kate

I have a spare sia application form if you need it, pm me your address and i will send it to you if you want

yorkie030

Did you already have a DS or Security licence with them Wullie?

alexiniraq

I have been given an email address by the sia to contact them with any queries it is QDBenquiries@the-sia.org.uk they are usually good at replying (well up to 3 days) As I am experiencing problems with City & Guilds who have lost my details, even though I have been certificated by them and I have a candidate number, the sia have been very helpful via this email. Just put your application number and query to them, and they will endeavour to help.

markanderton

there was a number on this site and it does get you through - but then they just transfer you to the other number

If you need a pack - don't apply on line - they never come! - just pesevere and wait to order one over the phone - the average hold is 20 mins - and double check the requirements for ID etc - the guidance notes are out of date, and you will need to send phot ID as well as proof of address - and your counter signatory for your pic cannot be a family member ie wife, brother etc, although it does not state that in the notes - Also dot all the i's and cross all the t's - or they will just send it back - my brother had it back 3 times as they went down the form, instaed of checking it all and then sending it back for alterations! - that's why it costs £245! -- £10 to process it £235 duty for the ORG.
Good luck!
Mark

Nomad

To say that you never get an application pack when applied on-line is fictitious. Twice I have had to do this and the last form only applied for last month and it arrived in 4 days from applying on-line. Now that in itself is reasonable, but considering I live in NZ thats about as fast as possible by post without resorting to DHL, Fedex or the like.

What you see on here is the people that have complaints regarded the sia which certainly are founded but have you considered the amount of successful requests for application forms? Main reason is no one says when everything works out well, all you hear is the complaints. It would be like me saying that everyone gets their application pack in 4 days.

Lets not jump onto its fashionable to hate the SIA, they have problems and do make mistakes but I do see a lot of people throw their toys out of the pram over it which does nothing. You should try immigration to another country to truly see how bureaucracy can be frustrating!

yogimoto

Hi to all;
I approached the sia via a phone call and email some months ago and sadly I found them unhelpful.
I called them on the grounds that I would like to know if I would be eligible for a CPO licence due to a minor mistake I made when I was much younger, after a 3 minute conversation with an operator on thier end it seemed that they did not want to help me any further in my enquiery due to my criminal record which is massively furnished with one solemn common assault charge.
I requested some information from them regarding a licencing appeal but sadly it never arrived.
I appreciate that the SIA as an organisation is a very busy one but shouldn't they fulfill there duty of providing a service to all potential operators?

Many thanks and apologies for a neutral(ish) rant.
Does anyone know of any details ref. licencing appeals?
Thanks

CPO445

Mate there is no point at all phoning and asking - just use their site and follow your nose - end of the day unless you have done something really really bad you will have no probs.

If you did something that was no great shakes and did it years ago when young, stop worrying - to give you an example you could get a prison sentence for assualt and still get one - what they will do is not accept an application until a number of years has passed from the end of the original sentence. They will then most probably refuse a licence as a matter of norm but grant it if someone gave em enough eveidence on what a great person they were and how they now are an asset to their community so as stated stop worrying

keegoon

I think you will find that everything is going to change at the sia,starting today, everything that went before ie applicants with criminal records being registered, is being looked at in fact the SIA is facing a total clean up ........ this is latest news on it,i posted this in door supervisor forum last night..........

:6.59pm Thursday 6th November 2008
© Press Association 2008
The head of a government agency in charge of vetting bouncers, car clampers and security staff will leave his post, after it emerged it employed dozens of staff without vetting them.
Some 38 temporary staff were cleared to work for the Security Industry Authority before they were given the proper clearance, ministers admitted. They ordered a review of decisions made by the temporary staff, amid fears convicted criminals could have been given permission to work illegally.
The board of the sia announced chief executive Mike Wilson, who has been in post for only 14 months, would leave next week. In a statement, the chairman of the board, Ruth Henig, said the decision was made by "mutual consent".
The agency was criticised last month after it emerged around 30,000 people working in the industry were doing so without a licence. Auditors also found it overspent by £17 million last year.
The agency was previously attacked after it approved more than 5,000 illegal immigrants to work in Britain. Some illegal workers got jobs in Whitehall, including one employed to guard the Prime Minister's car.
Junior Home Office minister Alan Campbell said not all the decisions made by staff who had not been vetted would be reviewed. Instead a "targeted sample" of licence approvals would be examined.
In a statement to MPs, he said: "We have become aware of some failings in the SIA's compliance with Home Office requirements for security clearance for sia employees.
"Home Office guidance issued to the SIA stipulates that no person should be employed in a permanent or temporary capacity, without appropriate confirmed security clearance.
"All permanent SIA staff have confirmed security clearance. It became clear, however, that some agency workers had not received appropriate security clearance before commencing employment with the sia."
Mr Campbell said the 38 agency staff were "removed from SIA premises and had all access to sia systems withdrawn" while security checks were carried out. As of Thursday, six staff had still not been approved to work..

dannyboy489

If they are unhelpful with your enquiry for information a possible option is to apply under the freedom of information act as they have a legal duty to respond. Whether it'll get you any further or not is another matter but it might be worth a try......