18 Complaints, Enquiries, Feedback and Appeals
a) Complaints
Complaints concerning either i) the examiner’s conduct of an exam or ii) environmental issues to do with the exam, venue, or facilities for exams, should be made in writing within seven days of the exam. In order for ABRSM to investigate complaints fully and promptly prior to the despatch of results, it is essential that the appropriate ABRSM person (see below) is made aware of any issues immediately, by telephone or e-mail. Details of the complaint must be confirmed in writing (by e-mail or post) and received within seven days of the exam. ABRSM aims to acknowledge such complaints within three working days. Complaints should be addressed to:
i) Examiner’s conduct of an exam: the Quality Assurance Manager.
ii) Environmental issues (exam, venue or facilities):
- Practical exams: UK Operations Director
- Theory exams: Chief Examiner.
b) Enquiries
All mark forms are clerically checked and reviewed prior to issue; therefore, enquiries concerning the arithmetical accuracy of results are normally unnecessary.
c) Appeals
i) Practical exam: Appeals concerning the validity of results should be made only by the applicant and must be addressed in writing to the Quality Assurance Manager, ABRSM, 24 Portland Place, London W1B 1LU. Such appeals should be postmarked within 14 days of the results’ despatch from ABRSM, accompanied by an investigation fee and a copy of the mark form(s) concerned. In order to aid the full and thorough investigation by the Quality Assurance Manager and/or the Chief Examiner, it is highly recommended that, together with the appeal correspondence, the Applicant submit an unedited recording of the candidate performing the exam pieces and a selection of the technical requirements. This may be on CD, minidisk or cassette tape and must be accompanied by a letter verifying that the candidate is the performer and the recording is unedited, and stating the date of the recording. The investigation may include a detailed statistical review of the candidate’s and Applicant’s result histories. ABRSM may involve an independent person at this stage.
If the appeal is unsubstantiated, the investigation fee will be retained and a detailed response provided. If the appeal is substantiated, the investigation fee will be returned and a voucher issued to be used either to enter again free of charge at the same grade in the next exam Period or as part payment towards a higher grade within one year of the voucher's issue. ABRSM aims to acknowledge receipt of appeal correspondence within three working days and to resolve all appeals within three weeks of the acknowledgement.
If an appeal remains unresolved by the deadline for entry to the next exam Period, candidates intending to retake should be entered in the normal way, meeting the entry deadline (postal or online). Any appeal substantiated after the entry deadline will result in a full refund of the exam fee paid in lieu of a voucher being issued.
Applicants not wishing to follow the formal appeals procedure for Practical exams but who have general concerns about results are encouraged to send feedback to the Quality Assurance Manager. While ABRSM cannot guarantee a detailed response to correspondence of this nature, all feedback is taken seriously and will be drawn into ABRSM’s rigorous internal monitoring procedures.
ii) Theory exams: Appeals concerning the validity of results should be made only by the Applicant and must be addressed in writing to the Chief Examiner, ABRSM, 24 Portland Place, London W1B 1LU. Such appeals should be made by the closing date immediately following the date when the exam was taken, accompanied by half the fee of the grade in question. ABRSM aims to acknowledge receipt of appeal correspondence within three working days and to resolve all appeals within three weeks of the acknowledgement. A full and thorough investigation will take place by a moderator. An independent person may be involved at this stage. If the appeal is unsubstantiated, the investigation fee will be retained. If the appeal is substantiated, the investigation fee will be returned and an amended result issued. Completed Theory papers are not returned.
Candidates intending to retake should be entered in the normal way, meeting the entry deadline (postal or online). Any appeal substantiated after the entry deadline will result in a full refund of the exam fee.
d) Independent Review
In the exceptional circumstance that an Applicant does not accept the Chief Examiner’s decision regarding an appeal, the Applicant may seek an independent review as to the correctness of the application of ABRSM's appeals procedure in the particular case. A request for this should be made within 14 days of the despatch of the Chief Examiner's decision and must be addressed in writing to the Chief Executive, accompanied by a fee. ABRSM aims to acknowledge the request within three working days and to respond with the outcome within three weeks of the acknowledgement. If ABRSM is unable to respond within this timeframe, the Applicant will be kept informed. An independent person, unconnected with ABRSM, will be involved in the independent review process. The findings of the independent review will be fully taken into account by the Chief Executive, who will make the final decision. If the appeal is substantiated, the review fee will be returned.