 2, 2 Huskisson Way, Shirley, Solihull, B90 4SS |
| Telephone | 0333 123 1418 |
| [email protected] | |
| Complaints information | www.ecmk.co.uk/information |
| Website | www.ecmk.co.uk |
3.3 Quidos
Where your assessor is accredited by Quidos and the certificate was lodged under Quidos accreditation, you may refer your complaint to Quidos. The process is free of charge and does not affect your statutory rights.
- Send your complaint in full by email to [email protected]. Quidos asks that the complaint is first raised with the assessor’s firm, which Stage One satisfies.
- Quidos will give an initial response within 3 working days and aims to investigate and resolve the complaint within 10 working days.
- Where the accuracy or quality of a certificate is questioned, Quidos will normally arrange for the property to be re-inspected, and a correct certificate will be lodged where the original is found to be wrong.
- If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you may ask Quidos in writing to refer the matter to its independent third-party appeals panel of three technically qualified members, whose decision is final.
| Complaints email | [email protected] |
| General email | [email protected] |
| Telephone | 01225 667570 |
| Address | Quidos, 9–10 Bath Street, Bath, BA1 1SN |
| Complaints page | quidos.co.uk/complaints |
| Full procedure | Complaints, Disciplinary & Appeals Procedure (PDF) |
4. Stage Two – surveying services regulated by RICS
This route applies to complaints about our surveying services that fall within the regulatory remit of RICS. Complaints about the technical standard of energy assessments, gas work or electrical work are best resolved by the specialist bodies in section 3 and section 5, which can inspect and correct the work. If you are a consumer and remain dissatisfied with our handling of your complaint, you may also refer it to the redress provider below, which will decide whether it falls within its scheme. If we are unable to agree on how to resolve such a complaint, you can take it to an independent redress provider approved by the RICS Regulatory Board. You may refer your complaint once you have received our final response, or once eight weeks have passed since you first made your complaint to us. The service is free of charge to consumers. We have chosen to use the following redress providers:
For Consumer Clients
Independent Adjudication Scheme for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
| Address | 100 St Paul’s Churchyard, London EC4M 8BU |
| Telephone | 020 7536 6116 |
| [email protected] | |
| Website | cedr-assist.com/consumer/rics/overview/ |
For Business-to-Business Clients
CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution)
| Address | 100 St Paul’s Churchyard, London EC4M 8BU |
| Telephone | 020 7536 6000 |
| [email protected] | |
| Website | www.cedr.com |
5. Stage Two – gas and electrical work
EPC Choice Limited is a Gas Safe registered business (No. 980224) and a NAPIT Corporate Member (No. 83792). If your complaint about gas or electrical work has not been resolved at Stage One, you may refer it to the relevant registration or certification body below.
These bodies consider whether work is safe and meets the applicable technical standards. They do not deal with fees, refunds, compensation or other contractual matters. Those are dealt with by us under Stage One, and consumers may also use the redress route in section 4.
If you smell gas or suspect a gas leak, call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 immediately. Do not wait for a complaint to be considered.
5.1 Gas Safe Register
Gas Safe Register is the official registration body for gas businesses and engineers. It can investigate concerns about the safety and standard of gas work carried out by a registered business.
- Raise your complaint with us under Stage One and give us the opportunity to put the matter right. Gas Safe Register asks you to contact the business first.
- If we do not respond, or the matter is not resolved, raise a concern using the online form at www.gassaferegister.co.uk or call 0800 408 5500.
- Gas Safe Register will contact you to arrange an investigation. With your consent, we will be invited to attend the inspection.
- You will receive a written report. If the work is below standard, Gas Safe Register will issue a defect notice to us with a timescale for correction.
| Telephone | 0800 408 5500 (Monday to Friday 8.00am–6.00pm, Saturday 8.30am–12.30pm) |
| Address | Gas Safe Register, PO Box 6804, Basingstoke, RG24 4NB |
| Website | www.gassaferegister.co.uk |
| Our registration number | 980224 |
Gas Safe Register does not deal with non-gas issues such as contractual or financial disputes.
5.2 NAPIT
NAPIT is the certification body for our electrical work. It reviews complaints impartially to establish whether work by a member complies with the relevant standards.
- Write to us under Stage One, setting out your concerns, your supporting evidence and the outcome you are seeking. NAPIT recommends allowing a minimum of 14 days for a response.
- If the matter is not resolved, submit the NAPIT complaints form at www.napit.org.uk/complaints.aspx. You will be asked for the quotation or contract, photographs, and the certificates, reports and invoices issued.
- NAPIT will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days.
- NAPIT will review the documents and arrange any technical review or inspection it considers necessary, and will require us to correct any non-compliance it finds.
| Telephone | 0345 543 0330 |
| [email protected] | |
| Address | NAPIT, 4th Floor, Mill 3, Pleasley Vale Business Park, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire NG19 8RL |
| Website | www.napit.org.uk |
| Our membership number | 83792 |
NAPIT does not investigate financial, contractual or compensation matters, and does not pay compensation or fund remedial work.
5.3 NICEIC
Some of the electrical contractors on our panel are certified by NICEIC. Where the contractor who carried out your work was NICEIC certified at the time, you may refer a complaint about the technical standard of that work to NICEIC. We will confirm the contractor’s certification body on request.
- Write to us under Stage One, allowing at least seven days for a response. NICEIC requires this before it will accept a complaint.
- If the matter is not resolved, complete the online complaint form at niceic.com – complain about an NICEIC-certified business. You must attach clear evidence of unsafe or non-compliant work, such as photographs, certificates and invoices.
- If the complaint is within its scope, NICEIC will contact the contractor on your behalf. The contractor must be given the opportunity to return and put the work right.
- NICEIC will act as intermediary in agreeing a date for remedial work and will arrange an inspector’s visit where it considers one necessary.
NICEIC can consider complaints up to six years after the work was completed. The installation must not have been altered or repaired by anyone else, except to make it safe.
NICEIC does not deal with refunds, compensation, contractual issues or how a business is run. For Electrical Installation Condition Reports, it can generally assist only where you dispute a specific code on the report or have paid for a report you have not received.
| Complaint form | niceic.com – complain about an NICEIC-certified business |
| Website | www.niceic.com |
| Registered address | NICEIC, Houghton Hall Park, Porz Avenue, Houghton Regis, Dunstable LU5 5ZX |
6. Records
We keep a written record of every complaint, the steps taken and the outcome, and we co-operate fully with any investigation by RICS, CEDR, Elmhurst, ECMK, Quidos, Gas Safe Register, NAPIT or NICEIC. We will never discourage anyone from approaching an alternative dispute resolution provider, RICS or any other regulatory body.
This procedure is reviewed annually by Christopher Grant MRICS and was last reviewed in October 2026.