We're often asked to verify whether a particular organisation has been certified by us. We're happy to do this and legitimate certification should rightly provide a buyer with peace of mind that an organisation is fit for purpose.
Occasionally a organisation will display our ISO certification mark in error and such cases are usually dealt with promptly and amicably. Unfortunately, there are a few occasions when organisations fraudulently display our certification mark to fool would-be buyers into trusting them.
Checking a company's ISO status
So what can you do if you have doubts about a particular organisation or you just want to undertake a final reassuring check? If a company is claiming ISO certified status from us you can check this easily and quickly by using our Client Verification tool.
In 2009, our company name was changed from the British Accreditation Bureau to the British Assessment Bureau. Consequently some logos may appear different but the certified organisation's unique PIN number will remain the same, so they can still be easily verified.
One company that has never been certified by us - yet continues to display an unauthorised certification mark on their website - is called Deluxe Planning. Clues to identifying the legitimacy of such organisations include:
Old version of the logo
Poor formatting
PIN number is for another organisation
Checking company legitimacy
Expensive looking websites can be set up all too easily and it's relatively easy to create a professional looking website that seems trustworthy. Therefore, before engaging with an online business it's prudent to make a number of simple checks.
Review the Website
When viewing a website, ensure there are 'About' and 'Contact' pages. For any business selling online in the UK, it is a requirement of law to provide registered company contact details, so check that this information is provided. Be sceptical if there is no phone number either and ideally, speak to a representative on the phone before proceeding.
You can also tell if a website has been recently registered by completing a simple 'WHOIS' domain check. The UK's domain registrar is Nominet, which has a WHOIS lookup service on its website.
Verify the Company
Of course, it's important to match up the website's company name and registered address with the records on Companies House (UK only). Helpfully, Companies House operates a free Web Check service so you can easily check lots of information about a registered company, including when it was formed.
Review the Company
Search engines like 'Google' can also help uncover lots of useful information about a website. Try searching for reviews about the company - you may even uncover previous warnings from disgruntled customers or from the authorities. If the website itself lists testimonials, check to see if the clients named actually exist and if so try contacting them.
Verify Endorsements
Companies will often list certain standards or awards they have achieved. If true, they will be easy to verify and once again, it's worth taking the time to follow your checks through to be sure it isn't just made up to snare you.
Trading Standards
Finally, you can check if a company has already had complaints about it recorded by contacting Trading Standards or Consumer Direct. If you are unfortunate enough to have been duped by a bogus company, either online or not, these Government backed bodies are well worth contacting.
The British Assessment Bureau's reputation was established in 1969 and we achieved pre-eminent status in 1997. Today we are a revered UKAS accredited Assessment Body with an enviable reputation for customer service.
As well as providing certification to internationally recognised standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, we provide bespoke assessment services for people, services and organisations of all sizes.
For more information visit www.british-assessment.co.uk.
