Complaints
Complaints Process
What counts as a complaint, what counts as an appeal, and the time each one is answered in.
Complaints and Appeals
Complaints and appeals both sit within this policy's scope, and both are welcome.
- Complaint. Any expression of dissatisfaction concerning a service arranged through cmmcalibrationcolumbus.com, or concerning a certificate or report issued in connection with one.
- Appeal. A request to reconsider a decision already taken: a statement of conformity, the rejection of an item at review, or the outcome of an earlier complaint.
Both are handled the same way under this policy — as evidence about the process, not as a nuisance.
Last updated: October 9, 2026.
How to Raise One
The route for a complaint or an appeal is the contact page, which also lists the contact details for the receiving desk.
Five things speed up an answer: the quotation or certificate number, the item concerned, the date of the work, what was expected, and what occurred, plus the outcome sought.
None of that is mandatory, because complaints are accepted in any form, and a missing reference number is never a reason for delay.
Investigation
Receipt is acknowledged within three (3) business days.
The complaint is then recorded, validated, and investigated by a person who was not involved in the work being complained about, so that the review is impartial. Where the work was performed by an external laboratory, the matter is raised with that laboratory in parallel and its findings form part of the response.
Within twenty (20) business days of acknowledgement, a written response is issued setting out the findings, the decision, and any corrective action. Where an investigation needs longer than that, an interim response is issued explaining why and giving a revised date. Gathering and verifying the evidence, and deciding the outcome, are done by people with the competence to judge the technical question at issue.
Appeals and Escalation
Within thirty (30) days of the response, an appeal against a rejected outcome may be made. Someone who took no part in the original decision carries out the review, and reasons follow within twenty (20) business days.
An unresolved matter, where an accredited laboratory performed the work, can still be escalated to that laboratory's accreditation body.
Records and Fairness
Complaints, appeals, investigations and outcomes are all recorded here, and retained. The record undergoes periodic review for patterns pointing to a systemic cause, while corrective actions run to closure with effectiveness checked afterward.
Raising a complaint or an appeal brings no disadvantage to a customer, nor any change to how other work is handled. See the quality system page for the management arrangements behind this process.