Terms and conditions Verhoeven Advocaten
Verhoeven Advocaten is a business name of Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V., a limited liability company organised and existing under Dutch law, seated in Rotterdam. Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V. is registered at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under number 24284991.
All instructions from clients to Verhoeven Advocaten are solely accepted and carried out by Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V.
Articles 7:404 and 7:407 paragraph 2 of the Dutch Civil Code are hereby excluded.Any and all liability of Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V. is limited to the amount paid out, if any, under the professional liability insurance policy of Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V. in the matter concerned, plus the amount of the own risk deductible that is not for the account of the insurers under the policy conditions in the matter concerned.
Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V. shall, as far as possible, consult the client before engaging third parties, and shall in any event exercise the necessary due care in its selection of third parties.Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V. is not liable for any acts and/or omissions of third parties. The client hereby authorises Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V. to accept any limitations of liability of third parties on its behalf.
The client will indemnify Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V. against claims from third parties in relation to the work performed by Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V. at the request of the client, including the reasonable cost of legal assistance, unless gross negligence or intention of Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V. was the cause of the loss or damage.
Without prejudice to the provisions in Article 2, these standard terms and conditions do not apply only to Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V., but also to all persons involved in carrying out the instructions of the client on behalf of Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V. and to all employees or former employees of Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V.
Unless otherwise agreed, professional fees shall be calculated on the basis of the number of hours worked multiplied by the relevant hourly rates established annually by Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V.
The professional fees shall be charged to the client on a quarterly basis, subject to payment within 14 days of the date of the invoice. Costs paid for by Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V. on behalf of the client shall be charged separately. A percentage of the professional fees may be charged to cover general office costs (such as postage, phone, fax, photocopying).
In case of default in payment Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V. shall be entitled to charge statutory interest in addition to the invoice that is overdue.
The complaint handling procedure (“kantoorklachtenregeling”) applies to every instruction accepted by Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V., including any follow-up instructions. Further information about the content of the procedure and also about the person who will be responsible for the assessment of the complaint can be found on our website.
Client authorises Verhoeven Advocaten to process the necessary personal data in its administration and also under the Wwft, The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act. Verhoeven Advocaten will erase and destruct all personal data of the client as soon as the legal retention period is due.
The legal relationship between the client and Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V. is governed by Dutch law. Any disputes arising between the client and Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V. are exclusively decided upon by the competent Dutch Court.These general terms and conditions apply to every instruction accepted by Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven B.V., including any follow-up instructions. The Dutch text of these general terms and conditions shall prevail in the event of any differences between the English text and the Dutch text.
COMPLAINT HANDLING PROCEDURE
Verhoeven Advocaten
Article 1 COMPLAINT
In this complaint handling 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 a client and concerning how a request for services has been dealt with, the quality of services, or the amount invoiced, other than a complaint as referred to in section 4 Act on Advocates (Advocatenwet).
Complaints official: means the person responsible for the assessment of the complaint.
Article 2 SCOPE
1. This complaints procedure applies to all services provided to the client by one or more attorneys at Verhoeven Advocaten.
2. Every attorney at Verhoeven Advocaten will respond to complaints in accordance with this complaints handling procedure.
Article 3 PURPOSE
The purpose of this complaints handling procedure is to:
a. establish a procedure for constructively dealing with a client’s complaint within a reasonable period of time;
b. establish a procedure for determining the cause of a client’s complaint;
c. maintain and improve existing relationships by correctly dealing with complaints;
d. train employees to respond to complaints with the client’s needs in mind;
e. improve the quality of services by analysing the complaints made.
Article 4 INFORMATION AT THE START OF SERVICES
1. This complaints procedure can be viewed on www.verhoevenadvocaten.nl.
2. Before providing services to a client, the attorney informs the client that Verhoeven Advocaten has a complaints procedure which applies to the services.
3. Complaints that have been dealt with but not resolved are submitted to the District Court of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Article 5 INTERNAL PROCEDURE
1. Every complaint will be passed on to the complaints officer, either Mr A.C.M. Verhoeven or Mr A.B. Verhoeven-Schell, depending on who is the attorney the complaint relates to.
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 concerned by the complaint 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 explaining whether or not the complaint was justified, and he may make recommendations.
Article 6 CONFIDENTIALITY AND NO COSTS
1. The complaints officer and the attorney who the complaint relates to maintain confidentiality while dealing with the complaint.
2.The client is not charged any fee for the handling of the complaint.
Article 7 RESPONSIBILITIES
1. The complaints officer is responsible for the timely assessment of the complaint.
2. The attorney who the complaint relates to keeps the complaints officer informed of his/her contacts with the client and of any possible solution.
3.The complaints officer keeps the client informed on the handling of the complaint.
4. The complaints officer keeps the complaint file up to date.
Article 8 COMPLAINTS REGISTRATION
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 Verhoeven Advocaten.
