'Shambolic SIA lost my documents'

A licensee has branded the Security Industry Authority (SIA) "shambolic" after important documents went missing when he tried to renew his door supervisor licence.

Steven Monk, joint licensee of the Boars Head in Oswestry, Shropshire, changed his bank account out of fear of having his identity stolen when his birth certificate, bank statement and mobile phone bill were lost.

Monk says he received a letter from the SIA two weeks ago - three months after his original application for a renewal - stating that his personal documents were enclosed, but the envelope was empty.

"They (the SIA) have said they will look into it, but it's not good enough. My statement had all my details on. They should take more care," said Monk.

And David Parker, group manager of Spindleberry Inns, which has three bars in North Yorkshire, says he has also faced major delays.

He and two of his doorstaff sent renewal forms to the SIA in November and are still waiting for their renewed licences.

"It's out of order," said Parker. "For one of the guys who works for me, this is his only job, so he's got no money. I can't understand why a renewal would take so long."

An SIA spokeswoman blamed postal strikes and the introduction of a new SIA system for the delays

"A number of additional factors have unfortunately led to our call centre being deluged. We apologise for the delays but anticipate service levels will soon improve," she said.

"We accept and apologise that Mr Monk's application has taken longer than our estimated time." She confirmed a decision on his application would be made this week and that the lost documents are being looked into.

She said Parker's application would take a further week.