Article 1 Definitions

The following definitions apply in this office complaints procedure:

complaint: any written expression of dissatisfaction on the part of or on behalf of the client towards the lawyer or the persons working under his responsibility about the formation and execution of an assignment agreement, the quality of the services or the amount of the invoice, other than a complaint as referred to in section 4 of the Advocatenwet;

complainant: the client or his representative who submits a complaint;

complaints officer: the lawyer charged with handling the complaint, not being the lawyer who was involved in the handling of the complainant’s case;

Article 2 Scope of application
1.      This office complaints procedure applies to every assignment OF agreement between Van Zon and Quint Advocaten and the client.
2.      Every lawyer of Van Zon and Quint Advocaten is responsible for handling complaints in accordance with the office complaints procedure.

Article 3 Objectives
This office complaints procedure aims to:
1.      establishing a procedure for constructively handling complaints from clients within a reasonable period of time;
2.      establishing a procedure to determine the causes of complaints from clients;
3.      maintaining and improving existing relationships by means of proper complaints handling;
4.      train employees to respond to complaints in a client-oriented manner;
5.      improving the quality of the services with the aid of complaint handling and complaint analysis.

Article 4 Information at the start of services
1.      This office complaints procedure has been made public. Before entering into the assignment agreement, the lawyer informs the client that the office uses an office complaints procedure and that this applies to the services.
2.      Van Zon en Quint Advocaten has included in the general terms and conditions to which independent party or body a complaint that has not been resolved after handling can be submitted in order to obtain a binding decision and has stated this in the order confirmation.
3.      Complaints as referred to in art. 1 of this office complaints procedure that are not resolved accordingly to this procedure, will be submitted to the Oost-Brabant District Court, location ’s-Hertogenbosch.

Article 5 Internal complaints procedure
1.      If a client approaches the office with a complaint, the complaint will be forwarded to the complaints officer.
2.      The complaints officer will inform the person against whom the complaint has been lodged of the submission of the complaint and will give the complainant and the person against whom the complaint has been made the opportunity to explain the complaint.
3.      The person who is the subject of the complaint tries to reach a solution together with the client, whether or not after the intervention of the complaints officer.
4.      The complaints officer will deal with the complaint within four weeks of receipt of the complaint or will inform the complainant about a deviation from this term, stating the reasons and stating the term within which an opinion will be given on the complaint.
5.      The complaints officer will inform the complainant and the person against whom the complaint has been made in writing of the opinion on the validity of the complaint, whether or not accompanied by recommendations.
6.      If the complaint has been handled satisfactorily, the complainant, the complaints officer and the person who is the subject of the complaint sign the opinion on the validity of the complaint.

Article 6 Confidentiality and free complaint handling
1.      The complaints officer and the person who is the subject of the complaint will handle the complaint confidentially.
2.      The complainant does not owe any compensation for the costs of handling the complaint.

Article 7 Responsibilities
1.      The complaints officer is responsible for the timely handling of the complaint.
2.      The person who is the subject of the complaint will keep the complaints officer informed about any contact and a possible solution.
3.      The complaints officer will keep the complainant informed about the handling of the complaint.
4.      The complaints officer keeps the complaint file up to date.

Article 8 Complaint registration
1.      The complaints officer registers the complaint, stating the subject of the complaint.
2.      A complaint can be divided into several subjects.
3.      The complaints officer periodically reports on the handling of the complaints and makes recommendations to prevent new complaints, as well as to improve procedures.
4.      At least once a year, the reports and recommendations are discussed at the office and submitted for decision-making.