Legal

Privacy & POPIA Policy

This policy explains how Blind Solutions (Pty) Ltd ("Blind Solutions", "we", "us") collects, uses, shares, stores and protects your personal information, and the rights you have over it. It is written to comply with South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002.

1. Who is responsible for your information

Blind Solutions is the responsible party for the personal information described here. Our details:

Company: Blind Solutions (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2020/772481/07), established 2004
Address: Zamori Estate, 509 Cabernet St, Willowbrook, Roodepoort, 1732 (visits by appointment)
Email: sales@blindsolutions.co.za
Telephone: Gauteng 011 795 4200 · Pretoria 012 023 3730 · Western Cape 021 011 0350
Information Officer: Ben Blignaut — contactable at sales@blindsolutions.co.za, marked "Attention: Information Officer". Registration of the Information Officer with the Information Regulator is pending.

2. What we collect, and why

We only collect information we actually need for a specific purpose. In practice that is:

Enquiries, quotes and measuring appointments

What: your name, email address, telephone number, the property or site address where work is to be done, and whatever project detail you choose to give us (room, opening sizes, orientation, product interest, timelines, budget).
Why: to answer your enquiry, prepare a quotation, arrange a measuring appointment and carry out the work.
Legal basis (POPIA s11): performance of, or steps toward, a contract with you; and our legitimate interest in responding to a request you initiated.

Orders and payments (Somfy online shop)

What: billing and delivery details, order contents and payment status.
Card details are never seen or stored by us — payments are processed by our payment gateway on its own secure platform.
Why: to process, deliver and account for your order, and to meet tax and record-keeping obligations.
Legal basis: contract; and compliance with law.

Academy and course accounts

What: name, email address, account credentials (stored encrypted), purchases, course progress and assessment results.
Why: to give you access to the material you bought, issue completion certificates and support accreditation records.
Legal basis: contract.

Correspondence and site security

What: emails and messages you send us; and technical data our hosting and security providers process automatically to serve and protect the website (for example IP address, browser type and request logs).
Why: to reply to you, and to keep the site available and secure.
Legal basis: legitimate interest.

We do not knowingly collect information from children, and we do not process special personal information (such as health, religion or biometric data) in the ordinary course of our business.

3. Cookies and website analytics

This website does not run advertising trackers or third-party analytics profiling. Cookies and similar storage are used only where a page needs them to work — for example to keep a shopping basket or a logged-in Academy session — and by our hosting and security providers to protect the site. You can block or delete cookies in your browser; parts of the shop or Academy may then not work.

4. Who else processes your information

We share personal information only with parties who need it to deliver what you asked for. These are our operators under POPIA, bound to process it only on our instruction and to protect it:

Website hosting, content delivery and security providers — to serve and protect this website and our forms.
Our customer and quoting system — where enquiries are recorded so our consultants can respond and quote.
Our email provider — the mailbox that receives and stores correspondence.
Our payment gateway — to take card payments for shop and Academy purchases. They receive payment data directly; we receive only the result.
Manufacturers, couriers and installation teams — the delivery address and installation details needed to make, deliver and fit your order.
Our accountants and, where legally required, SARS or other authorities.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing.

5. Information sent outside South Africa

Some of our providers — particularly website hosting, content delivery and email — store or process data on servers outside South Africa. As POPIA section 72 requires, we only use providers who are subject to laws, binding rules or contractual terms that give your information a level of protection substantially similar to POPIA's, and who may not process it for their own purposes.

6. How long we keep it

We keep personal information only as long as there is a reason to, and then delete or de-identify it:

Enquiries that don't become work: Up to 24 months, so we can pick up the conversation if you come back
Customer and project records: For the life of the relationship, then as required for warranty and legal claims
Invoices, orders and tax records: At least 5 years, as required by South African tax and company law
Academy accounts and certificates: While the account is active, and thereafter as needed to verify a certificate

7. How we protect it

As POPIA section 19 requires, we take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect personal information: encrypted connections (HTTPS) across our websites, access limited to the people who need it, credentials stored hashed rather than in plain text, payment card data handled entirely by our gateway, and security controls at our hosting and content-delivery layer. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as section 22 requires.

8. Your rights

Under POPIA you may, at any time and free of charge:

Ask what we hold about you and request a copy.
Correct or delete information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date or obtained unlawfully.
Object to processing based on legitimate interest.
Withdraw consent where processing relies on it — this doesn't affect what was lawful beforehand.
Unsubscribe from any marketing message, using the link in it or by emailing us.
Complain to the Information Regulator (details below).

To exercise any of these, email sales@blindsolutions.co.za marked "Attention: Information Officer". We may ask you to verify your identity, and we will respond within a reasonable period. Requests for access are handled under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA); a prescribed fee may apply to copies.

9. Complaints to the Regulator

If you believe we have handled your personal information unlawfully, you may lodge a complaint directly with the Information Regulator (South Africa):

Address: Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191
Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za
Telephone: 010 023 5200 · Toll free 0800 017 160
Website: inforegulator.org.za

10. Changes to this policy

We update this policy when our processing or the law changes. The current version always appears on this page with the date below. Material changes will be flagged on the website.

Published by Blind Solutions (Pty) Ltd · Information Officer: Ben Blignaut · Last updated 2026-09-07