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Complaints Procedure

How to raise a concern or formal complaint with the British Halal Authority.

BHA is committed to the highest standards of service and integrity. We take all complaints seriously and aim to resolve them fairly, transparently, and in a timely manner. This procedure applies to complaints about our certification services, certificate-related decisions, staff conduct, and any other aspect of our work.

1. Who Can Raise a Complaint?

Any of the following parties may submit a complaint to BHA:

  • Certified businesses or applicants dissatisfied with a certification decision, audit outcome, or service received
  • Consumers who believe a BHA-certified product does not meet halal standards
  • Third parties with evidence of fraudulent use of the BHA certificate or logo
  • Any individual or organisation affected by BHA’s decisions or conduct

2. What Can Be Complained About?

Complaints may relate to, but are not limited to:

Certification Decisions

Disagreement with the outcome of an application, renewal, suspension, or withdrawal of a halal certificate.

Staff Conduct

Unprofessional behaviour, bias, conflicts of interest, or misconduct by BHA staff or auditors.

Service Standards

Unreasonable delays, poor communication, or failure to follow our published processes and timelines.

Certification Integrity

Concerns that a certified business is not maintaining halal standards, or suspected fraudulent certificates.

3. Our Complaints Process

We operate a structured four-stage complaints process designed to resolve issues at the earliest opportunity:

1
Informal Resolution

Timeframe: Within 5 working days

In the first instance, we encourage you to raise your concern informally with the BHA staff member or department involved. Many issues can be resolved quickly through direct dialogue. You may contact us by phone on 07884 528599 or by email at info@britishhalalauthority.org.uk.

2
Formal Written Complaint

Timeframe: Acknowledgement within 3 working days; full response within 20 working days

If your concern is not resolved informally, you may submit a formal written complaint to our Complaints Officer. Your complaint should include:

  • Your full name and contact details
  • Your company name and BHA certificate number (if applicable)
  • A clear description of your complaint and the events leading to it
  • Any relevant supporting documents or evidence
  • The outcome you are seeking

Send to: Complaints Officer, British Halal Authority, 89 Brown Lane, Cheadle, Manchester, SK8 3SF  |  complaints@britishhalalauthority.org.uk

3
Internal Review

Timeframe: Decision within 30 working days of escalation request

If you are dissatisfied with the Stage 2 response, you may request an internal review by a senior BHA manager not previously involved in the complaint. The reviewer will consider all evidence and provide a final internal decision. This request must be made within 20 working days of receiving the Stage 2 response.

4
External Escalation

After exhausting internal process

If you remain dissatisfied after the internal review, you may escalate your complaint externally to the relevant accreditation body or regulatory authority. BHA will provide full cooperation with any external investigation. Details of relevant external bodies will be provided in our Stage 3 response letter.

4. How We Handle Your Complaint

  • All complaints are logged and assigned a unique reference number
  • We acknowledge receipt in writing within 3 working days
  • Your complaint is investigated by a member of staff not involved in the original decision
  • We will contact you if we need additional information or clarification
  • We provide a full written response explaining our findings and any remedial action taken
  • Complaint data is used to improve our services and processes

5. Confidentiality

All complaints are treated in strict confidence. Information about your complaint will only be disclosed to those staff members directly involved in investigating or resolving the matter. Where a complaint involves a third party (e.g., a certified business), we may need to share limited details with that party in order to investigate effectively. We will inform you if this is necessary.

BHA will not tolerate any victimisation or negative treatment of anyone who raises a genuine complaint in good faith.

6. Unreasonable or Vexatious Complaints

BHA reserves the right to decline to investigate complaints that are:

  • Anonymous (unless there are justified safeguarding reasons)
  • Submitted more than 12 months after the matter complained of, without good reason
  • Identical to a complaint already investigated and responded to
  • Frivolous, vexatious, or made in bad faith

Where we decide a complaint falls into any of the above categories, we will write to inform you, providing reasons for our decision.

Reporting Certificate Fraud

If you suspect that a BHA certificate is being used fraudulently, or that a business is misrepresenting its halal status, please contact us immediately. You can verify any BHA certificate on our Certificate Verification page. To report suspected fraud, email fraud@britishhalalauthority.org.uk with as much detail as possible.

Submit a Complaint

Post

Complaints Officer, BHA,
89 Brown Lane, Cheadle, Manchester,
SK8 3SF

Response Time

Acknowledged within
3 working days

Contact Our Team
Process at a Glance
1

Informal Resolution

Within 5 working days

2

Formal Written Complaint

Full response within 20 days

3

Internal Review

Decision within 30 days

4

External Escalation

After internal process