SB ATTORNEYS – PRIVACY POLICY

1. This Privacy Policy applies to all users of our Website, related mobi-sites and software applications, collectively referred to as “our Platforms”, which are used to access and purchase our products and services.

2. The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to set out how, why and when Speirs Blows Inc trading as SB Attorneys (“SB Attorneys”) uses your Personal Information so as to comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPI”).

3. It is important that you read this Privacy Policy together with our other terms and conditions, privacy notices or policies we may provide from time to time when we collect or use your Personal Information.

4. Further, please pay special attention to the clauses in this Privacy Policy that appear in similar text and style (i.e. bold) which:

  • may limit the risk or liability of SB Attorneys or a third party.
  • may create risk or liability for the user.
  • may compel the user to indemnify SB Attorneys or a third party.
  • serves as an acknowledgement, by the user, of a fact.

5. We respect your privacy and take the protection of Personal Information very seriously. We strive to deliver excellent service every time you shop with us, and to do this, we need to use some of your Personal Information. This Privacy Policy describes how we handle the Personal Information we collect about you and/or receive from you. By using our Platforms, you agree to the processing of your Personal Information as set out in this Privacy Policy.

6. In this Privacy Policy, the terms –

  • “Personal Information”, and “process/processing” bear the same meanings as set out in POPI.
  • “we”, “us” or “our” refers to SB Attorneys
  • “you” and “your” refers to every person that accesses or uses our website also referred to as a user.

7. IF YOU ARE BELOW THE AGE OF 18

7.1 If you are below the age of 18 years, you must always get permission from your parent or guardian before you use our Platforms or give us your Personal Information. We may check that your parent or guardian has given you such permission, for example by asking you to provide us with your parent’s or guardian’s contact details so we can contact them. We may also check that the contact details you have given us are correct and are the details of a person who is actually your parent or guardian. If we are not able to verify such permission or if a parent or guardian confirms that you do not have their permission, you may not use our Platforms.

8. WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND PROCESS

8.1 SB Attorneys processes Personal Information in a manner that is reasonable, adequate, relevant, non-excessive and purpose-specific. In order for users to access and use our website we collect and process some Personal Information. When you lodge an enquiry with us on our website, we have to collect and process your Personal Information to render our services to you.

8.2 When you lodge an enquiry on our website and or should we act on your behalf, we may collect the following Personal Information:

  • name and surname.
  • Identity Number.
  • email address.
  • physical address.
  • mobile phone number.
  • online identifiers.
  • date of birth.
  • SARS tax number.

8.3 Should your Personal Information change or you wish to amend and/or correct this Personal Information you can do this by updating your information with us via email to [email protected].

8.4 You warrant that the information you have provided is accurate, current, true and correct and that does not impersonate or misrepresent any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with anyone or anything.

9. Information from using our Platforms

9.1 When you access our website SB Attorneys processes some of your Personal Information. Depending on how you access and use our website, we may receive:

  • log information, through online identifiers, including information on how, when and for how long you use our website and other services, the content you view and search queries you submit.
  • information about the equipment you use to access or use our Platforms, including the type of device you are using, how you access our Platforms, your browser or operating system and your Internet Protocol address.
  • the geographic location from which you accessed our website, including your device’s global positioning system signal and information about nearby wifi networks and cell towers. We get this information when you use location-enabled services.
  • other information about you from third parties, such as social media.

10. WHY DO WE PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

10.1 We process the Personal Information we collect and receive to:

  • identify you;
  • verify your identity;
  • enter into a mandate agreement with you.

10.2 As a user, we also process your Personal Information in order to:

  • fulfill our contractual obligations to you when you have elicited our services;
  • provide you with information or services you request from us.
  • communicate with you regarding our website and provide you with information, products or
  • services, including billing, customer support, resolving complaints and quality control.
  • comply with any legal or regulatory obligations such as tax or financial laws.

11. RETENTION AND RESTRICTION OF RECORDS

11.1 We keep your Personal Information for as long as:

  • we need it to provide our services to you.
  • it is required or allowed by law and is in line with our internal retention policies.
  • it is necessary to uphold the mandate agreement between you and us.
  • you have agreed to us keeping your Personal Information subject to your request for us to stop processing your Personal Information.

11.2 We will retain your Personal Information for as long as is necessary to achieve the purpose for which this information was collected or subsequently processed. If your Personal Information is used for more than one purpose, we will retain it until the purpose with the latest period expires but we will stop using it for the purpose with a shorter period once that period expires.

11.3 By accessing and using the website and signing our mandate, you consent to us retaining records of your Personal Information for no longer than may be necessary to achieve the purpose for which the information was initially collected or subsequently processed.

12. USER TRACKING AND COOKIES

12.1 When you access and use our website we may use various technological tools to improve your experience on our websites through the use of cookies and/or user tracking.

12.2 Cookies are small text files placed on the device that you use to access our Platforms. These files do not contain your Personal Information but allow us to associate you with a particular device. Many websites use cookies and we use cookies to:

  • make our website more user friendly.
  • personalise your interactions with our website, tailor our website to your interests and needs, and ensure they work on your device.

12.3 We will not use your Personal Information for any other purpose without your permission.

12.4 By accessing and using the Platform, you consent to our use of cookies.

13. WHO ELSE GETS TO PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

13.1 We do not sell your Personal Information to third parties for their marketing or any other purposes.

13.2 We may provide or make your Personal Information available to:

  • our employees of SB Attorneys and/or third party service providers and/or advocates and/or the justice department in order to enable them to assist us to provide our services to you.
  • law enforcement, government officials, fraud detection agencies or other third parties when the disclosure of Personal Information is necessary or appropriate in connection with an investigation of fraud, intellectual property infringements, or other activity that is illegal or may expose us to legal liability or financial loss, to report or support the investigation into suspected illegal activity.

14. SENDING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION OUTSIDE SOUTH AFRICA

14.1 We may transfer certain Personal Information outside the geographic borders of South Africa to service providers for purposes set out above should the matter require such transfer.

14.2 If we transfer your Personal Information outside of the geographic borders of South Africa, we will ensure that we do so in accordance with the requirements for lawful transfer outside of South Africa as set out in POPI.

14.3 By accessing and using our website and services, you consent to us transferring your Personal Information outside of South Africa as set out in POPI.

15. SECURING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

15.1 We secure the integrity and confidentiality of your Personal Information in our possession or under our control by taking appropriate, reasonable technical and organizational measures to prevent loss of, damage to or unauthorized destruction of Personal Information; and unlawful access to or processing of Personal Information.

15.2 In order to implement and maintain such measures, we have in place policies, controls and related processes, which are reviewed and updated on a regular basis. Our policies, controls and procedures cover for example:

  • physical, technical and network security.
  • access controls and monitoring of access.
  • secure storage, destruction and encryption of records of Personal Information.
  • Personal Information breach reporting and remediation.
  • by way of written agreements, imposition of security and confidentiality obligations on third parties (based within or outside the borders of South Africa) who process Personal
  • Information as part of rendering services to us.

15.3 Should you disclose your Personal Information to any third party other than SB Attorneys shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising or suffered by you as a result of the disclosure of such Personal Information to any third party. This is because we do not regulate or control how that third party uses your Personal Information. You should always ensure that you read the privacy policy of any third party.

16. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

16.1 Having provided adequate proof of your identity, you have the right to:

  • view, correct and/or amend your Personal Information we process.
  • request a record or description of your Personal Information.
  • request to have your Personal Information corrected, destroyed or deleted. Please note that you can stop being a client by terminating our mandate. In this instance SB Attorneys will only retain your Personal Information subject to any legislative requirement and/or our internal retention policy.
  • us complying with your requests upon receipt unless we have credible reason why we cannot comply.
  • us indicating where, if we cannot agree whether to correct or delete your Personal Information as requested, that a correction or deletion was requested but was not made.
  • inform you if reasonably practicable, should we change your Personal Information and this has an impact on decisions about you.
  • notify you of the action taken by us because of your request.
  • notify you of unauthorised access to your Personal Information.
  • provide you with reasonable evidence of our compliance with our obligations under this Privacy Policy on reasonable notice and request.
  • Submit a complaint to the Information Regulator.

17. HOW TO LODGE A COMPLAINT WITH THE INFORMATION REGULATOR

17.1 If you have any complaints about this Privacy Policy or our compliance with this Privacy Policy you can lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

17.2 The contact details of the Information Regulator are available on its website at: https://justice.gov.za/inforeg/

17.3 This version of the Privacy Policy replaces any preceding privacy policy provisions on our website. We may occasionally update this Privacy Policy. When you use our Platforms the version of the Privacy Policy posted on this page applies to you.