Official complaint procedure for partners

As a partner, if you have a problem, we naturally want to resolve it as effectively as possible for you. Unfortunately, this isn't always possible. Has your case been fully completed, and you haven't been able to resolve it with the relevant department and/or Partnerservice?

Then you can follow these steps.

1. Has a decision already been made and the email exchange completed? If not, please discuss with the relevant team or our Partnerservice.
2. Start a new email to partnerklachten@bol.com. If you change the email address in an existing email to a different one, your email will not reach our team. State in the subject line that it concerns a complaint. Within 30 working days, an employee will contact you to discuss the complaint and work towards a solution together.
3. Clearly explain in the email what your complaint is about and its details. Also, include the case number in your complaint, not just in the subject line. This is the only way we can address your complaint. This could, for example, be about the handling of email correspondence and/or policy deduction points.

Unfortunately, we cannot process complaints that do not meet the above criteria.

Further complaint procedure

1. If the complaint is still not resolved to your satisfaction after this, you can submit the complaint to the seller complaints committee by indicating via partnerklachten that you wish to submit an escalation request to the committee. The committee will process your complaint and will make a decision and provide you with feedback within 30 days.
2. If your complaint is still not resolved, you can submit the issue to an intermediary. This is an external party that mediates between you and bol. It is important to know that you as a partner and bol will each initially pay half of the mediation costs, unless another agreement is made.

For more information, please also refer to the complaint procedure in our general terms and conditions for professional sales.

Do you disagree with a decision made by bol regarding the enforcement of illegal content, such as items or content? Then you can submit a complaint to an independent dispute resolution body outside of court. More information on this can be found on the website of the European Commission.

A mediator is a professional who, as a neutral third party, assists parties in resolving a specific dispute. This person does not make the decision and is therefore not a judge or arbitrator.

Mediation is a voluntary and confidential process. bol and the professional seller jointly appoint a mediator. We then conclude an agreement. We each pay half of the mediator's costs, unless another arrangement is made. We aim to reach a solution in one or more meetings with the help of the mediator.

Most business mediations lead to a solution, meaning we as parties do not have to go to court. This saves us a lot of costs and loss of time.

Online platforms, such as bol, are legally obliged to state the names of independent mediators in their general terms and conditions, with whom they aim to resolve disputes with their business partners. bol has found 2 mediators who have indicated their willingness to mediate for issues between us and our business partners. This initially takes place online, but in-person mediation is also possible. Agreements have been made with these individuals regarding their availability, the duration of a mediation, and the costs: a fixed amount of € 750,- + VAT per party for online mediation for issues with a financial interest up to € 100,000,-**

These mediators are:

• mr. Bart Neervoort, MfN Registered Mediator (NL) https://www.linkedin.com/in/bartneervoort/?locale=en_US
• mr. Willem Meuwissen, recognized mediator by the Federal Mediation Commission (Be) https://www.linkedin.com/in/willem-meuwissen-66971a1b/

They both have no ties to bol and are therefore completely independent. They are affiliated with the European Platform for Online Mediation e-pom. This platform was established by independent mediators from all over Europe.

If you, as a business partner, want to register an issue for mediation, go to www.e-pom.eu. There you will find a step-by-step plan:

• You fill in your details, provide a brief description of the issue, and upload the documents.
• You pay administrative costs (€ 250,- + VAT) and choose the mediator.
• bol is contacted by e-POM to briefly describe our view on the issue and also to pay administrative costs (€ 250,- + VAT).
• As parties, we both receive a draft mediation agreement and an invoice for the costs (€ 500,- + VAT) from the mediator.
• The mediator invites both of us for an individual introductory meeting via video call.
• This is followed by one or more joint follow-up meetings via video call.
• If an agreement is reached, the arrangements are put in writing and signed by both of us. These agreements are binding for both parties.

* In the Netherlands, the terms mediator/mediation are used. In Belgium, the terms 'bemiddelaar/bemiddeling' (mediator/mediation) are used. It means the same thing.** For higher amounts and/or in-person mediation, separate fee agreements are made.