Stroma Certification’s Commitment to Consumers

All Stroma Certification scheme members have been assessed and certified to carry out work to a professionally competent standard. Members are regularly audited and subject to an annual assessment to ensure compliance and standards are maintained for the benefit of consumers.

Information about our certification schemes is available on our website as well as a search facility to enable consumers to find and check information and memberships associated with our members.




What does assessor and installer mean?

An assessor is an individual who is qualified and certified to assess the energy performance of a particular building. If you have had an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) produced for your home it is likely that this service will have been provided by a Domestic Energy Assessor.

An installer is an individual who is qualified and certified to provide installation services to a customer. Installers can be members of a number of trades including:

  • Building fabrics
  • Electricians
  • Gas fitters
  • Heating engineers
  • Plumbers
  • Window fitters



About Stroma Certification

Stroma Certification is a leading UK certification body for energy assessors, installers and organisations in the energy and construction sectors. We run certification schemes to support the competence and compliant working methods of our members.



What to do when hiring a tradesperson

Certain installation or extension jobs in the home are required to be notified in line with Building Regulations by a member of a Competent Person Scheme. This means that a tradesperson has been properly approved to offer installation and maintenance services to members of the public. Members of Stroma Certification's Competent Person Scheme have the ability to self notify their installation work which saves their customers both time and money. When hiring a tradesperson you should always ask to see their identification to ensure they are a member of a formal certification scheme. This can be either an ID card or a membership certificate.

If you have hired a Stroma Certification member then you can contact Stroma to verify their membership by completing our online form.


Your responsibilities as a homeowner

It is important that to check whether any installation work undertaken in your property requires approval from Building Control. There are consequences if you do not:

  • You can be prosecuted or fined as the work will not be legal
  • You risk causing injury or death if the work is unsafe
  • Your Local Authority can order you to pay for and fix unsafe work
  • You will have no proof of Building Control approval when you come to sell your property

Without Building Control approval a potential buyer for your property may not wish to proceed with the purchase, their mortgage provider may not lend against the property and you might also encounter problems with the conveyancing solicitor that can also prevent a sale.

If you’re hiring an external contractor for installation work, they will be able to advise you whether the job is notifiable. If they are a member of a Competent Person Scheme, your installer will be able to self-certify that work. You can also still use a competent person for non-notifiable work.


Why choose a Stroma Certification member?

Whenever you need installation work on your property it is important that the competent person you choose is a member of an approved Competent Person Scheme. Stroma Certification's Competent Person Scheme is approved by the Government. Our members are subject to strict rules when they join a Stroma Certification scheme meaning you're assured of reliable installation standards:

  • Choose a Stroma competent person and your work will be notified in compliance with the Building Regulations
  • The work is guaranteed for 6 years (for installations completed by a member of our UKAS accredited Competent Person Scheme)
  • All Stroma installers are regularly assessed to maintain their knowledge and skills

Finding a Stroma Certification member

You can view a list of our assessor and installer certification scheme members on our website.

Alternatively you can view approved professionals on the following links:

  • Competent Persons Register – a list of all members of accredited Competent Person Schemes
  • EPC Register – a list of certified Domestic Energy Assessors
  • GD ORB –the Green Deal Oversight & Registration Body
  • MCS Register – A list of certified installers of renewable technology
  • Trustmark - a Government Endorsed 'find a tradesperson' scheme

Customer Guarantee for notified works

Members of Stroma Certification’s UKAS accredited Competent Person Scheme are certified as competent to provide installation work to an industry standard for consumers. Once any installation work has been completed the work needs to be notified to Building Control. Consumers are provided with peace of mind as you receive a work quality guarantee on notified works which lasts 6 years.

Consumers may request a replacement notification of the installation works by contacting Stroma Certification:

Replacement Notification of Works certificates are subject to a £5 administration fee. Stroma Certification will action your request as soon as possible.


Do you need to make a complaint?

It is advisable to first make contact with your installer to try and reach a resolution directly. However, if these attempts to mediate are unsuccessful then you can register a complaint with Stroma Certification. Stroma may not be able to deal with all complaints depending on their nature, however we will do our best to address your complaint and take the appropriate action.


Stroma's responsibilities when a complaint is made against a scheme member

Stroma Certification has an active role in assessing the competence and compliance of our members in line with the requirements of each certification scheme. It is our responsibility to ensure that members are performing their jobs to a compliant standard and we take complaints of this nature extremely seriously.

The Stroma Certification Compliance department is responsible for setting the rules by which all scheme members must abide to maintain their membership. All members are required to have their own complaints procedure to answer any customer grievance. In addition, Stroma Certification provides a work quality guarantee to cover notifications made by members of our UKAS accredited Competent Person Scheme. The work quality guarantees are set for a period of 6 years.

Stroma Certification follows an approved customer complaints procedure. We are required to make an impartial judgement on the way in which our members respond to a customer complaint and this includes taking action against a member who does not settle any matter to the satisfaction of the scheme requirements.

It is not within the remit of Stroma Certification to offer compensation or arrange for another installer to correct non-compliant work. However, an installer may offer this themselves as a part of their own complaints resolution procedure.

If you would like to make a complaint then please follow our simple Complaints Procedure.

To make an appeal, please use this form.

Impartiality

Stroma Certification has a top management commitment to the implementation of impartiality in our management system certification activities. Stroma Certification has implemented an Impartiality Policy which is downloadable here and outlines the importance of impartiality in conducting our management system certification activities across our various certification schemes, and the management of conflicts of interest which will ensure the objectivity of these activities. If you have any questions or concerns relating to impartiality please contact Stroma Certification by emailing info@stroma.com or telephone 0345 621 11 11.



Useful links

Here are some links to external websites which may help you to find further information:

  • BEIS – the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
  • Citizens Advice – free, impartial advice on consumer rights & responsibilities
  • DCLG – the Department for Communities and Local Government
  • DEFRA – the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
  • Disclosure Scotland – Scottish Government disclosure service
  • EA – the Environment Agency
  • Energy Saving Trust – helping people to save energy
  • Police - Emergency and Non Emergency contact details
  • SEPA – Scottish Environmental Protection Agency
  • Trading Standards – search for your local Trading Standards office
  • UKAS – the United Kingdom Accreditation Service

Contact Us

If you have any other questions about Stroma Certification, please contact us using one of the following options:




4 Pioneer Way, Castleford, West Yorkshire, WF10 5QU

T | 0845 621 11 11*



©Stroma Certification Ltd 2024

*Calls cost 7p per minute plus your phone company’s network access charge or call 01977 665420.