Privacy Policy

Brits Water Filters (“we”, “us”, “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you share with us. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and store it, and what rights you have over it. This Policy applies to our website, our online contact and quote forms, our AI chat assistant, and any cookies or similar tracking technology used on our website.

By using our website, submitting a form, or interacting with our chat assistant, you agree to the collection and use of your information as described in this Policy. If you do not agree, please do not submit your personal information to us.

This Policy is aligned with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”), the primary data protection law applicable in South Africa.

1. Who We Are

1.1  Brits Water Filters is a water filtration and purification reseller trading from Brits, South Africa. For the purposes of POPIA, we are the “responsible party” for the personal information described in this Policy.

1.2  Our contact details are set out at the end of this Policy, and you may contact us at any time with questions or requests relating to your personal information.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

When you fill in a contact, quote, or order form on our website, or communicate with us by phone, email or WhatsApp, we may collect:

•          Your name and surname

•          Your email address

•          Your telephone or WhatsApp number

•          Your physical or delivery address

•          Details of the product or service you are enquiring about

•          Any other information you choose to include in a message or form field

2.2 Information Collected via Our AI Chat Assistant

Our website uses an AI-powered chat assistant to help answer questions, provide product guidance, and assist with enquiries. When you use the chat assistant, we may collect and store:

•          The questions, messages and information you type into the chat

•          Any contact details you voluntarily share during the conversation (such as your name, number or email)

•          Technical information about your session, such as the date and time of the conversation

Chat conversations may be reviewed by our staff, and may be processed by a third-party AI service provider that powers the chat assistant on our behalf, solely for the purpose of providing and improving this service. Please avoid sharing sensitive personal information (such as banking details, ID numbers, or health information) in the chat.

2.3 Information Collected via Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to operate correctly, remember your preferences, and understand how visitors use our site. Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We may use:

•          Essential cookies, required for the website and chat assistant to function correctly

•          Analytics cookies, which help us understand website traffic and visitor behaviour

•          Functionality cookies, which remember choices you have made on the site

•          Marketing or advertising cookies, where applicable, used to measure and improve our online advertising

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings at any time. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website or chat assistant.

3. Why We Collect Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

•          To respond to enquiries submitted through our forms or chat assistant

•          To prepare and send quotes, invoices and order confirmations

•          To process, deliver and follow up on your orders

•          To provide after-sales support, including warranty and returns queries

•          To communicate with you about your enquiry, order, or account

•          To improve our website, chat assistant, and customer service

•          To comply with our legal, tax and record-keeping obligations

•          Where you have consented, to send you marketing communications, which you may opt out of at any time

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information on one or more of the following grounds recognised under POPIA:

•          You have consented to the processing, for example by submitting a form or starting a chat conversation

•          The processing is necessary to perform a contract with you, such as fulfilling an order

•          The processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, such as tax or consumer protection law

•          The processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as improving our services, provided this does not unreasonably override your own rights and interests

5. Sharing of Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information with:

•          The Supplier or manufacturer of a product, where necessary to process a warranty claim or defect report

•          Courier and delivery service providers, to fulfil and deliver your order

•          Payment processing providers, to process your payment securely

•          Our website hosting, email, chatbot, and IT service providers, who process information strictly on our instruction and only to the extent needed to provide their service

•          Any party where we are required to do so by law, regulation, or a valid legal process

Where a service provider is located outside South Africa, we take reasonable steps to ensure your information receives a comparable level of protection, as required by POPIA.

6. Data Retention

6.1  We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Policy, or as required by law, for example for tax, accounting, or consumer protection purposes.

6.2  Chat conversation records and form submissions are retained for a reasonable period to allow us to follow up on enquiries and maintain accurate customer records, after which they are deleted or anonymised.

7. Security of Your Information

7.1  We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

7.2  While we take security seriously, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security of information transmitted to us online.

8. Your Rights

Under POPIA, you have the right to:

•          Request confirmation of whether we hold personal information about you

•          Request access to the personal information we hold about you

•          Request that we correct or update inaccurate or outdated information

•          Request that we delete personal information we no longer have a lawful basis to retain

•          Object to the processing of your personal information, including for direct marketing purposes

•          Withdraw consent you previously gave, where processing is based on consent

•          Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe your information has been mishandled

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below. We will respond within a reasonable time and in accordance with POPIA.

9. Children's Privacy

Our website and services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so that we can remove it.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, our website, or applicable law. The revision number and date at the top of this document indicate the version currently in effect. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact us:

Brits Water Filters

Office: 060 904 2672

George: 079 115 0230

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.britswaterfilters.co.za

Office Address: Cnr Hendrik Verwoerd & Piet Rautenbach Street, Brits, South Africa, 0250