Our complaints procedure

In addition to the General Terms and Conditions COURIUS applies specific conditions per course for its courses/masterclasses. Course participants will be informed by email of these conditions when registering for a course. The conditions are also mentioned on the information pages about the courses on our website. This complaints procedure is governed by Dutch law.

It is possible that complaints may arise during a course. COURIUS trainers take complaints very seriously and see them as an important lesson for the improvement of quality.

A. Submitting a complaint

1. A course participant or client may, possibly through his legal representative, submit a complaint if, in his or her perception, the General Terms and Conditions or the course conditions of COURIUS have been violated by a co-participant, trainer/coach or the COURIUS organisation.
2. A complaint must be addressed to the management board of COURIUS, Postbox 47935, 2504 CE Den Haag or in an email to: klacht@courius.com, with an explanation of the dissatisfaction, within a reasonable period of time after the complaint was made.
3. Employees of COURIUS shall at all times comply with their obligation of confidentiality and will also protect the privacy of those involved. The same obligation of confidentiality will also be required of any external parties.

B. Handling a complaint

1. The complainant will be sent a written/digital receipt as quickly as possible, but still within 14 days.
2. The complaint will be evaluated against the General Terms and Conditions and the conditions of the COURIUS course.
3. The management board of COURIUS will give both the complainant and the person accused the opportunity to be heard about what is stated in the complaint. This may be done separately or together.
4. If required, the parties may be represented by third parties at their own expense. The obligation of confidentiality is applicable to third parties.

C. Complaint assessment

1. The management board of COURIUS will make every effort to deal with the complaint within 4 weeks. Should this not be possible, both parties will be informed of this as soon as possible and COURIUS shall indicate within which period of time the decision can be expected.
2. The management board of COURIUS will evaluate the complaint and submit a report to both parties.

D. Decision after the complaint

1. Following the evaluation and handling of the submitted complaint, both the complainant and the person accused will be informed in writing of the corresponding measures. These may consist of:
   • A resolved problem: the management board of COURIUS may consider the complaint, following mediation, as resolved. Parties will be informed of this in writing.
     b. Justified complaint:
     i. Binding decision which for the course leader/trainer may be focused on undergoing extra training or the termination of his role as course leader/trainer;
     ii. The course participant may request a refund of the course fee.
     c. Unjustified complaint: the complaint does not relate to the General Terms and Conditions or the COURIUS course conditions.
   • i. If the complaint is not considered to be resolved, then the course participant will terminate participation in the course.
2. COURIUS will register complaints in a file and will keep them for a period of at least 1 year. If there is evidence that COURIUS is responsible, then complaints will serve as a motivating factor for sustainable improvements.

E. Possibility of appeal

1. Should a difference of opinion arise between COURIUS and a course participant on the basis of the complaint, then the complainant can apply to an independent third party. The complainant must first wait for the complaint assessment before taking this step. Drs. M. van Hattem has been appointed as an independent third party (michiel@vanhattem.org). He is, among other things, the former director of vfonds and programme manager at Fontys and is now director at Double Healix and programme manager for Open University.
2. The decision of the independent third party is binding and shall be observed by COURIUS. Any consequences will be dealt with swiftly.

F. Retention period of complaints

Personally identifiable complaint information will be stored for up to a maximum of 2 years after the closing of the complaint in conformity with the requirements of the exemption decision of the Dutch Personal Data Protection Act.