DEBT BREAKERS
This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and is subject to Debt Breakers's Terms and Conditions as reflected on this website.
Debt Breakers strives to ensure that your privacy is protected. This Privacy Policy therefore regulates the manner in which we collect, use, disclose, transfer and store your personal information. We also comply with the principles, outlined in Sections 50 and 51 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act ('ECT Act'), which govern your right to having your personal information kept private, which principles are covered in this Privacy Policy.
By using Debt Breakers's applications and products, you signify your agreement to the terms of this Privacy Policy. Should we elect to amend this Privacy Policy, we will post the revised policy here, along with the date of revision. Any changes will apply only from date of the revision.
You will be asked to provide your personal information when registering with a Debt Breakers website or purchasing your Consumer Credit & Alerts Report, Car Value Report or Business Credit Report. In this regard, we may collect a variety of information, including your:
- full name,
- telephone number,
- email address,
- SA ID number,
- address details, and
- security questions relating to information on your credit report and/or payment profile
For purposes of this Privacy Policy "Consumer Credit Information" means consumer credit information as defined in the National Credit Act ("NCA").
The following personal information is included in your credit report:
- Identifying information such as: name, surname, ID number, physical and postal address, contact numbers, marital status, spouse details, and current employer and occupation;
- Account History / Payment Profile: Your Account History / Payment Profile is a 24 month record of all your accounts with credit / service providers and a history of how you pay these accounts on a monthly basis;
- Enquiries: A list of credit / service providers authorized by yourself or permitted in terms of the NCA to receive your credit report;
- Public Records: Information that is publicly available as permitted by law such as judgments, sequestrations, and rehabilitation;
- Default Data: A Default is recorded on your credit profile when you fail to make the payment of money owed. Default Data is submitted by the credit / service providers to the credit bureaus.
Information of the following nature is not included in your credit report:
- Race, creed, colour, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or political affiliations;
- Your medical history or status;
- Major purchases paid in full with cash or cheques.
Debt Breakers collects your information from recognized data sources in terms of the NCA, including the following information sources:
- Reports about you that are provided to Debt Breakers by service providers that are responsible for obtaining your consent to provide the information to us;
- Account History / Payment Profile information from credit / service providers;
- Payments made by a consumer in respect of a debt, where the debt has been ceded or sold by the credit / service provider to another party;
- Directly from you in response to any dealings we have with you;
- Other registered credit bureaus;
- Educational institutions;
- Public record, i.e. the courts.
Debt Breakers limits the collection, use and disclosure of personal information to include only what is permitted and prescribed in terms of the NCA or in instances where consumers have consented to such collection, use and disclosure, and which is necessary to our clients for credit / service application to enable them to make meaningful and accurate decisions. Furthermore, Debt Breakers takes all reasonable steps to ensure that all records of Consumer Information are submitted, processed and maintained in accordance with the standards required in terms of the NCA, including by placing stringent requirements in this regards on its "data suppliers" (including credit providers and other recognized data sources in terms of the NCA).
OBTAINING YOUR CONSENT TO DO A PROVISIONAL QUOTATION.
By accepting our terms and conditions on any of our submit forms on our website and specifically on www.debtbreakers.co.za you agree and consent to receive a free, non-obligation assessment - to calculate a new debt repayment plan based on your current credit profile. This will be presented to you as a quotation and can change should additional information be added or amended once you have received the quotation. You also consent, accept and authorise Debt Breakers to to obtain your credit report from an NCR registered credit Bureau with your South African ID number that you supply to us either through our submit form on our website and specifically on www.debtbreakers.co.za.
Non-personal information is data that does not permit direct association with any specific individual. We may collect this information in a number of ways. Should we elect to combine non-personal information with personal information; the combined information will be treated as personal information for as long as it remains combined.
The following are reasons why we would collect your personal and non-personal information:
- to identify you;
- where applicable, to create a user account (login user name and password);
- to fulfil your requests for any information which you're entitled to request and access;
- to provide service and support;
- to help us develop, deliver, and improve our products, services, content, and advertising;
- to send important communications regarding any purchases or changes to the terms and conditions and or to advise you of any other important circumstances;
- for internal purposes such as auditing, data analysis, and research to improve Debt Breakers products, services, and customer communications; and
- for purposes of any Debt Breakers promotional competitions.
Please note that we may also use (but will not disclose) your personal information to promote and market additional products, services and special offers from us and/or our affiliates that may be of interest to you. You may opt-out from receiving such communications, at any time. If you wish to opt-out, please contact us at info@debtbreakers.co.za.
Confidentiality of your personal information is important to us. We will not sell, rent or lease your personal information to others. Unless we have your permission, we will not use or share your personal information in ways unrelated to the ones described in this Privacy Policy or disclosed to you when you provide us with your data.
We remind you that you are solely responsible for ensuring the security and secrecy of your user name and password that may be provided to you for any Debt reakers account. Debt Breakers cannot bear any responsibility for your failure to ensure this. You therefore indemnify Debt Breakers for any losses that may result from your failure to ensure the security and secrecy of your user name and password.
We may only access and/or disclose your personal information without your consent in exceptional circumstances. These include circumstances where we believe such action is necessary to: (a) comply with the law or legal process served on us; (b) comply with requests for information from police or government authorities, (c) protect and defend our rights or property (including the enforcement of our agreements); (d) protect the public interest; (d) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of our employees or members of the public; (e) where applicable, with your implied consent ; and (f) to the extent permitted or required in terms of the NCA and other relevant national legislation.
To protect your privacy and security, we will also take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access to or making alterations to data we maintain. If you wish to contact us, access, update, or correct your personal information please contact us at any time or write us to:
- by e-mail: info@debtbreakers.co.za
- or to the following postal address:
- Debt Breakers - PO Box 418, Benoni, 1500
- or telephonically: Debt Breakers Contact Centre: 010 594 0319
When you contact us please let us know your name, address, any email address you have provided on our website(s) and a description of the circumstances under which you provided the data. We will make reasonable efforts to incorporate as soon as practicable the changes in personal information that we maintain.
We do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 18 and our websites do not target children under 18. We encourage parents and guardians to take an active role in their children's online activities and interests.
We have and shall continue to use our best endeavours to ensure that your personal information remains secure. Furthermore, your personal information is only accessible to those Debt Breakers employee members/agents/contractors for business purposes and on a strictly need to know basis.
Debt Breakers has adopted many security measures aimed at securing your personal information. These include the use firewall technology to protect its data from would be intruders and has numerous processes in place to secure our information such as passwords and security codes, encryption of data, antivirus software and physical security measures. Managerial procedures and a security department are in place to safeguard our information.
We retain your personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purpose(s) for which it was collected and to comply with applicable laws and your consent to such purpose(s) remains valid after termination of our relationship with you. Furthermore, we retains your Consumer Credit Information in our credit information database in accordance with the data retention periods prescribed by the NCA.
Cookies are small pieces of data that may allow the Debt Breakers web server to recognise you. Cookies are issued by a specific web server, stored in your web browser and can only be read by the issuing server. Debt Breakers may use cookies to save your e-mail and username so you don't have to re-enter it each time you visit our site. We may also use cookies to customize your preference settings for future return visits which also facilitate a speedy service to you. Should cookies be used by Debt Breakers, at no point will any of your personal information be stored in a cookie.
Some pages on our websites may contain links to third-party websites. We do not endorse and have no control over the privacy practices or content of such websites. We recommend you carefully read the privacy policies of each site you visit.
Debt Breakers engages third parties that help it deliver its banner advertisements and other online communications. The third parties may collect and use information about Debt Breakers’s customers to help us understand the offers, promotions, and types of advertising that are most appealing to its customers. The personal information they collect is aggregated and cannot be linked to a person. If you do not wish your personal information to be used in this way, please notify us.
- Third party vendors, including Google and DoubleClick, show Debt Breakers's ads on sites on the internet.
- Third party vendors, including Google and DoubleClick, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to Debt Breakers's website. o Users may opt out of Google and DoubleClick¹s use of cookies by visiting the Google advertising opt-out page or by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative opt out page.
Our compliance with this Privacy Policy will be monitored on a regular basis. Should you have any queries with our Privacy Policy or the manner in which your personal information is treated, we encourage you to direct any such queries or concerns to Debt Breakers by contacting us at the following email address info@debtbreakers.co.za. We will ensure you are contacted without delay in an effort to respond to your queries and/or attempt to resolve your concerns in accordance with the principles embodied in this Privacy Policy.
Identity theft is one of South Africa's fastest growing crimes and one that can result in significant damage to an individual's credit report. There are a number of ways that you could fall victim to this crime, including "phishing" (seemingly genuine but forged e-mails from a seemingly reputable company that ask you to provide them with personal information in a linked website) and "garbage sifters" (individuals who sort through your rubbish looking for bank statements, invoices, etc. that reveal your personal information. The best way to avoid becoming a victim is to be alert and aware of suspicious activities and modus operandi used by potential fraudsters.
Consumers' are welcome to contact Debt Breakers should they require more information or have any questions. We can be contacted using the details indicated in this Privacy Policy above.
Last revised 5 October 2017
Debt Breakers
