COMPLAINTS POLICY

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Any Complaint about the Company or its personnel is taken very seriously. It is the Company’s policy that all complaints will be fully investigated as a matter of priority.

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Complaints should be addressed to us in the first instance and cannot be made about the validity of issuing a parking Charge Notice (CN). If anyone wishes to question or appeal the issue of a CN, they must follow the appeals process as described on the back of the CN or any of the Notices that have been sent in connection with the CN.

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Instructions on how to make a complaint can be found in the following places:

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1. On the reverse of the parking Charge Notice (CN)

2. On the second page of Notices sent in connection with a CN

3. Our website

4. Over the phone by calling 0344 80 999 40​

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Complaints can only be made in writing by post or email.

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Making a Complaint

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When dealing with a complaint we must be satisfied that it has been made by a genuine person and that that person is making the complaint. Therefore, complaints must be made in writing either by post to The Complaints Department, Ace Security Services, PO Box 365, Tadworth, KT20 9EN or by email to Appeals@acesecurities.co.uk with the reference being “Complaint”. We may, at our discretion, accept a verbal complaint if there is a compelling reason to do so or if the law requires us to do so.

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When making a complaint the following information must be provided:

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• Your full name & address

• Exactly what the complaint is about

• Detailed Explanation of what happened including any evidence

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Unless you specifically request an alternative method, responses will follow the way in which the complaint was made. If you make the complaint by email, we will respond to the email address provided and if by post we will reply to the address given.

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Where a complaint also includes information that purports to be an appeal against the issue of a CN, the appeals process will be enacted and the complainant informed that the complaint is being treated as an appeal and the appeals process is being followed. If after further investigation it is clear the complaint is not relevant to an appeal or the complainant states they do not wish it to be handled as an appeal, the matter will revert to being dealt with as a complaint.

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What we will do

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On receipt of a complaint, we will immediately acknowledge receipt of that complaint and aim to send a full response within 14 working days unless further information is required from the Complainant or it is a complex matter, in which case we will inform the complainant of the delay, the reasons for the delay and a revised timeframe.

 

The complaint will be investigated by a trained and experienced member of the management team who will:

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• Review the complaint. If further information or evidence is required from the Complainant so their complaint can be fully investigated, the Complaint will be informed and given a reasonable time to supply it

• Gather all the evidence available in connection with the complaint to compare against the evidence submitted by the complaint

• This will include speaking to staff members and reviewing the issue of the CN where applicable

• A check will also be made against the International Parking Community (IPC) Code of Practice to see if there has been any breach of the Code​

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Details of the complaint will be recorded with a unique reference number in our internal Complaints Register. All information recorded in our Register will be retained for a minimum of 3 years pursuant to the regulatory requirements of the IPC  Code of Practice and will be processed in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and our Privacy Statement.

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If the investigation identifies any issue that constitutes a breach of the IPC Code of Practice, this will be reported to the IPC. A serious breach will be reported within 1 working day of being identified and less serious breaches within 3 working days of being identified.

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At the completion of the investigation the Complainant will be informed of the results of the investigation. If the complaint is upheld the Complainant will be informed of what remedial action we intend to take to prevent a future occurrence, which may include further staff training, disciplinary action, changing our processes or suspending enforcement on a site.

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If the complaint is not upheld or the Complainant is not satisfied with our response, they may refer their complaint to the IPC. Details of how to do this can be found at www.theipc.info.

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If the complaint has been made by a Member of Parliament (MP) it will be investigated in the normal way but when being informed of the outcome of the complaint, the MP will be referred to the MP portal on the IPC website.

 

Michael Charman

Director                                                                                                                                    December 2024

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