Complaints Officer: Arjan Stuij.
klachten@pvdb.nl

1. DEFINITION

Complaint:
Any reasonably identifiable, oral or written expression of dissatisfaction with the service provided by the lawyer or other employees, made known by or on behalf of the client. This also includes complaints regarding the financial aspects of the service.

Complainant:
The customer or their representative who expresses a complaint.

Attorney-at-law
The attorney against whom the complaint is directed.

Employee
The employee (non-attorney) against whom the complaint is directed.

Grievance Procedure:
The Internal Grievance Procedure adopted by the Board as contained in this document.

Complaints Officer:
The officer and his deputy to whom is assigned the task of monitoring compliance with the complaints procedure, advising and guiding or taking over the complaint handling, periodic analysis and reporting of complaints, and training and guiding attorneys in complaint handling.

Secretariat:
The Secretariat of the Complaints Officer designated by the Board.

Complaint Registration Form:
The internal form implementing the procedure set forth in the Complaint Regulation.

2. OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the complaint and evaluation scheme are to

  1. Dealing with customer complaints in a constructive manner within a reasonable period of time.
  2. Maintain and improve relationships with customers through proper complaint handling.
  3. attorneys and train and assist employees in customer-focused response to complaints.
  4. Improve service quality by analyzing and evaluating the complaint and making recommendations.

3. INFORMING THE CUSTOMER

  1. This complaint procedure has been made public. Before entering into the engagement agreement, the attorney shall inform the client that the firm has an office complaints procedure and that it applies to the services provided.
  2. The complainant shall not be liable for the cost of handling the complaint.

4. THE INTERNAL COMPLAINT PROCEDURE

  1. When a client approaches the office in any way with a complaint, the attorney or employee, respectively, and the responsible team leader or, if the complaint relates to an employee and does not concern the handling of a file, the facilities manager shall be notified immediately. At the same time, the secretariat will be informed. Complaints of a general nature, i.e. complaints that are not directed to a particular lawyer or employee, will be forwarded directly to the secretariat.
  2. If the complaint concerns financial matters, the attorney shall also inform the administration, or, if the complaint is submitted to the administration, the administration shall inform the attorney, respectively. The lawyer, after consulting with the team leader, instructs the administration on whether or not to continue the payment process in full. The secretariat shall be informed accordingly.
  3. Within two days of receipt of the complaint, the attending attorney shall hand a copy to the responsible team leader and the secretariat, accompanied by a complaint registration form completed by the attorney and an explanation in which the attorney communicates his/her views.
  4. If the complaint is addressed to a staff member and does not relate to a file, the staff member completes the complaint registration form and forwards it directly to the secretariat.
  5. If the lawyer or employee so desires, the secretariat or the complaints officer can provide support in completing the registration form.
  6. The lawyer, in consultation with the responsible team leader, tries to reach a solution with the client. If no solution is reached within 2 weeks, the secretariat will be informed in writing. The secretariat will then ensure that the complaint handling is transferred to the complaints officer. If the complaint concerns financial matters, the secretariat will inform the administration.
  7. Of the transfer of the handling of the complaint to the complaint officer, the client will be notified in writing by or on behalf of the complaint officer. The Complaints Officer will then still attempt to reach an acceptable solution with the lawyer or client, respectively.
  8. In the case referred to in paragraph 4, complaint handling shall be transferred directly to the complaint officer.
  9. The result of the complaint handling is recorded in the complaint registration form. Subsequently, the complaint registration form is signed by the lawyer concerned, the employee or the complaints officer, respectively. The client is also informed and, in case no settlement has been reached, pointed out to other possibilities for (further) complaint handling.
  10. If the complaint involves financial matters or affects the payment process, the attorney, in consultation with the team leader, shall instruct the administration on the implications for the payment process after the complaint has been settled. If all or part of the payment process has been suspended and no settlement has been reached, the advice of the complaints officer shall be sought before the payment process is resumed.
  11. Copies of all correspondence regarding the complaint, including the fully completed and signed complaint registration form, shall be provided to the Secretariat for the purpose of the complaint file.
  12. Within four weeks of receiving the complaint, the Complaints Officer pronounces a judgment on the merits or notifies the complainant of the deviation from this deadline with reasons, stating the deadline by which a judgment on the complaint will be issued.
  13. Complaints that are not resolved after treatment are submitted to the ordinary courts by the most diligent party.
  14. The Complaints Officer and the person complained about shall observe confidentiality in handling complaints.
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