Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy

Terms and Conditions

Introduction
The websites and associated platform services are owned or licensed by Community First Network (Pty) Ltd, Reg 2016/423926/07 (hereinafter referred to as CFN) and is located within the Republic of South Africa.
It is in no way part of, affiliated to, or endorsed by Facebook, Meta, Google or any other company. 

By accessing and using this platform, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions set out in this notice. If you do not wish to be bound by these terms and conditions, then you may not access, display, use, download, copy or distribute any of the content of this platform.

Platform services include, but are not limited to: WhatsApp, Shopify, Basecamp, Zapier, High Level, Make, Email, SMS, Google Drive and apps, Microsoft Office 365, Airtable, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Bit.ly, Youtube, Miro, Xero, Zapper, Snapscan, PayFast - and other 3rd party services incorporated from time-to-time, in order to provide a service to our clients.

Your use of the platform
You agree that your use of this platform is for lawful purposes only. You agree that you will not use this platform for any unlawful purpose, including committing a criminal offence, gaining unauthorised access to other computer systems, or transmitting unlawful material.

General disclaimer
You agree to access and use this site entirely at your own risk. Please read the Exclusion of Liability clauses below.
Specific WhatsApp Policy 
It is your responsibility to ensure you have read and understood the WhatsApp (Meta) policy for transacting on the WhatsApp platform. 
Violating this policy may result in your WhatsApp number being banned by WhatsApp and your account being blocked.
This may also result in your business card being disabled.

You may also forfeit any credits in your CFN account.
In extreme cases, should the CFN WhatsApp channel be compromised as a result of your actions, we reserve the right to take legal action and recover damages from you. 

Definition of a WhatsApp credit

Inbound messaging:
One credit is used per consumer/ contact engaging with a sales agent/ contact listed on a business card and delivered to the 'agent' via WhatsApp and/ or delivered to the client's CRM platform (or webhook) - regardless how many conversations consumer has with the business card over a period of 30 days (user initiated). 

Outbound messaging:
One credit is used per business-generated outbound message to a consumer per 24 hours - e.g. marketing messages 

Choice of law
This platform is owned, operated or licensed within the Republic of South Africa. Therefore, these terms and conditions are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and the user consents to the jurisdiction of the Cape Town High Court in the event of any dispute.

Accuracy of Information
While every effort is made to ensure that the information provided on this platform is current and accurate, you should not assume that this is always the case, and should consult other sources before making any decision to act on this information.

Your Privacy
We respect the privacy of all visitors to this site, however in order to use the services provided within this site you may be required to provide personal information. Such personal information will not be used for unsolicited advertisement and the like without your prior consent.

Further your information will not be provided to any third parties by this site without your prior consent. Copyright and use of material Your comments External links and advertising Exclusion of liability Contact details

Copyright and use of material
CFN retains copyright in the platform and all current and future content displayed on the platform which is not owned by third parties.

In terms of a limited licence, granted for general use, CFN grants the user, subject to these terms and conditions, a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited and revocable right to access, display, use, download and otherwise copy the current and future content of the platform for your personal, non-commercial and informational purposes only.

In addition, CFN grants any reputable publisher permission to copy and distribute information from the platform for the purpose of promoting South African SME business, provided that: (i) this information has not been sourced from third parties and (ii) CFN is acknowledged as the source by reference to the website or platform address.

Your Comments
We value feedback received from visitors to our site. However, you agree not to transmit any material that is unlawful, harmful, defamatory, abusive, threatening, vulgar or obscene.

You remain liable to any third party for your comments, and CFN is not liable to any third party for the content of your comments. Please also note that we cannot respond to all feedback we receive.

External Links and Advertising
Wherever this website or platform provides links to other websites or platforms, this should not be construed as constituting any relationship or endorsement of the linked third party, and reliance on all information provided by the external link is done so at your own risk.

Wherever third party advertising or promotional material is displayed on this platform, this should not be construed as CFN endorsing or creating any relationship between CFN and that third party. Reliance on any such material is entirely at your own risk.

Exclusion of liability
You expressly agree that the use of this website and associated platforms is entirely at your own risk. The website, platforms and all content are provided on an “as is” basis, and CFN makes no representations or warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, to the accuracy of the contents of the website or associated information dispersed.

CFN does not warrant that the website or platform’s functions will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that the site or its server is free from viruses or other harmful components. CFN, its owners, directors, employees, officials, suppliers, agents and/or representatives shall not be liable for any loss or damage, whether direct, indirect or consequential, or any expense of any nature whatsoever, which may be suffered by the user, which arises directly or indirectly from reliance of the website, platform and/or its content, including services provided through any other means.

CFN, its agents or suppliers shall not be responsible for any direct or indirect special consequential or other damage of any kind whatsoever suffered or incurred by you related to your use of, or your inability to access or use, the content or the platform or any functionality of the website or of any linked website or platform, even where CFN is expressly advised thereof.

You will indemnify CFN, its owners, directors, employees, officials, agents, suppliers or representatives, and keep them fully indemnified, from and against any loss or damage suffered or liability incurred in respect of any third party, which arises from your use of this website and/or services.

Any complaints raised against members of CFN should be directed to us by email. Should the complaint be found to have merit on review, such member will be removed from CFN.
Protection of Private Information (POPIA)

This section explains how CFN obtain, use disclose and delete your personal information, in accordance with the requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act (“POPIA”).

The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) is South Africa’s data protection law. The purpose of the Act is to protect people from harm by protecting their personal information.

At CFN we are committed to protect your privacy and to ensure that your personal information is collected and used properly, lawfully, and transparently.

Definition of personal information

According to the Act ‘‘personal information’’ means information relating to an identifiable, living, natural person, and where it is applicable, an identifiable, existing juristic person.  Further to the POPI Act, CFN includes the following items as personal information:

  • Your name and contact details
  • All addresses including residential, postal and email addresses
  • Change of name
  • Photos/ CCTV images/video recordings (where you can be identified)
  • Payment details

The information we collect:

Website sourced information:

We collect and process your personal information mainly to contact you for the purposes of understanding your requirements and delivering services and or products accordingly.  For this purpose, we will collect your contact details, address, and related information such as products that you purchase or would like to purchase from us.

We collect information directly from you where you provide us with your personal details.  Where possible, we will inform you what information you are required to provide to us and what information is optional.

Website usage information may be collected using “cookies” which allows us to collect standard internet visitor usage information. 

Payment information:

When doing an EFT or Credit card payment to CFN, your personal information, as required by your bank/credit card issuer for the recording of the transaction, is provided to CFN on the credit card slips and bank account statements. We use this information mainly to verify payments against orders.

CCTV information:

When entering shared conference/ meeting premises, you are entering a space where continuous video recordings are made for security and safety purposes. Your name or contact details are not linked to recordings where you appear, and will only be linked as required for criminal or official investigations.

Photographs:

From time-to-time, photographs from business events or social gatherings are shared on social media. Your social media profiles may be tagged by other delegates or associates of yours. You can un-tag yourself or stop following our social media pages if you disagree with being tagged.
You can also contact the original poster of the photo and ask that they remove the photo from social media. 

Digital interaction platforms:

You may share certain information with us when using digital platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, SMS or any other platform using digital technology to communicate.

The information we collect and process from these platforms, are personal information for the purposes of understanding your requirements and delivering services and or products accordingly.  

 The Protection of Personal Information Act involves three parties:

  • The data subject: the person to whom the information relates - which is you.
  • The responsible party: the person who determines why and how to process - which is CFN
  • The operator: a person who processes personal information on behalf of the responsible party - Which is CFN and selected service providers.
  • In addition, the selected 3rd party business you have requested a quote or service from must also declare they are POPIA compliant.

How we use your information

We will use your personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected and agreed with you.  In addition, where necessary your information may be retained for legal or research purposes. 

For example:

  • To gather contact information;
  • To collect payment verification details.
  • To confirm and verify your identity or to verify that you are an authorized user for security purposes;
  • For the detection and prevention of fraud, crime, money laundering or other malpractice;
  • To conduct market or customer satisfaction research or for statistical analysis;
  • For audit and record keeping purposes;
  • In connection with legal proceedings.
  • As required by SARS. (i.e. type of service, your name, address, tel no, date of purchase, order numbers etc.)

Disclosure of information

We may disclose your personal information to our service providers who are involved in the delivery of products or services to you (such as "The Courier Guy" for deliveries, MasterCard and VISA for payments by Card, Our website and email hosting provider, etc.). Our service providers have agreements in place to ensure that they comply with the privacy requirements as required by the Protection of Personal Information Act.

We may also disclose your information:

  • Where we have a duty or a right to disclose in terms of law or industry codes;
  • Where we believe it is necessary to protect our rights.
  • To our business associates IF, and only if, you have indicated that you would like to receive offers from our business associates. 

Information Security

We are legally obliged to provide adequate protection for the personal information we hold and to stop unauthorized access and use of personal information. We will, on an on-going basis, continue to review our security controls and related processes to ensure that your personal information remains secure.

Our security policies and procedures cover:

All your information that is collected on our website is stored encrypted (but decryptable) and data access information in encrypted (but non-decryptable) form in a database on a secure server that is hosted physically in a secure data Centre. Encrypted (but decryptable) data can only be accessed by authorized persons with suitable software and security keys to allow decryption. Encrypted (and not decryptable) information cannot be used/accessed by any person (i.e. passwords for account purposes).

Security measures entail: 

  • Physical security;
  • Computer and network security;
  • Access to personal information security;
  • Secure communications;
  • Security in contracting out activities or functions;
  • Retention and disposal of information;
  • Acceptable usage of personal information;
  • Governance and regulatory issues;
  • Monitoring access and usage of private information;
  • Investigating and reacting to security incidents.

When we contract with third parties, we impose appropriate security, privacy and confidentiality obligations on them to ensure that personal information that we remain responsible for, is kept secure.

We will ensure that anyone to whom we pass your personal information agrees to treat your information with the same level of protection as we are obliged to.

Your Rights: Access to information

You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. To do this, simply contact us at the numbers/addresses as provided on our website and specify what information you require.  We will need a copy of your ID document and verification documents or information to confirm your identity before providing details of your personal information.

Please note that any such access request is subject to the payment of a legally allowable fee.   

Correction of your information

You have the right to ask us to update or correct your personal information. We will require a copy of your ID document and verification information to confirm your identity before making changes to personal information we may hold about you. We would appreciate it if you would keep your personal information accurate yourself.

The right "to forget you" 

You have the right to be "forgotten" by CFN and have all your personal information deleted from our systems. However, historical financial transactions and communication records against your name will be retained as legally required. 

How to contact us

If you have any queries about this notice; you need further information about our privacy practices; wish to withdraw consent; exercise preferences or access or correct your personal information, please contact us at the numbers/addresses listed on our website.

 


Contact Details
Contact details for any purposes related to these terms and conditions please email bryan@communityfirst.biz