Terms & Conditions

These general terms and conditions apply to all offers and agreements whereby Stairways (hereinafter referred to as “Stairways”) provides services of any nature to a client (hereinafter referred to as the “Client”). Deviations from these general terms and conditions are only valid if expressly agreed upon in writing.

All assignments given by the Client to Stairways, including additional and follow-up assignments, even where it is expressly or implicitly intended that an assignment will be carried out by a specific person, are accepted and performed exclusively by Stairways. Stairways aims to represent the interests entrusted to it to the best of its ability. Stairways shall only be obliged to compensate for any loss or damage if and insofar as such obligation follows from Article 7 below. The application of Articles 7:404 and 7:407 paragraph 2 of the Dutch Civil Code is excluded.

Stairways shall exercise due care when engaging third parties who are not part of its organisation, including but not limited to lawyers, bailiffs, advisers and experts. Except in the case of bailiff activities and the engagement of foreign lawyers, Stairways shall consult the Client in advance. Any liability for shortcomings or failures on the part of such third parties is excluded.

Unless expressly agreed otherwise, fees shall be calculated on the basis of the number of hours worked multiplied by the applicable hourly rates. The hourly rate shall be determined on the basis of the hourly rate applied by Stairways or the relevant mediator at the time the services are performed, unless another hourly rate has expressly been agreed upon in writing.

In addition to the fee, the Client shall be liable for travel expenses and other costs incurred by Stairways, as well as office costs amounting to 6% of the fee. VAT shall be payable on the fee, including office costs, and on any disbursements where applicable.

Stairways shall be entitled, where it considers this appropriate, to require an advance payment or deposit from the Client before or during the performance of its services. Unless otherwise agreed, the advance shall be settled against the amounts due at the end of the assignment. Any surplus shall be refunded to the Client by Stairways and any additional costs shall be payable by the Client.

Stairways is entitled to issue interim invoices. If payment of an invoice issued by Stairways is not received, Stairways shall be entitled to suspend or terminate its services. Invoices issued by Stairways must be paid no later than 14 days after the invoice date. If payment has not been received within this period, the Client shall, without any further notice of default being required, owe statutory interest on the outstanding amount, together with the costs associated with collection of the debt in accordance with Article 6:96 of the Dutch Civil Code.

The liability of Stairways, including the liability of the mediator and any employees or other persons performing services for or on behalf of Stairways, shall at all times be limited to the amount payable under the professional liability insurance taken out by Stairways, increased by the amount of the applicable deductible payable by Stairways under the relevant insurance policy. A copy of the current insurance policy and its terms and conditions shall be provided to the Client upon request.

If and insofar as no payment is made under the professional liability insurance, the liability of Stairways shall be limited to the amount of the fee paid by the relevant Client for the assignment to which the liability relates.

All claims by the Client shall lapse if they have not been submitted to Stairways in writing and with reasons within one year after the Client became aware, or could reasonably have become aware, of the facts on which the claim is based. In any event, such claims shall lapse if they have not been brought before the competent court within two years after the relevant services were performed.

All provisions contained in these general terms and conditions are also stipulated for the benefit of the mediators, employees and other persons who perform services for or on behalf of Stairways.

Stairways has a complaints procedure. Any complaints may be submitted to Stairways in accordance with this procedure. If a complaint cannot be resolved satisfactorily, the dispute may be submitted to the competent court for determination.

The legal relationship between the Client and Stairways shall be governed exclusively by Dutch law. Any disputes shall be submitted exclusively to the competent Dutch court, with the District Court of Amsterdam having jurisdiction as the court of first instance.

The provisions contained in these general terms and conditions that have been stipulated for the benefit of Stairways shall also apply for the benefit of the current and former shareholders of Stairways and all employees, mediators and other persons who work or have worked for Stairways.

If a dispute is brought before a court after the mediation has ended, the costs of those legal proceedings shall be borne by the party concerned. Stairways shall not be involved in any court proceedings following termination of the mediation unless the parties and Stairways or the relevant mediator expressly agree otherwise.

These general terms and conditions have been drawn up in the Dutch language. If a translation is made available and there is any difference in interpretation or meaning between the Dutch text and the translation, the Dutch text shall prevail.

Stairways is registered in the Trade Register of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under number 84915382.