Complaints Procedure Advocatenpraktijk Het Hoofdkantoor B.V.

Article 1 Complaint

In this complaints procedure:

• complaint means any dissatisfaction with an attorney or a person working under an attorney’s responsibility, expressed in writing by or on behalf of the client and concerning how a request for services was entered into or has been dealt with, the quality of services, or the amount invoiced, other than a complaint as referred to in article 4 Act on Advocates (Advocatenwet);
• client means the client or his or her representative filing the complaint; and
• complaints officer means the attorney tasked with handling the claim.

Article 2 Scope

1. This complaints procedure applies to all services provided to the client by Advocatenpraktijk Het Hoofdkantoor B.V. (Het Hoofdkantoor).
2. Every attorney at Het Hoofdkantoor will respond to complaints in accordance with this complaints procedure.

Article 3 Purpose

The purpose of this complaints procedure is to:

1. establish a procedure for constructively dealing with a client’s complaint within a reasonable period of time;
2. establish a procedure for determining the cause of a client’s complaint;
3. maintain and improve existing relationships by correctly dealing with complaints;
4. train persons associated with Het Hoofdkantoor to respond to complaints with the client’s needs in mind;
5. improve the quality of services through handling claims and reflecting on them.

Article 4 Information at the start of services

1. This complaints procedure has been made public. Before providing services to a client, the attorney informs the client that Het Hoofdkantoor has a complaints procedure which applies to the services.
2. Complaints that have been dealt with but not resolved may be submitted to the District Court of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in accordance with the general conditions of Het Hoofdkantoor.

Article 5 Internal procedure

1. Every complaint will be filed to the complaints officer, being Mr J.B.J. van der Kolk in case the complaint relates to Mr M. Hofman and being Mr M. Hofman in case the complaint relates to Mr J.B.J. van der Kolk.
2. The complaints officer informs the attorney who the complaint relates to of the complaint and gives the client and the attorney the opportunity to provide an explanation.
3. The attorney tries to find a solution together with the client, before or after the complaints officer’s intervention.
4. The complaints officer assesses the complaint within four weeks after he has received the complaint. If this deadline is not met, the complaints officer will inform the client of this and explain the reasons; he will also specify a new deadline for assessing the complaint.
5. The complaints officer sends a letter to the client and the attorney setting out his view whether the complaint was justified, and he may make recommendations.
6. If the complaint has been satisfactorily resolved, the client, the complaints officer and the attorney concerned sign the letter concerning whether the complaint is justified.

Article 6 Confidentiality and no handling fee

1. The complaints officer and the attorney who the complaint relates to maintain confidentiality while dealing with the complaint.
2. The client does not owe any fee for the handling of the complaint.

Article 7 Duties

1. The complaints officer is responsible for the timely resolution of the complaint.
2. The attorney who the complaint relates to keeps the complaints officer informed of his or her contacts with the client and of any possible solution.
3. The complaints officer keeps the client informed of the handling of the complaint.
4. The complaints officer keeps the complaint file up to date.

 

Article 8 Complaints record

1. The complaints officer files the complaint, specifying the subject matter.
2. A complaint can be divided into several subject matters.
3. The complaints officer periodically reports on how the complaints have been handled and makes recommendations for preventing new complaints and improving procedures.
4. At least once a year, the complaints officer’s reports and recommendations are discussed and submitted for decision-making within Het Hoofdkantoor. This complaints procedure is available in Dutch and English. In the event of conflict, the Dutch version prevails.

Version August 2023