Consumer Focus
From 1st March 2018 CIGA implemented the next stage of its consumer focused improvements by introducing a new role of CONSUMER FOCUS. This arrangement will replace CIGA’s Consumer Champion taking up individual complaints with CIGA . The Consumer Focus role is headed up by Mr Brian Yates. Brian is a board member of Which Magazine with an extensive history in Customer Services and is currently the Chair of the CIGA Customer Services Committee and is a non-executive director on CIGA’s council.
The committee currently meets on a quarterly basis to review CIGA’s performance against its published standards and also ensure that the customer remains at the heart of the business.
In between these regular meetings individual consumer problems can be addressed by the committee if they are taking too long to resolve. It continues to be the responsibility of installers and CIGA to deal with any complaints effectively and the Guarantee also provides a route to alternative dispute resolution – arbitration – in the event of any dispute. The committee would normally only get involved with those complaints where CIGA has had a reasonable opportunity to resolve the matter and it remains unresolved. The committee will not however be able to comment or adjudicate on a technical issue or a technical assessment reached by the installer or CIGA, arbitration will be more appropriate for this.
Independent Arbitration is available under a dedicated scheme operated by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) who are an independent Dispute Resolution Body approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. Further information on this process is available via the link below:
The process you must follow for a review of your claim by the Customer Services Committee is as follows:
- Email [email protected] with your concerns supported by any documentary evidence. i.e. photographs, reports etc. you would like the Committee to consider. You can alternatively write to the Committee by post at CIGA, CIGA House 3 Vimy Court, Vimy Road, Leighton Buzzard Beds. LU7 1FG.
- Your request for review will be acknowledged by CIGA on behalf of the Committee within 4 working days of its receipt.
- CIGA will provide a copy of its file, synopsis of the claim and its current position to the Committee for consideration within 4 working days of the request for review being received.
- Dependant on the case history and facts of the referral the Chair of the Committee will either review the matter or assign the matter to a panel within the Committee for review.
- A formal response with any recommendation to CIGA will be provided by the Chair of the Committee or a designated member of the Committee within 25 working days of the request for review being received.
The response from the committee is final however this does not prevent the claimant proceeding to arbitration if he/she remains dissatisfied with the review or the technical decision made on the claim.