Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy outlines how AC Direct Energy (Pty) Ltd ("AC Direct Energy", "we", "us", "our") collects, uses, and protects your personal information. This policy is applicable when you interact with us through our website (www.acdirectenergy.co.za), our application processes, email, or any other communication channel.

This document should be read in conjunction with our Website Terms and Conditions. It provides a detailed explanation of our practices regarding the gathering, processing, and storage of your personal data.

By using our website, applying for our renewable energy solutions, or providing us with your personal information, you acknowledge and consent to the practices detailed in this Policy. This includes your consent for AC Direct Energy, its employees, directors, partners,and certified installers to process your personal information for the purposes specified herein.

Should you disagree with any part of this Privacy Policy, we advise you to refrain from using our website and services. Your continued engagement with our services or website signifies your acceptance of this Policy. Note that while supplying your personal information is optional, withholding it may prevent us from delivering our products and services to you.

AC Direct Energy collects information essential for our business operations. The types of information we process include:

• Customer Information: This includes your full name, identification number, contact details (email, phone number), physical address, banking details, and specific contract information. We also process energy consumption data from the smart systems we install.
• Property Details: To assess viability for solar installation, we gather technical specifications and imagery of your property.
• Website Visitor Data: We may collect your IP address, browser type, marketing preferences, and site usage patterns through cookies.
• Third-Party Partner Information: For our installers and suppliers, we process company registration details, contact information, banking details, and other data necessary for vetting and onboarding.
• Applicant Data: For recruitment purposes, we collect names, contact information, qualifications, and employment history.

We do not collect data from minors as per our Terms of Service. If you believe we have, please contact us to have the information removed.

Our commitment is to process your personal information fairly, lawfully, and transparently, in strict accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA").

We will only process your personal information if a valid legal reason exists. These include:

• Consent: Where you have given us your explicit permission.
• Contractual Necessity: To fulfil our obligations under a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into one.
• Legal Obligation: To comply with applicable laws and regulations.
• Legitimate Interests: For our legitimate business interests, provided they do not override your rights and freedoms. This includes improving our services and preventing fraud.

You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time where consent is our basis for processing. This will not impact the lawfulness of any processing conducted prior to your withdrawal. Please note, withdrawing consent may mean we can no longer provide certain services to you.

We process your personal information for specific, clearly defined, and legitimate purposes related to our operations as a renewable energy solutions provider. These purposes include:

• Service Delivery: To manage the end-to-end process of providing our services, from initial assessment and installation to ongoing maintenance of your renewable energy system.
• Site Suitability Assessment: To analyse your property, both remotely and on-site, to confirm its suitability for a solar energy system.
• Contractual Management: To draft, manage, and enforce our contracts.
• Billing and Financial Management: To facilitate payments and, to bill accurately based on energy data from your smart meter.
• System Performance & Monitoring: To use data to monitor your system's performance, ensuring it operates efficiently and to facilitate billing.
• Partner Collaboration: To work with our vetted third-party partners, that help bring your project to life.
• Customer Engagement & Support: To communicate with you, respond to your questions, and resolve any issues through our various support channels.
• Marketing Communications: To inform you about our services and offers, always providing you with the choice to opt-out. We may use platforms like Meta and Google for advertising.
• Compliance and Security: For internal auditing, fraud prevention, and ensuring compliance with our legal obligations and internal policies.
• Credit & Affordability Assessment: To conduct identity verification and to request your consumer credit report from registered credit bureaus. This is a mandatory step in assessing your creditworthiness and affordability for our financed solutions, in accordance with the National Credit Act.

Your personal information may be stored in both physical and digital formats. We utilise secure on-site servers and may engage reputable third-party cloud service providers. Our operational management may rely on a technology stack that includes third-party platforms, which are bound by strict data security standards.

We implement and maintain appropriate and reasonable technical and organisational measures to safeguard your personal information against loss, theft, unauthorised access, or alteration.

In the unlikely event of a data breach that could pose a risk to your rights, we are committed to notifying both you and the Information Regulator in accordance with POPIA's requirements.

We do not sell your personal information. We may, however, share your information with trusted third parties to provide our services, including:

• Installation Partners: Our certified installers receive necessary information to schedule and carry out the installation of your system.
• Technology and Support Providers: We work with third parties for data storage, IT support, and marketing, all of whom are contractually obliged to protect your data.
• Legal and Regulatory Bodies: We may disclose information if required by law or to defend our legal rights.
• Credit Bureaus: We share your personal information, including your ID number, with registered South African credit bureaus (such as TransUnion, Experian, etc.) to perform the credit assessment required for your application.

We will only keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was originally collected. The retention period may be extended if:

• Retention is required or permitted by law.
• We need it to fulfil our contractual obligations to you.
• It is required for statistical, historical, or research purposes, with appropriate safeguards in place.

After the retention period expires, we will ensure your personal information is securely and permanently destroyed or de-identified.

Under South African law, you have specific rights regarding your personal information. These include the right to:

• Request Access: You can ask us to confirm if we hold your personal information and request a copy of it.
• Request Correction or Deletion: You can ask us to correct or delete any information that you believe is inaccurate, outdated, incomplete, or unlawfully obtained.
• Object to Processing: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal information on reasonable grounds.
• Withdraw Consent: You can withdraw your consent at any time for any processing that is based on your consent.
• Lodge a Complaint: You can file a complaint with the Information Regulator if you are concerned about how we have handled your information.

To exercise any of these rights, please get in touch with our Information Officer. We may need to verify your identity before we can process your request.

Our website uses "cookies," which are small text files placed on your device to enhance your user experience. They help us analyse website traffic, remember your preferences, and improve our services. The data collected may include your IP address, pages visited, and visit duration. While you can disable cookies through your browser settings, doing so may affect the functionality of our website. Your continued use of our site with cookies enabled constitutes your consent to this practice.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal reasons. Any amendments will be posted on this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Your continued use of our services after updates are posted will be considered acceptance of the revised policy.

For any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact our Information Officer.