Privacy Policy

1. Purpose of this Privacy Policy

1.1. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) describes how and when Questco (Pty) Ltd (Registration No. 2002/005616/07), located at Ground Floor, Block C, Investment Place, 10th Road, Hyde Park, 2196 and its Affiliates (collectively “Questco”, “We”, “Us”, or “Our”)” collects, uses, and shares personally identifiable information (“Personal Information”).
1.2. Personal Information includes Special Personal Information and Personal Information of both natural persons and legal entities.
1.3. This Privacy Policy applies to all external parties with whom We engage as part of Our business operations including applicants for employment, current, prospective and past clients, suppliers and service providers, business contacts and shareholders (“Data Subjects”/”You”/”Your”) and where as part of such engagement, We may collect, use, and share Your Personal Information.
1.4. If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please send an email to admin@questco.co.za.

2. What Personal Information We Collect

Where Questco, in the conduct of its business operations, engages and contracts with Juristic Entities, it also engages with individuals within the Entities and may collect and use the Personal Information of such persons. We will Process the Personal Information of such individuals as stated in this Privacy Policy.

2.1. Personal Information We collect –
2.1.1. Contact Information such as name, e-mail addresses, physical and postal address, phone numbers;
2.1.2. Account and payment information such as authorised account users, VAT and Income tax reference numbers, bank details, invoices and records, SWIFT and IBAN details;
2.1.3. Identifiers such as registration numbers, identity numbers, Supplier/Vendor numbers, B-BBEE status, vehicle registration numbers, driver’s license;
2.1.4. Financial information such as financial statements and related financial information (annual, interim or otherwise) credit and trade references, sureties, financial models , forecast financial information, trading statements, operational updates;
2.1.5. Background information including credit status and depending on the nature of the services/contract, criminal record, background and fraud checks, as well as shareholder/trustee and directorship information;
2.1.6. Recruitment information: CV/resume, SA ID number; training records, education and work history, address, contact details, certifications/qualifications;
2.1.7. Client Mandates: commercial terms of client mandates;
2.1.8. Website, Social Media information: when you access any Questco website, We collect your IP address and other technical information about your computer and website usage;
2.1.9. Other: any other information specific to You which is required for Questco to properly perform its role, such as information on corporate history, contractual obligations, group and ownership structures, taxation information, loan details, expansion strategies, corporate strategies, investor presentations.

3. If You Do Not Provide Us with The Personal Information

If You do not provide Us with the Personal Information, for example:
3.1. We may not be able to conclude a Mandate with You;
3.2. We may not be able to conclude a contract to do business with You.
3.3. We may not be able to consider you for employment;

4. How We Collect Personal Information:

4.1. We collect information directly from You when:
4.1.1. We engage directly with You as part of any mandate finalisation and onboarding process;
4.1.2. We render services and perform in terms of Our Mandate and general business operations;
4.1.3. You interact with our account management team;
4.1.4. Recording, monitoring, storing data from certain telephone calls in which you participate, in order to comply with regulatory or contractual obligations, and to confirm instructions given to Us;
4.1.5. You render any services to Us as a third party service provider
4.1.6. You submit an application for employment/reply to any employment opportunities
4.2. We collect Personal Information indirectly about You from:
4.2.1. Websites, by phone, email;
4.2.2. Publicly available sources (registers or the internet);
4.2.3. third parties that We engage for the purposes of conducting our business (credit bureaux, regulators, government departments, outgoing JSE sponsors (where relevant) and third party service providers);
4.2.4. employment agencies, background check providers, former employers, credit reference agencies or other background check agencies.

5. What We Use Your Personal Information For

We Use Your Personal information –
5.1. to operate Our business;
5.2. establish and verify the identity of prospective Client’s;
5.3. to implement and manage relationships with You including onboarding as a Client or Supplier, sending invoices, processing payments, accounting, auditing, collection;
5.4. to comply with any legislation or regulation which requires Us to collect the information;
5.5. to comply with demands or requests made by Regulators, Governmental Authorities and Law Enforcement Authorities;
5.6. to ensure We have Your up-to-date contact information;
5.7. to conduct internal audits and investigations;
5.8. to verify information provided by You; and
5.9. to conduct Our services under a Mandate or prospective Mandate.

6. Special Personal Information

Where we need to Process your Special Personal Information, we will do so in the ordinary course of our business, for a legitimate purpose, and in accordance with applicable laws.

7. Who We Share the Personal Information With?

7.1. We may share Your Personal Information with –
7.1.1. third-party service providers who provide services to Us, including but not limiting to supporting, operating, securing and hosting Our information technology systems, debt collection, document and information storage;
7.1.2. any third party to the extent that it is specifically required for the proper performance of Our services to you, including legal advisors, tax advisors, fellow corporate advisors, independent experts, sponsors, bidders, investors, banks and financial institutions and other stakeholders;
7.1.3. regulatory bodies to the extent that We are legally obliged to do so;
7.1.4. law enforcement, government officials, or other third parties as may be 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;
7.1.5. third parties (such as a potential purchaser and its professional advisors) in the event of any reorganisation, merger, divestiture, acquisition, consolidation, restructure, sale, joint venture, or other disposition of any or all of our assets.

8. Transfer of Personal Information to Other Countries?

8.1. We may transfer certain Personal Information across geographical borders to –
8.1.1. Members of Our and Your deal team insofar as any services are provided remotely;
8.1.2. service providers for the purposes set out in 7 above;
8.2. Where We transfer Your Personal Information outside of South Africa, We ensure that We do so in accordance with the requirements for lawful transfer outside of South Africa as set out in the Protection of Personal Information Act No.4 of 2013.

9. How Long Do We Keep Your Personal Information?

9.1. We will retain your Personal Information for as long as necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was collected or subsequently processed.
9.2. Personal Information may be held for longer periods where –
9.2.1. retention of the record is required or authorised by law;
9.2.2. We reasonably require the record for lawful purposes related to Our functions or activities;
9.2.3. retention of the record is required by a contract between You and Us; or
9.2.4. You have consented to the retention of the record.

10. How we keep your Personal Information Secure

10.1. We secure the integrity and confidentiality of Personal Information in Our possession or under Our control by taking appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to prevent loss of, damage to or unauthorised destruction of Personal Information; and unlawful access to or processing of Personal Information.
10.2. In order to ensure such security, We have in place policies, controls and related processes, which are reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

11. Cookies

11.1. We may place small text files called ‘cookies’ on Your device when You visit Our website. Cookies do not contain Personal Information, but they do contain a personal identifier allowing Us to associate Your Personal Information with a certain device.
11.2. We use the following types of cookies on Our website:
11.2.1. Essential cookies which are crucial to a user’s experience of a website, enabling core features
functions on Our website;
11.2.2. Performance cookies which track how You use a website during Your visit. This information is typically anonymous and aggregated and helps Us understand visitor usage patterns, identify and diagnose problems users may encounter, and make better decisions in improving the overall website experience;
11.2.3. Functionality cookies which are used to collect information about Your device and any settings you may configure on the Website you’re visiting (like language and time zone settings). With this information, websites can provide a customized, enhanced, or optimized content and services.
11.3. Your web browser can be set to allow You to control whether you will accept or reject cookies or to notify You each time a cookie is sent to Your browser. If Your browser is set to reject cookies, websites that are cookie-enabled will not recognize You when you return to the website, and some website functionality may be lost.

12. Your Rights

12.1. You have the right to –
12.1.1. request a record of Your Personal Information. We may charge You a fee to provide such a record, but We will tell You how much this is beforehand. In certain circumstances, We cannot tell you what Personal Information We have about You. For example, to protect (a) the privacy of others; (b) confidential information of third parties; (c) the safety of others;
12.1.2. request correction of Your Personal Information if it is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, misleading or obtained unlawfully;
12.1.3. request deletion of Your Personal Information where there is no lawful basis to retain it;
12.1.4. withdraw consent previously given in respect of the processing of Your Personal Information. Withdrawal of consent may limit Our or a third party’s ability to carry out certain functions in respect of Our commercial relationship.
12.2. We will comply with Your request unless We have a reasonable explanation why We cannot comply.
12.3. If We cannot agree whether to correct or delete the Personal Information and if You ask Us to, We will indicate on the Personal Information register that a correction was requested but was not made.
12.4. If changes to the Personal Information impact any earlier decisions that impact You, if reasonably practicable, We will inform all persons to whom the Personal Information has been disclosed of those steps.
12.5. We will notify You of the action taken by Us because of Your request.
12.6. All requests can be made via email at admin@questco.co.za. We will always require that You verify You are in fact the owner of such Personal Information or are authorised to request such information.

13. Right to withdraw consent

13.1. In the limited circumstances where processing of Your Personal Information is based on Your Consent, You have the right to withdraw such consent at any time. To withdraw Your consent, please send an email to admin@questco.co.za.
13.2. Once We are notified that You have withdrawn Your consent, We will no longer process Your Personal Information for the purpose You originally agreed to, unless We have another lawful basis for doing so.

14. How to lodge a complaint with the information Regulator

You may lodge a complaint in respect of this Privacy Policy or any of Our Personal Information Processing activities with the Information Regulator, whose contact details are available on its website at POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za.