Working together

We aim to resolve complaints and investigations as soon as possible and strive to establish a healthy working relationship right from the start. At the beginning of an investigation we contact all parties involved (complainant, advertiser and, if appropriate, the broadcaster) and inform them of the process. 

The advertisers are provided with a full description of the complaint, the issues we intend to investigate, what substantiation is required and the deadline for their response. Sometimes the investigation process is quite complex so we try to ensure that we are clear in our request for substantive information and encourage advertisers to contact us at the earliest opportunity if anything is unclear or they are not sure what we require them to do.

We try to keep investigations moving to bring them to a timely conclusion and set reasonable deadlines to achieve this. We expect advertisers to provide full, open and timely responses to our requests for information, evidence and/or substantiation. The investigation progresses more rapidly when evidence supplied is accurate, relevant and suitable for defending the claim and that the information advertisers would like us to pay particular attention to is clearly highlighted.

Sometimes circumstances render it impossible for advertisers to meet a particular deadline, so we ask that they let us know immediately the reason for the delay as we may be able, but cannot guarantee, to grant a short extension. If there are delays in our progress which are beyond our control, we do of course keep all interested parties informed, and strive to deal with cases as quickly as possible, without compromising fairness and thoroughness.

Although each complaint will take a different length of time to resolve.