Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Cater Era (Pty) Ltd ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of our customers, website visitors, and users. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa.

For the purposes of POPIA, Cater Era (Pty) Ltd is the "responsible party" — the entity that determines the purpose of and means for processing your personal information.

2. Information We Collect

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide when interacting with our website and services:

Account Information

• Full name
• Email address
• Phone number (optional)
• Password (stored securely — we never store your actual password)

Order Information

• Shipping address (street address, city, province, postal code)
• Order details and history
• Payment confirmation status (we do not store your card details — payment is processed securely by our payment provider)

Product Reviews

• Name and email address
• Rating, title, and review text

Contact Form Submissions

• Name, email, phone (optional), subject, and message content

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• Order processing: To process and fulfil your orders, arrange delivery, and send transactional emails (order confirmations, shipping updates).
• Account management: To create and manage your customer account, authenticate your identity, and facilitate password resets.
• Customer support: To respond to your enquiries, quotes, and support requests submitted through our contact form or WhatsApp.
• Product reviews: To display your reviews on product pages (subject to approval) to help other customers make informed purchasing decisions.
• Security and fraud prevention: To protect our website and detect suspicious activity.
• Legal compliance: To meet our obligations under South African law, including tax and financial record-keeping requirements.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Under POPIA Section 11, we process your personal information based on the following lawful grounds:

• Consent: When you create an account, submit a contact form, or write a review, you voluntarily provide your information.
• Contract performance: Processing is necessary to fulfil your purchase orders, deliver products, and manage your account.
• Legitimate interest: We process certain information for security purposes to protect our business and customers.
• Legal obligation: We retain order records as required by South African tax and commercial law.

5. Third-Party Service Providers

We share your personal information only with trusted service providers who act on our behalf. We do not sell, trade, or share your personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

• A payment processing provider to securely handle your transactions
• An email delivery provider to send you order confirmations and updates
• A hosting provider to operate our website

These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and may only use it to perform services on our behalf.

6. Cookies & Local Storage

Our website uses essential cookies and browser storage required for the site to function, as well as analytics cookies through Google Tag Manager to understand how visitors use our site and improve our service.

Since we only use essential and analytics cookies, a separate cookie consent banner is not required under current South African law. You can disable non-essential cookies through your browser settings at any time.

7. Data Security

We take the security of your personal information seriously and have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it. Your data is transmitted over a secure, encrypted connection, and we do not store your card or payment details — all payments are processed securely by our payment provider.

We are committed to maintaining and improving our security practices to protect your data.

8. Your Rights Under POPIA

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

• Right of access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Right to correction: You may request that we correct or update inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
• Right to deletion: You may request that we delete your personal information, subject to any legal obligations that require us to retain certain records.
• Right to object: You may object to the processing of your personal information on reasonable grounds.
• Right to lodge a complaint: If you believe your privacy has been violated, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Information Officer using the details in Section 13 below. We will respond to your request within a reasonable time, and in any event within 30 days as required by POPIA.

9. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by South African law. Account data is retained while your account is active, and you may request account deletion at any time. Order records are retained as required by South African tax and commercial legislation.

10. Children's Privacy

Our website and services are directed at businesses and adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 18. If we become aware that a child under 18 has provided us with personal information, we will take steps to delete such information promptly.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last revised. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Continued use of our website after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. How to Submit a Privacy Request

We provide a dedicated privacy request channel for POPIA-related queries, access requests, corrections, and deletion requests. You can submit a request through the contact details in Section 13 below or by using the privacy request form on our Contact page (subject line: "Privacy Request").

When making a request, please include sufficient detail to help us verify your identity and locate the relevant information. We may request proof of identity before processing sensitive requests.

13. Information Officer & Contact

POPIA requires that we designate an Information Officer responsible for ensuring compliance with data protection obligations. For any privacy-related request, question, or complaint, please contact:

To exercise any of your rights under POPIA, please contact our Information Officer using the details above. We will respond within a reasonable time, and in any event within 30 days as required by POPIA.