What Personal Data We Collect and Why We Collect It
1. Introduction
The Phone Guy respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you share with us.
This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and what rights you have. It is written to comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA") and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 ("ECTA").
By using this website, placing an order, or submitting a trade-in request, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this policy.
2. Who we are
Responsible party: [REGISTERED COMPANY NAME], trading as The Phone Guy Company registration number: [REG NUMBER] Registered address: [FULL PHYSICAL ADDRESS] Website: https://thephoneguyza.co.za Email: info@thephoneguyza.co.za Telephone: [NUMBER]
Information Officer: [FULL NAME] Information Officer email: [EMAIL — a dedicated address such as privacy@thephoneguyza.co.za is recommended]
The Information Officer is responsible for how we handle personal information and is your first point of contact for any privacy query, request or complaint.
3. What personal information we collect
3.1 When you place an order
- Full name
- Email address
- Contact telephone number
- Delivery address and billing address
- Order history and the contents of your order
- Payment confirmation details received from our payment provider
We do not receive, process or store your full card number, CVV or banking login credentials. These are captured directly by our payment providers on their own secure systems.
3.2 When you create an account
- Username, email address and an encrypted password
- Saved addresses, wishlist and order history
3.3 When you submit a trade-in or sell a device to us
- Your name and contact details
- Device make, model, storage capacity and stated condition
- The device IMEI or serial number
- Your banking details, where a cash payout is agreed
- [CONFIRM] A copy of your identity document and your identity number
We collect identification details when we acquire a second-hand device because dealers in second-hand goods are required by law to keep a record of the person from whom goods were acquired. This information is used for that statutory record and for verifying that a device is not stolen or reported. It is not used for marketing.
3.4 When you contact us
Your name, contact details and the contents of your message, whether sent by email, the website contact form, or WhatsApp.
3.5 Automatically, when you browse the site
- IP address, browser type, device type and operating system
- Pages viewed, time on site and referring website
- Cookie identifiers
4. Why we process your information, and on what basis
| Purpose | Lawful basis under POPIA |
|---|---|
| Processing, fulfilling and delivering your order | Necessary to carry out our contract with you |
| Managing your account | Necessary to carry out our contract with you |
| Processing payments and preventing fraud | Contract, and our legitimate interests |
| Assessing and paying out trade-ins | Contract, and compliance with a legal obligation |
| Keeping a second-hand goods acquisition record | Compliance with a legal obligation |
| Handling warranty claims, returns and support | Contract, and compliance with a legal obligation |
| Keeping tax and accounting records | Compliance with a legal obligation |
| Sending marketing communications | Your consent, or the existing-customer exception in section 69 of POPIA |
| Improving the website and understanding how it is used | Our legitimate interests, and your consent for non-essential cookies |
5. Who we share your information with
We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with the parties below, and only to the extent needed.
Payment providers — PayFast, Ozow, PayJustNow, Payflex and Mobicred. Where you choose a pay-over-time or credit option, that provider is a separate responsible party and will conduct its own affordability or credit assessment under its own privacy policy. We receive only the outcome and confirmation of payment.
Courier and delivery partners — we share your name, delivery address and contact number so that your order can be delivered and tracked.
Website hosting and technical service providers — including our hosting provider and any plugin or platform services required to operate the website and process orders.
Email and messaging platforms — used to send order notifications and, where you have opted in, marketing communications.
Professional advisors and authorities — our accountants, auditors, attorneys, and the South African Police Service or other regulators where we are legally required to disclose information, including in relation to second-hand goods or a suspected stolen device.
Each of these parties acts as an operator or as an independent responsible party. Where they act as our operator, they are required to process your information only on our instruction and to keep it secure.
6. Transfers outside South Africa
Some of the service providers we use, including analytics, email and payment technology providers, may store or process information on servers outside South Africa. Where this happens, we take reasonable steps to satisfy ourselves that the recipient is subject to laws, binding rules or an agreement that provide an adequate level of protection, as required by section 72 of POPIA.
7. Cookies
Our website uses cookies to keep your cart and login session working, to remember your preferences, and to understand how the site is used.
Essential cookies are required for the site to function and cannot be switched off. Analytics and marketing cookies are only set where you have given consent.
You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings, but kindly note that disabling essential cookies will prevent the cart and checkout from working correctly.
8. Direct marketing
We will only send you marketing communications by email, SMS or WhatsApp if you have given us permission to do so, or if you are an existing customer and the communication relates to similar products to those you have already bought from us.
Every marketing message will include a clear way to unsubscribe. You may also opt out at any time by emailing [INFORMATION OFFICER EMAIL], and we will action the request without charge.
9. How we protect your information
We apply reasonable technical and organisational measures to safeguard personal information, including encrypted connections (SSL) across the site, access controls limiting staff access to what their role requires, secure password storage, and regular software and security updates.
No system can be guaranteed completely secure. If a security compromise occurs where there are reasonable grounds to believe your personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, we will notify the Information Regulator and affected customers as soon as reasonably possible, as required by section 22 of POPIA.
10. How long we keep your information
| Record | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Order, invoice and tax records | 5 years from the end of the relevant tax period, as required by the Tax Administration Act |
| Second-hand goods acquisition records | As required by the applicable second-hand goods legislation |
| Account details | For as long as your account remains active, plus [X] months |
| Warranty records | For the duration of the warranty, plus [X] months |
| Marketing contact details | Until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete them |
| Contact and support enquiries | [X] months |
| Website analytics | [X] months |
Where we no longer have a lawful reason to keep your information, it is deleted or de-identified.
11. Your rights
Under POPIA you have the right to:
- Be told what personal information we hold about you
- Request a copy of that information
- Request that inaccurate or incomplete information be corrected
- Request that information be deleted or destroyed where we no longer have grounds to keep it
- Object to processing based on legitimate interests
- Opt out of direct marketing at any time
- Withdraw consent, where processing is based on consent
- Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator
To exercise any of these rights, contact our Information Officer at [EMAIL]. We may ask you to verify your identity before we act on a request. Certain requests must be made on the prescribed PAIA forms, and a fee may apply for access requests as allowed by law.
We will respond within a reasonable period. Kindly note that some information cannot be deleted on request where we are legally obliged to retain it, such as tax records and second-hand goods acquisition records.
12. Children
Our website and services are not intended for persons under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect the personal information of a child without the consent of a competent person. If you believe we hold such information, contact our Information Officer and we will delete it.
13. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please contact our Information Officer first so that we can try to resolve the matter directly.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Regulator:
The Information Regulator (South Africa) JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001 Website: https://inforegulator.org.za POPIA complaints: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za PAIA complaints: PAIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za
Complaints are lodged through the Regulator's eService Portal, which requires you to register a user profile before submitting.
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always available at https://thephoneguyza.co.za/privacy-policy-2/ and the date at the top reflects when it was last changed. Where changes are material, we will bring them to your attention.
15. Changes to this policy
[REGISTERED COMPANY NAME] t/a The Phone Guy Information Officer: [NAME] Email: [EMAIL] Telephone: [NUMBER] Address: [FULL ADDRESS]