General terms and condition
These terms and conditions (“Conditions”) apply to the services provided by Affluo BV/SRL, with registered offices at Pegasuslaan 5, B-1831 Diegem (Belgium), company number 0723.713.337, VAT BE0723.713.337 (“Affluo”).
Affluo has offices at the following addresses:
- Affluo Affluo Brussel, Pegasuslaan 5, 1831 Diegem
- Affluo Antwerpen, Frankrijklei 5 bus 0401, 2000 Antwerpen
- Affluo Hasselt, Koning Boudewijnlaan 20A, 3500 Hasselt
All members of Affluo are attorneys-at-law (advocaat – avocat) admitted to the Bar of Brussels (Belgium) (www.baliebrussel.be – www.barreaudebruxelles.be), the Bar of Antwerp (www.balieantwerpen.be) or the Bar of Limburg (www.balielimburg.be). The rules of professional conduct applicable to the attorneys-atlaw of Affluo may be consulted on this website in Dutch or French, depending on the applicable Bar.
Except if agreed otherwise in writing, you (“Client”) accept to be bound by these Conditions by entrusting any assignment to Affluo.
1. The services
1.1. Affluo shall perform any assignment to the best of its abilities.
1.2. Affluo shall use reasonable efforts to perform the assignment within a short period of time. Except if explicitly agreed otherwise or if provided by law or court order, deadlines are reasonable estimates.
1.3. Affluo shall regularly inform the Client about the performance and the progress of an assignment. If this is required in the context of a specific assignment, special reporting modalities may be convened.
1.4. The Client shall, promptly and throughout the course of an assignment, provide Affluo with all useful information, if necessary at the request of Affluo.
2. Recourse to third parties
2.1. Subject to the Client’s prior consent, Affluo may have recourse to other laywers for specific assignments. In that case, these lawyers shall work under the supervision and responsibility of Affluo. As an exception to this principle, Affluo may from time to time have recourse to other lawyers without the Client’s prior consent for administrative or procedural formalities (e.g. filing of a brief or a court calendar).
2.2. If it is necessary for the performance of the assignment to have recourse to a bailliff, the Client shall leave the choice thereof to Affluo.
2.3. Affluo shall only call upon the services of other professionals, such as translators, notaries, experts or accountants, with the explicit consent of the Client. These professionals shall be chosen in consultation with the Client.
3. Fees and expenses
3.1. Affluo’s fees are usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate. Affluo’s fees shall always be determined in a specific communication with the Client and shall relate either to a specific assignment or to all assignments. If Affluo has communicated an hourly rate that applies to all assignments, Affluo may from time to time change the hourly rate of the fees. Affluo shall give notice prior to the entry into effect of the new hourly rates.
3.2. The reimbursable costs and expenses of Affluo shall be calculated as follows:
Expenses which are specific to the functioning of Affluo are included in the fees (this includes, amongst others, general administrative costs, telephone costs, fascimile costs, paper, ...).
Expenses which relate to travel are invoiced at the rate of 0,50 EUR/km for car travel and at cost for travel by public transportation.
Expenses which relate to the intervention of other professionals are charged at cost.
3.3. The procedural fees and expenses are costs that Affluo may have had to advance to third parties, such as the bailiff, the registry, translators and public instances. If this is the case, these expenses will be stated precisely and in detail in the invoice and shall be charged at cost. Affluo may request that these fees and expenses are invoiced directly to the Client.
3.4. Before the commencement and during the course of an assignment, Affluo can ask for one or more advance payments.
3.5. Except if agreed otherwise in writing, Affluo may issue invoices after the assignment has been finalised or monthly in arrears, depending on the context of the assignment.
3.6. The Client shall pay any invoice within 30 days following receipt.
4. Client monies
4.1. Affluo shall transfer all monies it receives on behalf of the Client on to the Client within the shortest possible delay. If Affluo cannot immediately transfer an amount, Affluo shall notify the Client thereof.
4.2. Except in case of prior written consent of the Client, Affluo shall not keep sums from the monies Affluo receives on behalf of the Client to cover advances or invoices due.
4.3. Affluo shall transfer any amount received from the Client for the account of third parties on to these third parties within the agreed period of time, or within the shortest possible delay, as required by the circumstances.
5. Liability
5.1. Except in case of fraud or wilful misconduct, the liability of Affluo (including its partners and other lawyers that work on behalf of Affluo and for which Affluo is liable pursuant to these Conditions) is limited to the amount of the insurance coverage of the professional liability insurance of Affluo. Affluo is insured for professional liability for an aggregate amount up to seven million five hundred thousand (7.500.000,00) Euro per event and per calendar year. Affluo is insured with AG Insurance SA. The insurance coverage applies worldwide.
5.2. If the Client requires a higher insurance coverage for a specific assignment, this insurance coverage can be agreed upon, subject to the payment of an additional compensation by the Client to Affluo. The Client and Affluo shall jointly discuss and agree on the modalities and the compensation for this additional insurance coverage.
5.3. In the event the insurer refuses – for whatever reason – to cover the liability, the liability of Affluo (including its partners and other lawyers that work on behalf of Affluo and for which Affluo is liable pursuant to these Conditions) is limited to twice the amount of the fees invoiced for the relevant assignment.
6. Confidentiality and data protection
6.1. Affluo is bound by an obligation of confidentiality pursuant to provisions under criminal law and under its rules of professional conduct in relation to all information that Affluo receives from the Client in the context of an assignment. The Client acknowledges and accepts that the communication or divulgation of certain information may be required under specific circumstances by law or by the rules of professional conduct to which Affluo is bound. Information obtained or received from the Client may be communicated to other advisors of the Client in the context of the assignment or to third parties that intervene in the context of an assigment as described in Clause 2.
6.2. Affluo shall be entitled to use the Client as a reference (including a general description of the assignement). Specific communications with regards to matters handled by Affluo shall only be published with the Client’s prior written consent.
6.3. When Affluo processes personal data for its own purposes, it shall process such personal data in accordance with its privacy statement.
6.4. If Affluo processes personal data on behalf of the Client, Affluo acts as processor. Affluo and the Client shall in that case ensure that they have a separate data processing agreement in place prior to the processing of personal data.
7. Termination of the assignment
7.1. Unless agreed otherwise, the Client shall be entitled to terminate any assignment with a simple written notice with immediate effect and without any termination compensation being due. Upon termination of an assignment, Affluo shall send the Client an invoice for fees and expenses incurred up to the termination of the assignment.
7.2. Affluo shall return the Client’s documents upon first request. Affluo shall be entitled to keep a copy of any such documents for archive purposes.
7.3. Unless agreed otherwise, Affluo shall be entitled to terminate an assigment with a written notice to the Client, provided Affluo offers the Client a reasonable notice period enabling the Client to appoint another counsellor.
8. Applicable law and dispute resolution
8.1. These Conditions are governed by Belgian law.
8.2. Affluo and the Client shall strive to settle amicably any dispute arising out of or in connection with any assigment covered by these Conditions. Prior to initiating proceedings, they shall preferably seek a settlement before the court or before the competent instance with the Bar. Any dispute that has not been settled amicably in accordance with the foregoing shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Brussels (Belgium).