littlewoman

If your license is delayed beyond whatever time scales the sia are currently reporting, it seems that the best action you can take is to threaten to sue them for loss of earnings.
Below is the letter I sent them. I got my license the day after they received the letter. I suggest writing a letter along these lines and sending it recorded delivery.

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Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to notify you of my intention to sue the SIA for loss of earnings and other incurred costs due to the negligent processing of my licence application in which there have been unnecessary and inexplicable delays.

I am a licensed Door Supervisor (licence number xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx) and in July applied for my Close Protection licence. By July 13th I had received a letter from yourselves accepting my application. By July 28th I had received my CRB disclosure. By August 2nd your web site tracker showed that my Criminality Checks had been completed. It is here that the problems started. I have no criminal record whatsoever and therefore the granting of my licence from this point should have taken a matter of days. It was not until 8th August that my application was forwarded to SIA Head Office for final decision. On 20th August I phoned the call centre in Newcastle and was told that it would take another two weeks. On 29th August I phoned the call centre again and was told that ‘It shouldn’t have taken this long, I’ll chase it up, phone back in 10 working days.’ I stressed that I was loosing work due to this delay but was told that it would be chased up and I should phone back in 10 days if I hadn’t heard anything. On 17th September I phoned the call centre again and was told that they had chased it up and could not give me an timescale for it being completed and I should phone back in another 10 days.

Since 29th August I have contacted my MP, Trading Standards and the Community Law Centre. I will be suing you for the cost of phone calls, stamps etc. I have regularly checked the website tracker and will be suing you for the cost of internet usage. I have phoned the call centre as described only to be misinformed as to processing times and told to phone back only to be misinformed again. I will be suing you for the cost of phone calls. This week I have lost out on contracts worth £400. I am now applying to companies and will be asking them to supply me with the details of any jobs that I would be eligible for if you had processed my licence. I will be suing you for loss of earnings in relation to this. You are in breach of the Human Rights Act in denying, without good reason, me my ability to work in a profession for which I am qualified.

I feel that in a court you will have problems justifying why you take longer to issue a licence than other agencies do to issue Driving Licences or Passports and yet charge far more. Indeed the CRB check itself costs around £50 and is completed faster than you have taken simply to accept that someone with no criminal record and a current licence can have a licence for another sector.

I will be going to my local County Court today to commence proceedings. However, I will not proceed with this claim if my licence is granted by Thursday and the licence itself arrives within one week of that date.

Yours Sincerely

sorcerer

Thank you for your advice. I have already and will probably now take legal action against the sia.

Please read the following letter(s) I have written to my local Member of Parliament , Simon Burns and Vernon Coaker MP , who is apparently the Minister in Charge of this facade.

I am seriously contemplating starting an independent pressure group or 'watchdog' with regards to the appalling service licence applicants are experiencing. Does anyone think this is a good idea or will it have no or little effect?!!!

Any suggestions please!!!!!




COPIES:

Dear Simon Burns MP,

Thank you for your letter dated 7th January 2008 with regards to my complaint about the Security Industry Authority.

As yet I have not received my sia Door Supervision License, but after many more telephone calls they finally did return my personal documents. Since deciding to apply for my SIA License I have joined a number of professional security web sites and I think it would be safe to say that absolutely every member of any organisation involved with security is just appalled by the distinct lack of service, attitude and incompetence of this governments security regulator.

The sia literature is full of mistakes and inaccuracy's and it is now just impossible to make contact by telephone or even get a reply at all by e-mail. I have all but given up and in any case I now don't really know if I wish to be regulated and governed by an authority so appalling in their handling and processing of simple , straight forward license applications.

I have not heard from Vernon Coaker (MP) so I am assuming he has not heard from the sia regarding my concerns. No surprise really as that pretty much sums up this incompetent , disastrous , dangerous and criminal Labour Government.

I would like to add, that when I did my Door Supervision Training in June 2007 , there were a number of migrants on the same course. We all exchanged contact details , each and everyone of the migrants is now happily working the doors.

The very reason I decided to apply for this training and sia License was so I could work extra nights and save to possibly emigrate to Australia. I , like the vast majority of other decent British people in this country are leaving in droves because this Labour Government has all but destroyed Great Britain.

The street are riddled with crime and violence, we are to afraid to say anything good or positive about Britain or being British without fear of being labeled racist , there is a certain 'air of disharmony' throughout this country now and I anticipate it will only be a matter of time before this Government causes the biggest race riots in our history.

I think you know me from past and I can assure you I have never ever been racist or even thought racist thoughts. But now, and I'm not sorry to say it , I cannot wait to leave this country to the low life drug dealing, violent , lazy , parasitic scum who now rule the waves.

If possible please could you chase up the ever incompetent and lazy Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Crime, remind him of my complaint but more importantly , remind him of the daily murders, muggings and *censored**censored**censored**censored*s he is also , personally responsible for.

If I am around for the next general election, I know where my vote is going.


Once again , thank you for your time.

******* ******** RN BA (Hons)


REPLY:

Dear Mr ********,

Thank you for your email.

I have looked into this and have chased this matter up again with the Minister. I understand that a draft letter being prepared and that it will be sent out late next week or early the week after.

I am also going to be tabling a Parliamentary Written Question asking why there has been such a delay and when I receive a response, I shall, of course, contact you again.

With best wishes, Simon Burns

Simon Burns MP
Member of Parliament for West Chelmsford
burnss@parliament.uk


I

DanD

What was their answer???

sorcerer

Littlewoman ,

thanks for the advice... i have also written to my MP, Simon Burns , Conservative for West Chelmsford , he has been most helpful and has even tabled a Written Question...

My correspondence with Mr Burns and the Minister responsible for the sia are detailed below.

I think it is essential that some sort of pressure group or independent monitor is now set up where advice or media exposure of the sia's incompetence and delays can be exposed and assistance or advice given to individual SIA License applicants with regards to legal action against the SIA for loss of earnings etc.

Sorcerer


Dear Simon,

Thank you for your letter dated 7th January 2008 with regards to my complaint about the Security Industry Authority.

As yet I have not received my sia Door Supervision License, but after many more telephone calls they finally did return my personal documents. Since deciding to apply for my SIA License I have joined a number of professional security web sites and I think it would be safe to say that absolutely every member of any organisation involved with security is just appalled by the distinct lack of service, attitude and incompetence of this governments security regulator.

The sia literature is full of mistakes and inaccuracy's and it is now just impossible to make contact by telephone or even get a reply at all by e-mail. I have all but given up and in any case I now don't really know if I wish to be regulated and governed by an authority so appalling in their handling and processing of simple , straight forward license applications.

I have not heard from Vernon Coaker so I am assuming he has not heard from the sia regarding my concerns. No surprise really as that pretty much sums up this incompetent , disastrous , dangerous and criminal Labour Government.

I would like to add, that when I did my Door Supervision Training in June 2007 , there were a number of migrants on the same course. We all exchanged contact details , each and everyone of the migrants is now happily working the doors.

The very reason I decided to apply for this training and sia License was so I could work extra nights and save to possibly emigrate to Australia. I , like the vast majority of other decent British people in this country are leaving in droves because this Labour Government has all but destroyed Great Britain.

The street are riddled with crime and violence, we are to afraid to say anything good or positive about Britain or being British without fear of being labeled racist , there is a certain 'air of disharmony' throughout this country now and I anticipate it will only be a matter of time before this Government causes the biggest race riots in our history.

I think you know me from past and I can assure you I have never ever been racist or even thought racist thoughts. But now, and I'm not sorry to say it , I cannot wait to leave this country to the low life drug dealing, violent , lazy , parasitic scum who now rule the waves.

If possible please could you chase up the ever incompetent and lazy Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Crime, remind him of my complaint but more importantly , remind him of the daily murders, muggings and *censored**censored**censored**censored*s he is also , personally responsible for.

If I am around for the next general election, I know where my vote is going.


Once again , thank you for your time.


Stephen ******* RN BA (Hons)


reply:

Dear Mr ********,

Thank you for your email.

I have looked into this and have chased this matter up again with the Minister. I understand that a draft letter being prepared and that it will be sent out late next week or early the week after.

I am also going to be tabling a Parliamentary Written Question asking why there has been such a delay and when I receive a response, I shall, of course, contact you again.

With best wishes, Simon Burns

Simon Burns MP
Member of Parliament for West Chelmsford
burnss@parliament.uk


Dear Simon Burns MP,

Thank you again for your reply and help with this matter. I have now sought legal advice from Trading Standards and a solicitor and I will be issuing a County Court Judgement against the sia within the next few days for loss of earnings. I will let you know the outcome.

Stehen ********

copy: Vernon Coaker MP

Dear Simon Burns MP,

Thank you again for your reply and help with this matter. I have now sought legal advice from Trading Standards and a solicitor and I will be issuing a County Court Judgement against the SIA within the next few days for loss of earnings. I will let you know the outcome.

Stehen ********

copy: Vernon Coaker MP

Kiwi PSD

Hellp,

Thanks for all that info guys & gals......was wondering if the same process will apply to overseas residents.....unsure where we stand....with not being UK based. Have sent off a letter advising sia that will be suing them....loss of earnings & that stuff, unsure how that will go. Licence has been with them since Oct 07.

Any advice??????????

Cheers

sorcerer

dan...as yet i hav'nt had a reply from the sia or any Government Ministers but i'll keep you posted when I do!!??

AVL

Hey Guys

Your most likely response with be any 'timescales' provided is for guidance only and not set in stone. Some MP's will get involved but others won't, simply because they do not understand the system.

But goodluck to anyone who is having a bad experience.

Anjee

Nomad

Suffice to say regardless of what processing time the sia have said since September 2006 the average time has been about 4-6 months. It is not right but if at least you are aware that it will take that long at least you can plan around it. Being outside the UK like myself I see little recourse legally regarding compensation that would be cost effective but pressure can still be given and a public voice can still be raised until something is done about this. They have increased the fee and staff but to all intensive purposes nothing has improved and if anything it has been detrimental to the industry rather than improving things. The case of illegal migrants gaining SIA licences is a case in point. It obviously shows that basic checks were not carried out so why does it take so long to issue a licence. There should be KPI's set up like in the commercial sector to monitor efficiencies and senior management brought to book for the ineptness that continues.

sorcerer

MORE sia CONFUSION: I received a call from the SIA who were very apologetic regarding my licence delay. The caller blamed my licence delay on a change over in computer systems at the exact time they received my application. She assured me she would keep a personal eye on my progress but still could not specify a date for completion. I have since checked my on-line application status and its gone up a couple of notches to checking and checking once again right through to just checking once more now......yes there is touch of sarcasm in there! However, one thing really puzzles me...along the line somewhere in all this I was informed I will need to submit an up-to-date CRB check which I should submit with my application. This I did. The caller from the SIA stated that this was not the case as they do their own CRB checks. I therefore wasted 6 weeks waiting for that from Essex Police and now have to wait again for the SIA's own CRB check...hence further delays!....anyone know if this is right? Do SIA applicants have to supply their own CRB check or do the SIA do it? Answers on a post card please!!!!!