Terms of use for The Expat Buddy platform

1. Who we are

The Expat Buddy is a trade name of the sole proprietorship of Nathalie De Langhe, Lange Zavelstraat 69, 2060 Antwerpen, Belgium, company and VAT number BE 1020.017.950. You can reach us at info@theexpatbuddy.com.

In these terms, “we” and “us” means The Expat Buddy. “You” means the person who creates an account.

2. What these terms cover

These terms apply to your account on app.theexpatbuddy.com (the “platform”), including the free plan.

• If your account was created through your employer, these terms apply together with the agreement between your employer and us.
• Paid services, such as the Expat Admin Session, have their own terms at theexpatbuddy.com/terms.
• How we handle your personal data is explained in our privacy policy at theexpatbuddy.com/privacy.

By creating an account, you accept these terms.

3. Your account

• You must be at least 18 years old to create an account.
• Give correct information and keep it up to date.
• Your account is personal. Don’t share your login with others.
• Keep your password safe. Tell us straight away at info@theexpatbuddy.com if you think someone else is using your account.
• You need to confirm your email address before you can use your account.

4. What the free plan includes

The free plan gives you your own dashboard, a selection of how-to guides, reminders for the expiry dates you enter, and the word of the week.

The free plan is free of charge. We may add, change or remove features of the free plan. If we stop offering the free plan, we will tell you by email at least 30 days in advance.

5. Information, not advice

Our how-to guides, tips and other content give general, practical information about living and working in Belgium. We do our best to keep them correct and up to date, but rules and procedures change, and every situation is different.

Our content is not legal, tax, medical or financial advice. Before you make an important decision, check with the competent authority (for example your municipality, the Immigration Office or your health insurance fund) or a qualified professional.

6. Reminders

The platform can remind you before a document or contract expires, based on the dates you enter.

• You are responsible for entering correct dates.
• Reminders are a help, not a guarantee. An email can end up in your spam folder, be delayed, or not arrive.
• You remain responsible for renewing your documents on time, such as your residence card, passport or work permit.

7. Using the platform fairly

You agree not to:

• create an account with false information or for someone else without their permission;
• create several free accounts for yourself;
• try to access data that isn’t yours, or test, break or overload the platform;
• copy or resell our content, or collect it with automated tools;
• use the platform for anything illegal.

If you break these rules, we may suspend or delete your account. Where possible, we will tell you first and give you the chance to explain.

8. Your data and your employer

What you enter on the platform stays yours. We use it only to provide the platform, as explained in our privacy policy.

If you created your account yourself, we never share your name, details or documents with your employer. If you tell us who your employer is, we may tell that company how many of its employees use The Expat Buddy, as a number only and only when at least five of its employees use the platform, so that no one can be identified.

If your account was created through your employer, your employer sees only what is described in the privacy policy and what you choose to share.

9. Availability

We work to keep the platform available and secure, but we can’t promise that it will always work without interruption or errors. We may take the platform offline for maintenance or updates. Where possible, we do this outside office hours.

10. Our liability

• The free plan is offered free of charge and as it is.
• We are not liable for decisions you make based on our content, for missed deadlines, or for indirect damage such as lost income.
• This does not limit our liability for intent or gross negligence, for death or personal injury, or in any other case where the law does not allow it to be limited.
• Nothing in these terms takes away your rights as a consumer under Belgian law.

11. Ending your account

• By you: you can delete your account at any time in your settings, or ask us via info@theexpatbuddy.com. If your account was created through your employer, contact your employer or us.
• Inactivity: if you haven’t logged in for 12 months, we delete your free account and its data. We send you a warning by email 30 days before.
• By us: we may end your account if you break these terms (see section 7), or if we stop offering the free plan (see section 4).

After your account is deleted, we remove your data as described in our privacy policy.

12. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. If a change is important, we tell you by email at least 30 days before it applies. If you don’t agree, you can delete your account before then. If you keep using the platform after that date, the new terms apply.

13. Law and disputes

These terms are governed by Belgian law.

Have a complaint? Email us at info@theexpatbuddy.com first. We reply within 10 working days and try to find a solution together.

If we can’t solve it together, the competent Belgian courts decide, without prejudice to your rights as a consumer to go to the court of the place where you live.