EPC Hub takes genuine complaints seriously and aims to handle them fairly, proportionately and consistently. This Complaints & Dispute Resolution Policy explains how complaints may be raised, reviewed and handled across EPC Hub.

This Policy applies to all EPC Hub users, including property owners, homeowners, landlords, tenants, energy assessors, retrofit professionals, installers, estate agents, letting agents, organisations, partners and any other platform user.

This Policy should be read alongside EPC Hub’s Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Code of Conduct and any other published EPC Hub policies.

1. EPC Hub’s role

EPC Hub is a technology platform, marketplace infrastructure provider and professional network. EPC Hub is not the provider of EPC assessments, retrofit assessments, installations, estate agency services, letting services, financial services, legal services, surveying services or professional advice unless expressly stated in writing.

Professionals using EPC Hub are independent. They are solely responsible for their own services, pricing, quotes, attendance, advice, reports, assessments, compliance, insurance, accreditation, tax, VAT, customer relationships and legal obligations.

EPC Hub may support complaint handling by reviewing platform records, moderating accounts, preserving evidence or taking platform action. However, EPC Hub is not required to mediate, investigate, determine, compensate, refund or resolve disputes between users unless required by law.

2. Types of complaints

Complaints usually fall into two categories.

2.1 Complaints about EPC Hub

These may include complaints about platform access, accounts, profiles, membership administration, payments, messaging, Property Passport access, EPC Call, reviews, CPD access, technical issues, data handling or platform conduct.

2.2 Complaints about a Professional

These may include complaints about an EPC assessment, retrofit assessment, installation, report, quote, attendance, pricing, advice, customer service, professional conduct or work quality.

Complaints about independent professional services should normally be raised directly with the relevant Professional first. Where appropriate, they should also be raised with the Professional’s accreditation body, certification body, regulator, insurer, ombudsman or other relevant authority.

EPC Hub may review platform evidence relating to a professional complaint, but EPC Hub does not become responsible for the Professional’s services by doing so.

3. Before making a complaint

Before submitting a complaint, users should where reasonable:

1. contact the relevant Professional or user directly;

2. allow a reasonable opportunity for the issue to be resolved;

3. gather clear evidence;

4. check whether the issue relates to EPC Hub or an independent Professional;

5. avoid sending abusive, threatening, exaggerated or misleading messages;

6. keep copies of messages, quotes, bookings, call times, documents and payment records.

This does not prevent users from contacting EPC Hub immediately where there is safety risk, suspected fraud, data misuse, serious misconduct, unlawful behaviour or urgent platform concern.

4. What this Policy covers

This Policy may apply to complaints about:

1. EPC Hub platform functionality;

2. account access or profile issues;

3. membership administration;

4. payments, invoices or plan access;

5. messaging, quote requests or booking requests;

6. Property Passport access or suspected misuse;

7. professional conduct on the platform;

8. misleading profile information;

9. fake reviews or abusive content;

10. EPC Call, call recordings or call routing;

11. CPD access or certificates;

12. suspected breach of EPC Hub’s Code of Conduct;

13. misuse of EPC Hub data, content or platform features.

This Policy does not make EPC Hub responsible for independent professional services supplied by users.

5. Complaint priorities

EPC Hub may prioritise complaints based on seriousness, risk, urgency and available evidence.

High-priority complaints may include:

1. immediate safety concerns;

2. threats, abuse or harassment;

3. suspected fraud;

4. data misuse or suspected data breach;

5. misuse of Property Passport information;

6. serious professional misconduct;

7. impersonation or fake profiles;

8. payment fraud or chargeback abuse;

9. unlawful activity;

10. conduct that may damage user trust or the reputation of EPC Hub.

Lower-priority complaints may include minor delays, minor technical issues, unsupported allegations, preference-based disagreements, or matters better handled directly between users.

EPC Hub may decide the level of priority at its discretion.

6. Time limits for raising complaints

Complaints should be raised as soon as possible.

Unless required otherwise by law:

1. general complaints should be raised within 3 months of the event;

2. safety, regulatory, safeguarding, fraud or serious misconduct concerns may be considered up to 6 months after the event;

3. service quality, lateness, missed appointment or attendance complaints should be raised on the same day where reasonably possible;

4. payment, invoice or payout disputes should be raised within 72 hours of the relevant transaction or invoice being made available;

5. suspension appeals should be raised within 48 hours of the suspension notice;

6. appeal requests should be raised within 7 days of EPC Hub’s decision;

7. external escalation, where applicable, should be started within 14 days of EPC Hub’s final response.

EPC Hub may reject, close or limit complaints submitted outside these time limits where delay affects evidence, fairness, platform records, user availability or EPC Hub’s ability to assess the matter.

7. How to make a complaint

Complaints should be sent to:

support@epchub.org

Your complaint should include:

1. your full name;

2. your EPC Hub account email, if applicable;

3. the property address or postcode, if relevant;

4. the name of the Professional, organisation or user involved;

5. the date and time of the issue;

6. a clear summary of what happened;

7. what outcome you are seeking;

8. relevant screenshots, messages, documents, call times, booking details, quote details, payment records or other evidence.

EPC Hub may ask for further information before reviewing a complaint.

8. Evidence requirements

Users must provide evidence that is accurate, complete and not misleading.

Evidence should normally be submitted within 14 days of the complaint. If EPC Hub requests specific evidence, the user must provide it within 48 hours unless EPC Hub agrees otherwise.

EPC Hub may close, reject or limit a complaint where evidence is missing, late, incomplete, altered, misleading, irrelevant, abusive or insufficient.

Users must preserve relevant evidence for at least 12 months after a complaint or dispute is resolved.

Users must not delete, alter, conceal, fabricate, manipulate or misrepresent evidence.

9. EPC Hub’s complaint process

EPC Hub may follow this process:

1. Receipt — EPC Hub receives the complaint.

2. Triage — EPC Hub assesses whether the issue relates to EPC Hub, a Professional, another user, a third-party service, a regulator, payment provider or another organisation.

3. Priority assessment — EPC Hub decides whether the complaint is urgent, high-risk, standard or low priority.

4. Evidence review — EPC Hub may review platform records, messages, call logs, call recordings, Property Passport activity, profile data, payment records, account history, support records and technical logs.

5. User contact — EPC Hub may contact relevant users for information, clarification or response.

6. Decision or action — EPC Hub may decide what action, if any, is appropriate.

7. Closure — EPC Hub may close the complaint once it has reasonably reviewed the issue or decided that no further action is appropriate.

EPC Hub may adapt, shorten, extend or bypass stages where appropriate, including where there is fraud risk, safety risk, data misuse, regulatory concern, reputational risk, legal concern, repeated complaints or abusive conduct.

10. Response times

EPC Hub aims to handle complaints within a reasonable time.

Where possible, EPC Hub may aim to:

1. acknowledge complaints within 5 working days;

2. request further information where needed;

3. provide an initial response or update within 20 working days;

4. provide a final response where practical once evidence has been reviewed.

These timescales are targets only and are not guaranteed. Complex complaints, missing evidence, third-party involvement, professional disputes, payment provider issues, legal matters, data issues or regulatory concerns may take longer.

11. Possible outcomes

Depending on the complaint, EPC Hub may:

1. provide support or guidance;

2. ask for further information;

3. ask users to resolve the matter directly;

4. issue a warning;

5. remove, edit or hide content;

6. remove or moderate a review;

7. restrict messaging or platform features;

8. hide, suspend or remove a profile;

9. suspend or close an account;

10. restrict Property Passport access;

11. restrict EPC Call access;

12. restrict payment tools;

13. refer the user to a Professional, regulator, accreditation body, insurer or third-party provider;

14. preserve evidence;

15. report suspected unlawful activity;

16. take legal action;

17. take no action.

EPC Hub has sole discretion to decide what platform action is fair, proportionate and appropriate, subject to applicable law.

12. What EPC Hub does not guarantee

EPC Hub does not guarantee that:

1. a complaint will be upheld;

2. a Professional will respond;

3. a Professional will refund, compensate or re-attend;

4. a booking, quote or service issue will be resolved;

5. a review will be removed;

6. a user account will be suspended;

7. a user will be permanently removed;

8. a regulator or accreditation body will take action;

9. a payment provider will reverse or approve a transaction;

10. a complainant will receive the outcome requested.

Submitting a complaint does not create any right to compensation, refund, credit, damages, membership extension, plan upgrade, account reinstatement, ranking adjustment or other remedy unless required by law or expressly agreed by EPC Hub in writing.

13. Refunds, payments and memberships

Complaints about paid professional memberships, plan access, payment tools, invoices, charges, VAT, refunds or credits are handled under EPC Hub’s Terms & Conditions and any applicable Membership, Payments & Refunds Policy.

Paid professional memberships are business-to-business memberships unless EPC Hub states otherwise.

Complaints do not pause payment obligations, extend membership periods, delay expiry dates, create rollover rights, reverse charges, prevent collections, suspend invoices or entitle users to refunds except where required by law or expressly agreed by EPC Hub in writing.

14. Urgent safety, fraud or legal issues

If a complaint involves immediate danger, threat, abuse, fraud, criminal activity, safeguarding risk, data breach, serious misconduct or unlawful behaviour, users should contact the appropriate emergency service, regulator, authority, accreditation body, payment provider or law enforcement body where appropriate.

EPC Hub is not an emergency service.

EPC Hub may take urgent platform action without prior notice where it considers this necessary to protect users, data, platform integrity, compliance, trust or EPC Hub’s reputation.

15. Confidentiality and information sharing

Complaints will be handled as confidentially as reasonably possible.

However, EPC Hub may share complaint information where needed to:

1. investigate the complaint;

2. contact relevant users;

3. obtain evidence;

4. allow a user to respond;

5. comply with law;

6. protect users;

7. protect EPC Hub;

8. prevent fraud or misuse;

9. respond to legal claims;

10. enforce EPC Hub’s Terms;

11. report matters to regulators, accreditation bodies, insurers, payment providers, telecoms providers, professional bodies, authorities or law enforcement.

Users must not misuse the complaints process to harass, intimidate, pressure, defame, blackmail, threaten or unfairly damage another user.

16. Platform records and evidence

EPC Hub may rely on platform records as evidence, including account data, profile data, messages, quote requests, booking requests, Property Passport logs, call logs, call recordings, payment records, support tickets, complaints, CPD activity, Lumen AI interactions, acceptance records, usage logs, technical logs and security records.

EPC Hub’s records may be used in complaint handling, dispute resolution, enforcement, regulatory matters or legal proceedings.

17. Appeals

Where EPC Hub issues a final decision, a user may submit one appeal within 7 days.

An appeal must clearly explain:

1. why the user believes the decision was materially wrong;

2. what new evidence is being provided;

3. why that evidence was not provided earlier;

4. what specific outcome is being requested.

EPC Hub may reject appeals that are late, repetitive, abusive, unsupported, irrelevant or based only on disagreement with the outcome.

EPC Hub’s appeal decision is final unless EPC Hub agrees otherwise or applicable law requires a further process.

18. Suspension appeals

If EPC Hub suspends, restricts, hides or removes an account, profile, feature or access right, the affected user may submit a suspension appeal within 48 hours of the notice.

EPC Hub may maintain the suspension or restriction while the appeal is reviewed.

Where EPC Hub considers there is a legal, regulatory, fraud, safety, data protection, payment, accreditation, reputational or user protection risk, EPC Hub may suspend or terminate access without prior notice and without appeal, where legally permissible.

19. Closed complaints and repeat complaints

Once EPC Hub closes a complaint, it may decline to reopen it unless the user provides material new evidence that was not reasonably available earlier.

EPC Hub may restrict or close repeat complaints that are substantially the same as a complaint already reviewed.

EPC Hub may also restrict or close complaints that are abusive, threatening, discriminatory, repetitive, vexatious, dishonest, malicious, commercially motivated, unsupported, defamatory, made for pressure tactics, or intended to damage another user or EPC Hub.

Nothing in this Policy prevents a user from making a genuine complaint, raising a legal right, contacting a regulator, or reporting suspected unlawful conduct.

20. External escalation

Where appropriate, users may be directed to a relevant accreditation body, certification body, regulator, insurer, payment provider, telecoms provider, ombudsman, ADR provider, mediator, court or authority.

If EPC Hub offers or agrees to alternative dispute resolution, mediation or independent review, this does not mean EPC Hub accepts liability.

Any external escalation should be started within 14 days of EPC Hub’s final response, unless another deadline applies by law or by the relevant external body.

21. Complaint costs

EPC Hub does not reimburse costs incurred by users in making or pursuing complaints, including postage, travel, professional fees, legal fees, lost time, lost income or administrative costs, unless EPC Hub expressly agrees in writing or is required by law.

22. Complaint records and retention

EPC Hub may maintain a secure complaints log for audit, compliance, evidence, training, quality improvement, user protection and legal defence.

Complaint records may be retained for 3 years, or longer where necessary for legal claims, regulatory matters, fraud prevention, safety, compliance, enforcement, data protection, insurance, audit or defence purposes.

23. Accessibility

EPC Hub aims to make the complaints process accessible. Users who need reasonable support, alternative formats or adjustments should contact:

support@epchub.org

24. Continuous improvement

EPC Hub may review complaint trends to improve platform safety, professional standards, support processes, user experience, training, policies, moderation, data controls and service quality.

Complaint data may be used in aggregated or anonymised form for reporting, governance, platform improvement and risk management.

25. Changes to this Policy

EPC Hub may update this Policy from time to time.

Changes may be made to reflect platform updates, legal changes, membership changes, operational changes, technology changes, user feedback, compliance needs or risk management requirements.

Continued use of EPC Hub after this Policy is updated means acceptance of the updated Policy.

26. Contact

Complaints and complaint-related questions should be sent to:

EPC Hub
Complaints email: support@epchub.org
Support email: support@epchub.org
Legal notices: info@epchub.org