Cosmetic Redress Scheme
2nd September 2018
In the UK, all service providers need to signpost consumers to a government authorised consumer redress scheme. The Cosmetic Redress Scheme (CRS) provides dispute resolution for the cosmetic market. Please see our Complaints Policy for full details on the process for making a complaint.
How it works
By law, Service Providers are required to signpost their customers to a government authorised consumer redress
scheme. The purpose of this is to give consumers of the Service Provider an escalated complaints procedure if they are unhappy with how their complaint has been dealt with by the Service Provider.
A ‘consumer’ is a person who uses the service of the Service Providers. Any customer who uses the service provided by a Cosmetic Services Provider is considered to be a ‘consumer’.
There is a set of criteria which must first be met in order for a complaint to be considered by the Cosmetic Redress Scheme:
1. The Professional must be a Member of the Cosmetic Redress Scheme. The Maitland Clinic is a member of the Cosmetic Redress Scheme.
2. The Complainant must show that a formal written complaint has been sent to the Member within 12 months of the incident related to the complaint occurring.
3. The Complainant has allowed a minimum of 8 weeks for the Member to investigate the matter and respond fully.
4. After the Member’s final response to the complaint or after the Complainant has waited 8 weeks from
sending the complaint letter and the Complainant has not received a response, a complaint can be referred to the CRS within 6 months of the formal letter of complaint being sent to the Member.
The CRS are required to put these time limits in place to enable them to deal with complaints fairly and they are deemed reasonable under the Arbitration Act 1996.
Raising the complaint
Once the above criteria have been met, the Complainant is able to raise a complaint about the Member with the CRS. The complaint must be raised using the CRS Complaint Form. When completing the form, the Complainant must explain all the reasons why the complaint is being raised, the actions that have been taken and also include all relevant evidence. This must include the letter/email of complaint and, if applicable, our Member’s final response. It may also include copies of other communications received from and sent to the Member, including any settlements offered and relevant contracts/agreements and associated documentation.
There is no charge to the complainant for raising the complaint with the Cosmetic Redress Scheme. The complainant can withdraw from the Cosmetic Redress Scheme complaints process at any point.
Please see full details of the CRS complaints process here.
