Privacy Policy
1. Introduction
Assist Group Proprietary Limited (“Real Estate Assist“, “us” or “we“) is committed to protecting your privacy when we process your personal information. We, therefore, implement business practices that comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”) as set out in this privacy “Policy”. “Personal Information” means personal information as defined in POPIA.
This Policy applies to all processing of Personal Information, also including when you use the Real Estate Assist website (http://staging.realestateassist.co.za/) (the “Website“) or if you enter into any other agreement with Real Estate Assist.
“You” means any natural or legal person whose Personal Information we process, including when processing as a result of you using the Real Estate Assist website. You will be a “Customer” when you register as such by creating an account and accepting the terms and conditions applicable to Customers.
We may change the terms of this Policy and will always process Personal Information in accordance with the latest version. We will notify you of any material changes to this Policy with notice via email. It is your responsibility to consider the policy each time you visit the Website. If you do not agree with any terms of this Policy, you must stop using the Real Estate Assist Website and object to us processing your Personal Information.
2. Collecting your Personal Information
We collect Personal Information about you from the following sources:
- Directly from you when you provide it to us, such as when you sign up for assistance or pre-qualification on this website, contact us or through the course of our relationship with you;
- From third party sources, such as a Power Partner of our company or a Qualified Ambassador that you have entrusted your information with;
- From public sources where you have made your Personal Information public, such as on social media;
- From third party commercially available sources such as public databases and data aggregators;
- From your use of the Real Estate Assist Website or use of any features or resources available on or through the Real Estate Assist Website, including through cookies and other technical information provided by your browser or device; and
- From third parties and our Business Partners when you interact with them as a result of the Real Estate Assist or your interaction with us or if required of the third parties to share it with us.
3. Categories of personal information that we process
- General personal details: your name and surname, date of birth, age, nationality, language preferences, employment status, homeowner status, debt status, and identity number or registered name and registration number.
- Contact details: your address, location, contact number, and email address.
- Consent records: records of any consents you have given us in respect of using your Personal Information and any related information, such as the specific details of the consent. We will also record any withdrawals or refusals of consent.
- Account details: such as your username, password, usage data, and aggregate statistical information. Although our systems process passwords, Real Estate Assist is not able to view the password.
- Data relating to the Real Estate Assist Website, cookies, and similar aggregate information: such as the type of device used to access the Real Estate Assist Website, the operating system, and browser, browser settings, IP address, dates and times of connecting to and using the Real Estate Assist Website and other technical communications information, cookies and aggregate information relating to the use of the Real Estate Assist Website (which information might not be personally linked to you).
- Content and advertising data: records of your interactions with our online advertising on the various websites and platforms which we advertise, with advertising included on the Real Estate Assist Website and in our communications with you and records relating to the content displayed on web pages displayed to you.
- Views and opinions: any views and opinions that you choose to share with us, or publicly post about us on social media platforms or elsewhere.
4. Purposes of processing personal information
We only process adequate and relevant Personal Information for the following purposes and legal bases:
- Perform in terms of our agreement with you, provide you with the services and access to the Real Estate Assist Website;
- Operate and manage your account or your relationship with us and respond to any queries, complaints, or requests;
- Monitor and analyze our business to ensure that it is operating properly, for financial management and for business development purposes;
- Contact you by email, SMS, phone, push notifications, WhatsApp, or other means to inform you about our products or products offered by Business Partners, unless you have opted-out of direct marketing communications;
- Share your Personal Information with our Business Partners for their legitimate business purposes, including performing credit checks and preparing personalized offers for you;
- Form a view of you as an individual or company and identify, develop or improve the Real Estate Assist Website and Our Services;
- Carry out market research and surveys, business and statistical analysis, and necessary audits;
- Fraud prevention;
- Collection and tracing;
- Perform other administrative and operational tasks like testing our processes and systems and ensuring that our security measures are appropriate and adequate; and
- Comply with our regulatory, legal, or other obligations.
- In addition to the above purposes for the processing of information, we may use your Personal Information for other purposes if the law allows for it, if you consent to it, or if it is in the public interest to do so. All purposes for the processing of your Personal Information will be legal in terms of POPIA.
5. Direct marketing
- We may process your Personal Information to contact you to provide you with information regarding our or our Business Partners’ services and product offerings that may be of interest to you.
- You may unsubscribe from any direct marketing communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link that we include in every direct marketing communication or by contacting us and requesting us to do so.
- After you unsubscribe, we will not send you any direct marketing communications, but we will continue to contact you when necessary in connection with providing you with Our Services or in connection with our business.
- We may share your Personal Information with our Business Partners for them to prepare direct marketing offers for you. We will never sell your Personal Information to any party for direct marketing or any other purposes.
6. Sharing and Disclosing Personal Information to third parties
We will keep your Personal Information confidential and only share it with others in terms of this Policy, if you consent to it, or if the law requires from us or allows us to share it. We may disclose your Personal Information to:
- Our Business Partners or third-party service providers in order to provide our services and for general legitimate business purposes, always in accordance with written agreements with these parties;
- Credit bureaus and verification service providers;
- Legal and regulatory authorities, upon their request, or as required in law;
- Any relevant party to the extent necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal rights, criminal offenses, threats to public security, etc.;
- Any relevant third party if we sell or transfer all or any portion of our business or assets;
- Business Partners who will become a responsible party or jointly responsible party for your Personal Information; and
- Any relevant third-party provider where the Real Estate Assist Website uses third-party advertising, plugins or content.
If we engage third-party service providers that process your Personal Information, the service providers will only be appointed in terms of a written agreement which will require the service providers to only process Personal Information on our written instructions, use appropriate measures to ensure confidentiality and security of your Personal Information and comply with any other requirements set out in the agreement and required by POPIA and other applicable laws.
We share Personal Information with employees or independent contractors only to the extent required for them to render their services.
We may disclose aggregate statistics (information about the customer population in general terms) about the personal information to advertisers or business partners.
7. Security
We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational security measures designed to protect Personal Information against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, disclosure, access, and other unlawful or unauthorized forms of processing. These measures are in accordance with POPIA and our PCI DSS Policy.
The internet is an open and often vulnerable system and the transfer of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will implement all reasonable measures to protect Personal Information, we cannot guarantee the security of your Personal Information transferred to us using the internet. Therefore, you acknowledge and agree that any transfer of Personal Information via the internet is at your own risk and you are responsible for ensuring that any Personal Information that you send is sent securely.
8. Your legal rights
You have certain rights in relation to your Personal Information. As available and except as limited by POPIA, you have the following rights in respect of your Personal Information:
- Right of access: the right to be informed of and request access to the Personal Information that we process about you;
- Right to rectification: you may request that your Personal Information be amended or updated where it is inaccurate or incomplete;
- Right to erasure: the right to request that we delete your Personal Information, subject to applicable limitations and exceptions;
- Right to restrict processing: you may request that we temporarily or permanently stop processing your Personal Information;
- Right to object: you may object to us processing your Personal Information, and to your Personal Information being processed for direct marketing purposes;
- Right not to be subject to automated decision-making: where a decision that has a legal or other significant effect is based solely on automated decision making, including profiling, you may, subject to certain exceptions, request that your Personal Information not be processed in that manner.
Where you have provided consent for us to process your Personal Information, you may also withdraw your consent where our processing is based on your consent. However, we may continue to process your Personal Information if another legal justification exists for the processing.
9. Use of Cookies and similar Technologies.
When you use the Real Estate Assist Website, we automatically receive and record information on our server logs from your browser. This information may include, amongst others, browser type, language preference, referring site, and the date and time of each visitor request, your location, IP address, cookie information and Google Analytics information. This is statistical data about browsing actions and patterns. We may also obtain information about your general internet usage through a cookie file which is stored on the hard drive of your computer. Cookies enable us to improve our website and services, estimate our audience size and usage patterns, store information about your preferences and recognize when you return to our Website.
In some instances, we may collect and store information about your location through cookies (other than when you share your location with us). We convert your IP address into a rough geolocation, and we may use location information to improve and personalize the Real Estate Assist Website and Our Services for you.
You can set your web browser to refuse cookies, but if you do this you may not be able to enjoy the full use of the Payment Services and you may not be able to take advantage of certain promotions we may run.
Please note that third parties may also use cookies, but we do not have access to, or control over them, and therefore cannot take responsibility for them.
10. Links on the Real Estate Assist Website
The Real Estate Assist Website and our correspondence with you may include links to other apps or third-party websites which do not fall under our supervision. We cannot accept any responsibility for your privacy or the content of these third-party sites, but we display these links in order to make it easier for you to find information about specific subjects. Your use of and reliance on these links are at your own risk.
11. Right to object
You may, on reasonable grounds, object to us using your Personal Information for certain purposes. If you object, we will stop using your Personal Information, except if POPIA or other applicable laws allow its use. To exercise this right or to discuss it with us, please contact us on enquire@realestateassist.co.za
12. Quality and access to your information
Quality: we want to ensure that your Personal Information is accurate and up to date. You may ask us to correct or remove any Personal Information that you think is inaccurate, by sending us an email at enquire@realestateassist.co.za. Please also inform us promptly of any updates to your Personal Information.
Access: you have the right to request that we provide you with Personal Information that we hold about you. You must contact us directly to do so or send an email to enquire@realestateassist.co.za. This request may be subject to an access to information request in terms of applicable laws and may require you to verify your identity, identify the rights you are wishing to exercise and pay a fee.
The right to access your Personal Information may further be limited in terms of applicable law.
13. Retention of information
We take every reasonable step to ensure that your Personal Information is only processed for the minimum period necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy.
We retain Personal Information in accordance with the retention periods required by applicable law or for legitimate business purposes. We may keep Personal Information indefinitely in a de-identified format for statistical purposes, which may include for example statistics of how you use the Real Estate Assist Website and Payment Services.
14. Security breach
We will report any security breach to the applicable regulatory authority in terms of POPIA and to the individuals or companies whose Personal Information is involved in the breach. If you want to report any concerns about our privacy practices or if you suspect any breach regarding your Personal Information, kindly notify us by sending an email to enquire@realestateassist.co.za.
Lodging a complaint
If you want to raise any objection or have any queries about our privacy practices, you can contact our data protection officer on enquire@realestateassist.co.za.
You also have the right to formally lodge a complaint to the Information Regulator in terms of POPIA with the following contact details:
Website: https://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/
Address: 33 Hoofd Street, Forum III, 3rd Floor Braampark, P.O Box 31533, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2017, South Africa
Tel: +27 10 023 5207
Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za
