Privacy policy

1. Introduction

I H S Industrial Hardware Supplies CC, trading as Alrode Industrial Supplies ("Alrode", "we", "us" or "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.

Company Registration Number: 1987/018166/23

Physical Address:
13 Potgieter Street
Alrode, Alberton
Gauteng, 1451
South Africa

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share and protect personal information when you visit or use our website, purchase products from us, create an account, contact us or otherwise interact with our business.

We process personal information in accordance with applicable South African law, including the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA") and, where applicable, the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 ("ECTA").

2. What Is Personal Information?

For purposes of this Privacy Policy, "personal information" has the meaning given to it under POPIA.

Personal information generally includes information relating to an identifiable natural person and, where applicable under POPIA, an identifiable existing juristic person.

Depending on how you interact with us, personal information we collect may include your:

  • Name and surname
  • Company or business name
  • Billing and delivery addresses
  • Email address
  • Telephone or mobile number
  • Account and customer information
  • Order and transaction history
  • Payment and billing information
  • Correspondence with us
  • IP address, browser and device information
  • Website usage and interaction information
  • Marketing preferences
  • Any other information you voluntarily provide to us

3. How We Collect Personal Information

We may collect personal information:

  • Directly from you when you place an order, create an account, complete a form, request a quotation, contact us or communicate with us
  • Automatically when you browse or interact with our website
  • From payment providers and financial institutions involved in processing transactions
  • From delivery, courier and logistics providers
  • From service providers that assist us in operating our website and business
  • From publicly available sources where permitted by law
  • From other lawful sources where appropriate

We will only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for a legitimate and lawful business purpose.

4. Why We Process Your Personal Information

We may process your personal information for purposes including:

  • Processing and fulfilling orders
  • Supplying products and services
  • Processing payments
  • Arranging delivery or collection
  • Communicating with you about an order, quotation or enquiry
  • Managing customer accounts
  • Providing customer service and after-sales support
  • Processing returns, refunds, warranties and claims
  • Maintaining accounting, tax and transaction records
  • Preventing fraud and protecting our business and customers
  • Operating, maintaining and improving our website
  • Analysing website performance and customer interactions
  • Complying with legal and regulatory obligations
  • Establishing, exercising or defending legal rights
  • Communicating important service or policy changes
  • Sending marketing communications where permitted by law

We process personal information only where there is a lawful basis for doing so, including where processing is necessary to perform a contract, comply with a legal obligation, protect a legitimate interest or where valid consent has been obtained where required.

5. Online Orders and Payment Information

When you purchase from us, we collect information necessary to process and fulfil your order.

Payments made through our online store may be processed by third-party payment service providers. These payment providers may collect and process information required to authorise and complete your transaction.

We do not intentionally store complete payment-card details on our own systems where payment processing is performed by an authorised third-party payment provider.

Your payment provider's own privacy policy and terms may also apply to information processed by them.

6. Shopify

Our online store is operated using Shopify, which provides the e-commerce platform through which we sell our products and services.

Shopify may process certain personal information on our behalf or as otherwise described in Shopify's applicable privacy documentation.

Information may be processed or stored using systems located outside South Africa.

Where personal information is transferred outside South Africa, we take reasonable steps to ensure that such transfers comply with the applicable requirements of POPIA.

7. Sharing of Personal Information

We do not sell your personal information.

We may disclose personal information where reasonably necessary to:

  • Shopify and other technology providers that operate our online store
  • Payment processors and financial institutions
  • Courier, freight and logistics providers
  • IT, hosting and security providers
  • Accounting, auditing and professional advisers
  • Marketing and analytics service providers, where lawfully permitted
  • Government, regulatory, law-enforcement or tax authorities where required by law
  • Other service providers that assist us in operating our business

We only provide service providers with information reasonably necessary for them to perform their services.

Where required, we take reasonable steps to ensure that service providers process personal information appropriately and securely.

8. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies.

Cookies are small files or pieces of information stored on or associated with your device when you visit a website.

We may use cookies for purposes such as:

  • Keeping the website functioning correctly
  • Remembering preferences and shopping-cart information
  • Securing customer accounts and transactions
  • Understanding how visitors use our website
  • Measuring website and advertising performance
  • Providing relevant advertising where permitted

Some cookies are necessary for the operation of the website, while others may relate to analytics, functionality or advertising.

You can control certain cookies through your browser settings and, where available, through the cookie or privacy controls provided on our website.

Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the website.

9. Analytics and Advertising

We may use analytics and advertising technologies, including services provided by third parties, to understand how visitors interact with our website and to measure the effectiveness of our advertising.

These services may process information such as your IP address, device information, browser information, website interactions and other online identifiers.

Where consent is legally required for particular technologies or processing activities, we will seek such consent.

10. Direct Marketing

We may send you information about our products, promotions and services where permitted by applicable law.

You may unsubscribe from electronic marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe facility provided in the communication or by contacting us.

We will honour valid objections to direct marketing or withdrawals of consent in accordance with applicable law.

Opting out of marketing communications will not prevent us from sending necessary transactional or service communications relating to your orders or account.

11. Retention of Personal Information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected or subsequently lawfully processed, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

Certain transaction, accounting, tax, warranty and business records may therefore need to be retained for legally required periods.

When personal information is no longer required and we are not legally entitled or required to retain it, we will take reasonable steps to delete, destroy or de-identify it.

12. Security of Personal Information

We take reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, damage, unauthorised destruction, unlawful access, interference, alteration or disclosure.

These measures may include appropriate access controls, passwords, system security, service-provider controls and other safeguards appropriate to the information being processed.

However, no internet transmission or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

13. Security Breaches

If we have reasonable grounds to believe that personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, we will deal with the security compromise in accordance with POPIA.

This may include notifying the Information Regulator (South Africa) and affected persons where required by law.

We will also take reasonable steps to investigate, contain and address the security incident.

14. Your Rights

Subject to POPIA and other applicable law, you may have the right to:

  • Ask whether we hold personal information about you
  • Request access to personal information we hold about you
  • Request correction of inaccurate, incomplete, misleading or outdated information
  • Request deletion or destruction of personal information where legally applicable
  • Object to certain processing of your personal information
  • Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
  • Object to direct marketing
  • Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below.

We may require reasonable proof of identity before providing access to or making changes to personal information in order to protect your information from unauthorised access.

15. Children's Personal Information

Our website and products are not specifically directed at children.

We do not knowingly seek to collect personal information from children without the consent or authorisation required by applicable law.

If we become aware that children's personal information has been collected or processed unlawfully, we will take appropriate steps to address the matter.

16. Cross-Border Transfers

Some of our service providers, including technology, cloud, analytics, advertising, payment and e-commerce providers, may process personal information outside South Africa.

Where personal information is transferred outside South Africa, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the transfer is permitted under POPIA and that appropriate protection is afforded to the information.

17. Third-Party Websites

Our website may contain links to websites or services operated by third parties.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites that we do not control.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of those websites before providing personal information to them.

18. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our business, website, service providers, legal obligations or privacy practices.

The current version will be published on our website and will show the date on which it was most recently updated.

19. Contact Us and Information Officer

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your rights under POPIA or have a concern about how your personal information is being processed, please contact:

I H S Industrial Hardware Supplies CC
Trading as Alrode Industrial Supplies
Registration Number: 1987/018166/23

13 Potgieter Street
Alrode, Alberton
Gauteng, 1451
South Africa

Information Officer: Calvin
Telephone: 011 864 2934
Email: info@alrodeindustrial.co.za

20. Information Regulator

If you believe that your personal information has been processed in contravention of POPIA, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa).

At the date of this Privacy Policy, the Information Regulator's contact details include:

Information Regulator (South Africa)
Woodmead North Office Park
54 Maxwell Drive
Woodmead, Johannesburg

Telephone: 010 023 5200
Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za

For current contact information and information about lodging a complaint, please refer to the Information Regulator's official website.