POPI Act

 THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION ACT

NOTICE TO CLIENTS

This Notice explains how we collect, process, use and disclose your Personal Information, in accordance with the requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act, Act 4 of 2013 (the “POPI Act”). This Notice is issued in accordance with the requirements of the POPI Act.

We recognise that one of our fundamental responsibilities is to ensure that we protect Personal Information entrusted to us by our customers. This is critical for the maintenance of our reputation and for complying with our legal and regulatory obligations to protect the information of our customers. We follow a transparent policy to handle Personal Information of our customers. 

WHAT IS PERSONAL INFORMATION

 In this Notice, Personal Information means any information that relates to an identifiable, living, natural person, and where applicable, an identifiable, existing juristic person, including, but not limited to:

  • information relating to the race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, national, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental health, well-being, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth of the person;
  • information relating to the education or the medical, criminal or employment history of the person;
  • any identifying number, symbol, e-mail address, physical address, telephone number, location information, online identifier or other particular assignment to the person;
  • the biometric information of the person;
  • the personal opinions, views or preferences of the person;
  • correspondence sent by the person that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature or further correspondence that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence;
  • the views or opinions of another individual about the person; and
  • the name of the person if it appears with other personal information relating to the person or if the disclosure of the name itself would reveal information about the person.

WHY WE COLLECT AND PROCESS PERSONAL INFORMATION 

Le Roux Sampson Loggerenberg Incorporated trading as SL LAW is a firm of Registered Attorneys, and Registered Tax Practitioners which renders professional services. We collect and process your Personal Information in order to render professional services to you. These services generally include, but are not limited to:

  • Submission of transfer duty, rates clearance applications and tax directives, amongst others;
  • Preparation of transfer and bond documents for submission at the Deeds Office and other applicable authorities;
  • Conducting due diligence investigation, CIPC and Deeds Office record searches and other authorities;
  • Arranging bridging finance and completing such applications for sellers, buyers and estate agents;
  • Maintenance of internal records as per regulatory guidelines; and
  • Assistance with secretarial matters.

We will be unable to render professional services to you, which may include assisting you with statutory obligations, without obtaining certain Personal Information. If you do not wish to provide consent for usage of your Personal Information or you later withdraw such consent, we shall have the right to not provide services or to withdraw such services for which the Personal Information was sought from you.

HOW WE COLLECT THE INFORMATION

We collect your Personal Information directly from you where you provide us with your Personal Information and from those persons who you have authorised to provide your Personal Information. We also obtain certain Personal Information from other sources available to the public, such as Personal Information from websites and e-mail signatures. We also obtain Personal Information from SARS e-Filing in cases where we have been appointed to assist with tax-related matters.

DISCLOSURE / SHARING OF INFORMATION

We shall not disclose Personal Information of our customers without their prior consent, unless such disclosure has been agreed to between SL LAW  and the customer, or where the disclosure is necessary for compliance of a legal obligation of necessary in the transfer process of a property or mortgage bond encompassing all the role players associated with the process necessary to facilitate a smooth registration In the event that we disclose Personal Information to Third Parties, such Third Parties shall be bound to ensure that they protect customer Personal Information in accordance with applicable laws. 

The above obligations relating to sharing of Personal Information shall not apply to Personal Information shared with government mandated under the law to obtain such Personal Information or by an order under law for the time being in force. Further, if any Personal Information is freely available or accessible in the public domain, we shall not have any obligations regarding that Personal Information.

No specific Personal Information about customer accounts or other personally identifiable Personal Information shall be shared with non-affiliated Third Parties, unless any of the following conditions are met:

  • To help complete a transactions initiated by the customer;
  • To perform support services through an outsourced business, provided it conforms to the Privacy Policy of SL LAW;
  • The customer / applicant has specifically authorised it, accept for the processing of a transfer of bond transaction in which case consent is deemed to share information with all associated role players and stakeholders;
  • To conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process;
  • The Personal Information is shared with Government agencies mandated under law;
  • The Personal Information is shared with any Third Party by an order under the law;
  • Enforce the terms and conditions of the products or services;
  • Act to protect the rights, interest or property of SL LAW or its employees or of other persons.

SECURITY PRACTICES

The security of Personal Information is a priority and shall be ensured by maintaining physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that meet applicable laws to protect customer Personal Information against loss, misuse, damage and unauthorised access, modifications or disclosures. Employees shall be trained on the proper handling of Personal Information. When other companies are used to provide services on behalf of SL LAW, we shall endeavour to ensure that such companies protect the confidentiality of Personal Information they receive in the same manner that we do. We shall continuously review and enhance our security policies and security measures to consistently maintain a high level of security.

RESPONSE TO ENQUIRIES AND COMPLAINTS

We encourage customer enquiries, feedback, and complaints, which shall help us identify and improve the services provided to our customers.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND ACCURACY THEREOF

You may request a copy of the Personal Information that we hold about you. To do this, simply contact us at info@sllaw.co.za and specify what Personal Information you require.

Please notify us if, at any point in time, there is a reason to believe the Personal Information residing with us is incorrect and we will then endeavour to update the Personal Information as quickly as possible.