General conditions
These conditions form part of all agreements concerning (or connected with) services provided by Houtappel advocatenkantoor ("HA").
1. Houtappel advocatenkantoor is a one-man business. Only Dutch law will govern the relationship between HA and its instructing parties, clients and other parties or persons involved (below jointly: the "Clients").
2. If through or in connection with the provision of services for a client/commissioning party under an engagement or otherwise, any damage, loss or injury is caused to persons or things for which HA, or one or more persons in its employ, are liable, such liability shall be limited to the amount which is paid under HA’s professional liability policy in the matter concerned, increased with the deductible under the liability policy. Liability of HA for any form of indirect or consequential losses is excluded; liability for direct loss for which HA (for whatever reason) has no cover at all under any insurance, shall be limited in all cases to the total twice the amount of the invoices sent by HA in the matter concerned which have been timely paid, with a maximum of EUR 20,000,--. No set-off shall be permitted.
3. Notwithstanding the effect of article 6:89 of the Civil Code, any right against HA to indemnification or damages shall be forfeited in any case six months after the Clients has become aware of any event which may lead to liability of HA.
4. The Clients will indemnify and hold harmless HA in respect of all claims and demands from third parties which arise out of, or are connected with, the instructions given to HA and will reimburse HA the reasonable costs of a defense against such claims.
5. HA will treat all information received from, or on behalf of, Clients confidential in accordance with it's latest Privacy Statement. The Privacy Statement can be found on the internetsite of HA (www.houtappel.com), under the tab/sub-link: "Genaral Conditions". The Privacy Statement is published hereunder.
6. Payment of invoices from HA must be made within 14 days after the invoice date, unless agreed otherwise.
7. Complaints regarding the services of HA can be made according to the latest complaints procedure, to be found on the internetsite of HA, (www.houtappel.com) under the tab/sub-link: 'General Conditions". The complaints procedure is described hereunder.
8. The Court of Rotterdam shall have exclusive jurisdiction to decide all disputes between HA and the Clients, but HA reserves the right to file suit against the Clients, in connection with payment of invoices or an indemnity as referred to above, before a Court which would (also) be competent without the above choice of jurisdiction.
PRIVACY STATEMENT
Houtappel law firm adheres to the Dutch General Data Protection Regulation (AVR).
Houtappel law firm is responsible for the processing of personal data. Houtappel Law Firm primarily processes personal data for the purpose of providing services to clients. In addition, personal data is processed in the context of business operations, such as recruiting and selecting personnel, managing ICT systems, administration, invoicing and handling complaints and disputes. The legal basis for processing personal data is in the first place the contract for services entered into with Houtappel law firm, compliance with legal obligations and the representation of the interests of clients and third parties.
The basis for the processing of personal data in the event of an application (for a vacancy or spontaneously) is based on consent. In the event of an application, the applicant is deemed to have given permission for the processing of personal data. In that case, the data will be destroyed until the end of the application procedure, or in the case of a spontaneous application after six months. In all cases where the processing is based on consent, consent can be withdrawn at any time, after which the data will be deleted by Houtappel Law Firm.
The personal data that Houtappel law firm processes are: - Full first names, - Last name, - Date of birth, - Address (city, zip code, street name, house number), - Telephone number, - E-mail address, - Citizen service number, - Nationality, - Account number.
Houtappel Law Firm does not share your personal data with third parties, unless in the opinion of Houtappel Law Firm this is necessary for one of the processing purposes. Personal data of clients may also be shared with third parties engaged by Houtappel Law Firm, such as bailiffs or IT service providers. In those cases, Houtappel law firm stipulates a confidentiality obligation. The lawyers associated with Houtappel Law Firm and all employees employed by Houtappel Law Firm are bound by an obligation of confidentiality with regard to the personal data and all confidential information of clients and third parties that become known to them in the course of conducting the office. For questions about the processing of personal data, please contact the privacy coordinator mr. J.B. Houtappel.
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
Article 1 definitions
In this complaints procedure, the following definitions apply:
complaint: any written expression of dissatisfaction by or on behalf of the client towards the lawyer or the persons working under his responsibility about the conclusion and execution of a contract for services, the quality of the service or the amount of the invoice, not being a complaint as referred to in section 4 of the Dutch Lawyers Act (Advocatenwet);
complainant: the client or his representative who makes a complaint known;
complaints officer: the lawyer charged with handling the complaint;
Article 2 scope of application
This office complaints procedure applies to every agreement for services between Houtappel Law Firm, hereinafter: “HA” and the client.
The lawyer is responsible for handling complaints in accordance with the office complaints procedure.
Article 3 objectives
This office complaints procedure aims to:
a. establishing a procedure to deal with complaints from clients in a constructive manner within a reasonable period of time;
b. establishing a procedure to determine the causes of client complaints;
c. maintaining and improving existing relationships through good complaints handling;
d. train employees in customer-oriented response to complaints;
e. improving the quality of service with the help of complaint handling and complaint analysis.
Article 4 information at the start of the service
This office complaints procedure has been made public. Before entering into the contract for services, the lawyer points out to the client that the office applies an office complaints procedure and that this applies to the services provided.
HA has stated in the contract for services and via 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 made this known in the order confirmation.
Complaints as referred to in Article 1 of this office complaints procedure that have not been resolved after handling can be submitted to the court or reported to the Dean.
Article 5 internal complaints procedure
If a client approaches the office with a complaint, the complaint will be forwarded to mr J.B. Houtappel, who thus acts as complaints officer. Mr J.B. Houtappel discusses this complaint with mr. T. Bezmalinovic.
The complaints officer informs the person against whom the complaint has been lodged of the submission of the complaint and gives the complainant and the person against whom the complaint has been made the opportunity to explain the complaint.
The complaints officer will deal with the complaint within four weeks of receipt of the complaint or, stating the reasons, will inform the complainant about any deviation from this period, stating the period within which an opinion on the complaint will be given.
The complaints officer will inform the complainant and the person against whom the complaint has been made in writing of the opinion on the merits of the complaint.
Article 6 Confidentiality and free complaint handling
The complaints officer and the person about whom the complaint has been made will observe confidentiality when handling the complaint.
The complainant does not owe any compensation for the costs of handling the complaint.
Article 7 responsibilities
The complaints officer is responsible for the timely handling of the complaint.
The person about whom the complaint has been made will keep the complaints officer informed about any contact and a possible solution.
The complaints officer will keep the complainant informed about the handling of the complaint.
The complaints officer keeps the complaint file up to date.
Article 8 complaint registration
The complaints officer keeps an overview of all complaints received, including the subject of the complaint, discusses the complaints internally as often as necessary and, if necessary, makes recommendations to prevent new complaints, as well as to improve procedures.