1. Introduction

Mainpower Tree Fellers (“we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to protecting the personal information of every person who interacts with our business. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, who we share it with and what rights you have in respect of your information.

This policy complies with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (Act 4 of 2013) (“POPIA”) and the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (Act 68 of 2008) (“CPA”) of the Republic of South Africa.

By using our website at mainpowertreefelling.co.za, contacting us by telephone, email, WhatsApp or any other channel, or engaging our services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

2. Responsible Party

The responsible party for the processing of your personal information is:

• Business name: Mainpower Tree Fellers
• Website: https://mainpowertreefelling.co.za
• Email: mainpowertreefellers@gmail.com
• Telephone: +27 84 843 3981

3. Personal Information We Collect

We may collect the following categories of personal information, depending on how you interact with us:

3.1 Information you provide directly

• Full name and surname
• Telephone number and/or mobile number
• Email address
• Physical or property address (where the service is to be performed)
• Suburb and city within Gauteng
• Details of the tree work required (species, size, location on property, photos)
• Preferred dates and times for quotes or work
• Payment information (bank account details for EFT, or card details if paying by card)

3.2 Information collected automatically

When you visit our website, the following information may be collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies:

• IP address and approximate geographic location
• Browser type and version
• Device type (desktop, mobile, tablet)
• Pages visited, time spent on pages and referral source
• Google Analytics data (anonymised where possible)

3.3 Information from third parties

We may receive your contact information from third-party platforms if you contact us through Google Business Profile, Facebook, social media or an online directory listing.

4. Purpose of Processing

We collect and process your personal information for the following lawful purposes:

• To respond to your enquiry, provide a quote or schedule a site visit
• To perform tree felling, trimming, stump removal, site clearing or other contracted services at your property
• To communicate with you about your booking, job progress, invoicing and payment
• To send follow-up communications such as job completion confirmations or review requests
• To improve our website, services and customer experience
• To comply with legal obligations, including tax and accounting requirements
• To protect the safety of our staff, customers and the public during tree work operations

We will not process your personal information for any purpose that is incompatible with the purposes listed above unless we have your specific consent or are required to do so by law.

5. Legal Basis for Processing

Under POPIA, we process your personal information on one or more of the following legal grounds:

• Consent: Where you have given us clear consent to process your information for a specific purpose, such as receiving marketing communications
• Contract: Where processing is necessary to fulfil our obligations under a service agreement with you (for example, to provide a tree felling quote and perform the work)
• Legal obligation: Where we are required by South African law to retain or disclose certain information
• Legitimate interest: Where processing is necessary for the legitimate interests of our business, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms

6. Sharing of Personal Information

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information to any third party. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Service delivery: With crew members and subcontractors who need your property address and contact number to perform the agreed work
• Payment processing: With payment service providers to process card or EFT transactions securely
• Website analytics: With Google Analytics for anonymised website usage data (Google’s privacy policy applies to this data)
• Legal requirements: With law enforcement, regulatory authorities or courts if required by law or legal process
• Professional advisers: With our accountant or bookkeeper for invoicing and tax compliance purposes

All third parties who receive personal information from us are required to handle it in accordance with POPIA.

7. Cross-border Transfers

We store and process your personal information within the Republic of South Africa wherever possible. Where our website hosting, email or analytics providers operate servers outside of South Africa, we ensure that those providers maintain adequate levels of data protection as required by section 72 of POPIA.

8. Retention of Personal Information

We retain your personal information only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by applicable South African law. Typical retention periods include:

• Quotes and enquiries: 12 months from the date of the enquiry, unless a service agreement is entered into
• Service records and invoices: 5 years from the date of the transaction, in line with tax record-keeping requirements
• Website analytics data: 26 months (Google Analytics default retention period)

Once the retention period has expired, we will securely delete or anonymise your personal information.

9. Security of Personal Information

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, destruction or damage. These measures include:

• Password-protected devices and email accounts
• SSL/TLS encryption on our website
• Limiting access to personal information to staff and crew members who need it to perform their duties
• Secure disposal of paper records containing personal information

While we take all reasonable precautions, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your information.

10. Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience and to collect anonymised usage data. Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website.

10.1 Types of cookies we use

• Essential cookies: Required for the website to function properly, such as session management
• Analytics cookies: Used by Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with the website, including pages visited and time on site
• Advertising cookies: May be used if we run Google Ads or Facebook advertising campaigns to measure performance

10.2 Managing cookies

You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the website. For more information on managing cookies, visit your browser’s help documentation.

11. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject, you have the following rights under POPIA in respect of your personal information:

• Right of access: You may request confirmation of whether we hold personal information about you and request a copy of that information
• Right to correction: You may request that we correct or update any inaccurate, incomplete or misleading personal information
• Right to deletion: You may request that we delete your personal information where it is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, subject to any legal retention obligations
• Right to object: You may object to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time
• Right to lodge a complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe your personal information has been processed in violation of POPIA

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 12 below. We will respond to your request within a reasonable time and in any event within 30 days.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your rights under POPIA, or would like to report a concern about how your personal information has been handled, please contact us:

13. Information Regulator of South Africa

If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your personal information or your complaint, you may contact the Information Regulator:

• Website: https://inforegulator.org.za
• Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za
• Telephone: 012 406 4818

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business practices, legal requirements or service offerings. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Continued use of our website or services after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.