01 · Routes
Correction, complaint or appeal?
- Correction request: you believe a public company or certificate record contains a factual error.
- Service complaint: you are dissatisfied with communication, conduct, delay or another aspect of the service.
- Certification appeal: the assessed company asks for review of a decline, suspension, withdrawal or other certification decision.
- Third-party concern: you have relevant evidence suggesting that a certified company’s record or use of the mark may be misleading.
02 · Submission
What to send
Email info@provencompanies.com with the subject “Complaint”, “Appeal” or “Record correction”. Include your name and business contact details, the company and certificate code, the decision or information concerned, the outcome requested and relevant supporting evidence.
Do not email confidential financial files, identity documents or sensitive personal data unless Proven has provided an approved secure channel.
03 · Process
How the matter is handled
Proven aims to acknowledge a complete submission within five business days. We may ask for clarification, preserve relevant records, assess immediate risks and contact affected parties where fair and lawful.
We aim to provide an outcome or meaningful progress update within twenty business days after receiving sufficient information. Complex matters, external evidence or legal constraints may require longer. The response will explain the result and any next step that can appropriately be disclosed.
04 · Appeal
Review of a certification decision
An assessed company should normally submit an appeal within ten business days after receiving the decision. The appeal should identify a factual or procedural error, relevant evidence not properly considered, or another clear ground for review.
Where practicable, the appeal will be reviewed by a person who was not the original decision-maker. An appeal does not automatically restore, extend or suspend a certificate. Proven may uphold, amend, replace or remit the decision for reassessment.
05 · Third-party concerns
Concerns about a certified company
Relevant, specific and lawfully obtained evidence is more useful than opinion or general allegation. Proven may correct a record, request information, begin reassessment, suspend a status while material facts are checked, withdraw certification or take no action where the concern is unsupported or outside scope.
Proven certification does not replace reporting to a regulator, law-enforcement body, court, insolvency authority or emergency service. We cannot determine private commercial disputes or provide compensation on behalf of a certified company.
06 · Fairness and privacy
Records, confidentiality and retaliation
Submissions are handled on a need-to-know basis, but confidentiality cannot be guaranteed where disclosure is required to investigate fairly, respond to the affected company, comply with law or protect legal rights. Knowingly false, abusive or unlawful submissions may be rejected.
Personal data is handled under the Privacy Notice. Data-protection complaints may also be made to the relevant supervisory authority as explained there.