Website terms and conditions

Please read these terms and conditions ('terms of use'). By viewing and using the website, you are agreeing to the terms that appear below. The section called 'Guarantee' contains important information about your rights and our responsibilities.

Who we are

We, Experian South Africa (Proprietary) Limited, own and run the website. We are a company based in South Africa with registration number 2006/010440/07 (“Experian”, “we”, “our”, “us”). Our registered office is at Experian House, Ballyoaks Office Park, 35 Ballyclare Drive, Bryanston, 2021. If you have any questions about this website or these terms, please use the relevant contact details set out on the 'Contact us' page.

Conditions of access

These conditions of access, as amended from time to time (the “agreement”), govern your use of our website. This agreement forms an agreement between you and Experian.

About this agreement

This agreement sets out the data processing practices carried out through your use of this website by Experian South Africa (Proprietary) Limited, its parent company, holding companies and/or subsidiaries (“the Group”).

If you have any requests concerning your personal information or any queries with regard to these practices, please contact us.
 

Acceptance

These conditions become effective when you access the website and constitutes a binding agreement between us and yourself, which will always prevail. The current version of these conditions will govern our respective rights and obligations each time you access this website.

Your use and access of this website is conditional upon your acceptance, without modification, of the terms of this agreement. If you do not agree with any provision contained in this agreement, please do not use this website.
 

Amendment of terms and conditions

We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to amend (including without limitation, by the addition of new terms and conditions) these terms of use at any time and from time to time without notice to you. Any such amendments shall come into effect immediately and automatically. You agree to review these terms of use whenever you visit the website for any such amendments.
 

Content

We or our licensors own all the rights to all the materials contained in the website, and the information the website collects (we refer to all this as 'the content'). This includes patents, copyright, database rights and registered and unregistered trademarks. By making the trademarks available on the website, we are not giving you any permission to use them.
 

You can:

view and display the content on a computer screen; print individual pages on paper or make a reasonable number of photocopies (or both) for your personal use and store the content in electronic form on your computer's hard drive for your personal, non-commercial use only.

This website is Copyright ©2020, Experian South Africa (Proprietary) Limited. All rights reserved.

You may not establish a hyperlink, frame, meta-tag or similar reference, whether electronically or otherwise ("linking") to this website or any other subsidiary pages without our prior written consent, which consent is at our sole discretion. In the event that you have not heard from us within 5 (five) working days, please consider your request as having been rejected.

Guarantee

The content is only for general information, and we provide it as it becomes available. We take reasonable care to check that the content is accurate and complete before we publish it on the website. However, because we get the content from a number of different sources - and because of the issues involved with providing information through the Internet - we cannot guarantee that the content will always be accurate, available, complete or fit for any particular purpose.

We do not guarantee that the content is free from viruses, or that you will always be able to use the website without any interruption or error. If you download any content to your computer or take the content from the website in any other way, you do so at your own risk. We will not be responsible for any damage to your computer or any of the information on it.

We do not accept any responsibility for any mistakes, errors or other faults in the website and the content, or for how you use the website and the content.

However, nothing in these terms of use removes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or for any liability which we cannot limit or exclude under South African law.

Links to other websites

For your convenience, this website may contain links to other websites belonging to or operated by third parties ("third party websites"). By making the hyperlinks available, we are not endorsing, recommending or promoting third party websites, their content, products or services that they offer or the owners of these third-party websites. We have no control over the third-party information and make no representations or warranties of any nature as to its accuracy, appropriateness or correctness. It is your responsibility to ensure that you obtain all information relevant to making a decision and that you read the privacy and security policy on such third-party websites. We have no control over such third-party websites and will not be liable for any loss or damage you suffer, whether directly or indirectly, as a result of your use of third party websites. You agree that where you access third party websites, you do so entirely at your own risk.

Your privacy

We take your privacy very seriously and aim to keep to the relevant conditions set out in South African legislation pertaining to information privacy. Any information you give to us or we collect from you when you use the website is only used in line with the terms of our privacy policy statement.

Changes to the terms of use

We may make changes to these terms of use from time to time. By accessing and using this website, you are consenting to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with these terms of use. You should check this page regularly to see our most up to date policy. We will tell you about any changes to these terms of use by showing the date of the changes in the 'Last updated' section below. By using the website after the date, we make any changes, you are agreeing to the changes.

Last updated: 28/04/2010

Use of information

Experian is a registered credit bureau in terms of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (“NCA”) and it conducts its business in accordance with applicable South African legislation including the code of conduct issued by the Credit Bureaus Association, the South African Risk Reporting Agency and/or any applicable industry or regulatory circular, directive, guideline and such like . Experian considers it imperative to protect the privacy interests of consumers. Please see our detailed privacy policy statement in this regard.

Experian is obliged to comply with Section 68 of the NCA pursuant to which credit bureaus use a consumer or a prospective consumer’s information for the purpose permitted or prescribed in terms of the NCA and/or other legislation.

Experian will report or release that information only to the consumer, prospective consumer or to another person:

• to the extent permitted or required by the NCA and/or other applicable legislation;
• as directed by the instructions of the consumer or prospective consumer;
• or an order of a court or tribunal.

By accepting these terms of use, you expressly acknowledge, agree and consent to Experian using your confidential information, for the following purposes, which specifically includes, but is not limited to:

• recording, processing and continuously maintaining and updating your consumer credit information;
• producing a new credit record;
• monitoring and subsequently updating the current and future credit activity on your records;
• creating new and maintaining or revising existing products (e.g. scoring, statistical analysis and other statistical models);
• verifying, at Experian’s discretion, information on your credit record against any relevant source;
• making your credit record available to our customers/subscribers, upon request, where the customer/subscriber fulfils the legal requirements, justifying such disclosure;
• entities using the Experian websites to obtain personal information for permitted lawful purposes. Such entities confirm that the information will be kept confidential as per the applicable South African legislation.

By accessing our website, you hereby consent to us contacting you or your organization for the marketing of Experian products and services. You may opt out of this provision by indicating in writing to unsubscribesouthafrica@experian.com. Disclosures made in terms of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (“ECT Act”)

Access to the services, content, software and content downloads available from this website is classified as “electronic transactions” in terms of the ECT Act and therefore users have the rights detailed in Chapter 7 of the ECT Act and Experian has the duty to disclose the following information:

Full name and legal status of the website owner: Experian South Africa (Proprietary) Limited, a private company incorporated in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa;

• Registration number: 2006/010440/07;
• Place of registration: Gauteng, South Africa;
• Registered physical address: Experian House, Ballyoaks Office Park, 35 Ballyclare Drive, Bryanston, 2021;
• Physical address for receipt of legal service of documents (“registered office”): Experian House, Ballyoaks Office Park, 35 Ballyclare Drive, Bryanston, 2021;
• Telephone number: (011) 779 3400;
• Website addresses: www.experian.co.za, www.creditexpert.co.za, www.kreditweb.co.za, www.kreditexchange.co.za and www.creditnow.co.za;
• E-mail address: info@experian.co.za.

Codes of conduct: Experian subscribes to the Credit Bureau Association Code of Conduct, Credit Ombud Code of Conduct and the South African Credit Risk Reporting Agency Code of Conduct. These codes of conduct may be available on the websites of these bodies.

Description of the main characteristics of the service(s) offered by Experian: Experian is involved in the provision of credit scoring services used to evaluate the performance and behavior of consumers, the provisions of application processing services utilized to assist third parties to process applications for credit from consumers, the provision of services relating to the sorting, analysis, reporting on and distribution of data and information, including the business of an information solutions provider.

The price for Experian services can be found on www.experian.co.za. Manner of payment: electronically by credit card.

The terms of the agreement: the terms of the agreement between yourself and Experian is governed by these terms of use and the Member Registration Form. Experian makes no representations and gives no warranties and/or guarantees of whatever nature, whether express, implied in law, or residual, in respect of these terms, the service/s and/or the accuracy or correctness of the information delivered to you or any part thereof.

Time within which the service(s) will be delivered: as soon as is reasonably possible after Experian accepts your order, subject to the condition that any supporting documentation requested to be provided by you have been received by us.

Return and refund policy: by nature of the service(s), no information provided to you by Experian may be returned, and no monies paid by you to Experian in respect of the service/s will be refunded to you, unless it is established to the satisfaction of Experian that the service/s were in fact not provided by Experian.

Security procedures and privacy policy of Experian in respect of payment, payment information and personal information: Experian utilises a payment system that is sufficiently secure with reference to accepted technological standards as at the date of these terms, given the type of transaction to be concluded between you and Experian.

Cooling-off period: in terms of section 42(2)(f)(iii) of ECT Act, no cooling-off period applies in respect of any service/s ordered via the website, as the information ordered and delivered to you by Experian cannot, by its nature, be returned.

Experian subscribes to alternative dispute resolution as set out in the Credit Bureau Association Code of Conduct and the Credit Ombud Code of Conduct. These codes may be found on the respective websites of these bodies.
 

Products and services

It may be possible, through other websites that we run and provide links to from this website, for you to have access to a facility to buy products or services (“services”). Nothing on this or other websites we run forms an offer on our part to sell any products or services. An auto-response to your application shall not be construed as formal approval of your application. It is only once you are expressly notified of approval by us that you will have been approved for the particular product or service for which you applied.  How you buy and use these products or services will depend on separate terms and conditions, and you may need to register with us or another organisation.

The various products and services we offer on different parts of this website or through associated websites may be subject to additional terms and conditions or their own agreements called "service terms" and your use of those services will also be subject to the service terms governing those relevant services. In the event of conflict between this agreement and the service terms, the provisions of the service terms will prevail to the extent of such conflict. You might have to apply to become a registered user of such services, which application may be accepted or rejected at our sole discretion.
 

Advertising and sponsorship

Part of the website may contain advertising and sponsorship. Advertisers and sponsors are responsible for making sure that the material they give us to include on the website keeps to the relevant laws and codes. We will not be responsible for any mistakes or inaccurate information in advertising material.

Other matters

If any court having the appropriate authority finds that any of these terms of use are not valid, this will not affect the validity of any of the other terms in this notice. If you or we fail to take advantage of any right we have under these terms, it does not mean you or we are giving up that right.

These terms will be governed by, and interpreted in line with, South African law. You agree that the South African courts will have full authority to settle any dispute that may arise out of or in connection with these terms.

We may make changes to any part of the website or the content (including these terms of use) at any time. We will tell you about any changes to these terms by showing the date of the changes in the 'Last updated' section below. By using the website after the date we make any changes, you are agreeing to the changes.

Last updated: 28/04/2010 © 2020 Experian South Africa (Proprietary) Limited. All rights reserved.
 

Links

This privacy policy only covers Experian's website at www.experian.co.za, www.creditexpert.co.za,  www.kreditweb.co.za, www.kreditexchange.co.za and www.creditnow.co.za.

Additional websites within the Group are governed by their respective privacy statements. We are not responsible for the data policies or procedures or the content of other linked websites outside of the Group.
 

Business and/or consumer credit report purchase acknowledgement

By purchasing the Experian Business and/or Consumer Credit Report you acknowledge and agree that any information requested by you from Experian shall be used solely for the purposes of evaluating the business or individual concerned and/or to the extent permitted or prescribed by the NCA, if applicable to such business or individual enquiries such as factual check or risk assessment.
 

Payment

You agree to pay Experian the fees applicable to the type of service requested by you. The fees are recorded on our website. Such fees are inclusive of Value Added Tax. You hereby authorise Experian to charge the payment for such fees to your credit card, using the credit card information provided in your application form, effective from the date of receipt of your order by Experian. You hereby agree that Experian will not be obliged to refund any payment made by you in this manner, nor shall you be entitled to reverse such payment, for any reason whatsoever, including your failure to pass Experian's verification processes.

Information collected

We collect personal information from you and other visitors to this website through the use of enquiry our Member Registration Forms and/or enquiry forms every time you e-mail us your details. Other than this, we do not store or capture personal information but simply log your IP address (this is the technical standard which ensures messages get from one host to another and that the messages are understood) which is automatically recognised by the web server.

Cookies

Cookies may be used by us to provide you with customised information from our web site. A cookie is an element of data that a website can send to your browser, which may then store it on your system. Cookies would allow us to understand who has seen which pages and advertisements, to determine how frequently particular pages are visited and to determine the most popular areas of our website. Cookies may also allow us to make our website more user friendly by, for example, allowing us to save your password so that you do not have to re-enter it every time to visit our website.

We may use cookies as a means to give you a better experience when you return to our website. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies. You do not have to accept cookies, and you should read the information that came with your browser software to see how you can set up your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, this will give you the opportunity to decide whether to accept it. If you disable cookies from your browser you may not be able to access certain features of a particular website.

Monitoring of communication

You expressly give your consent for us to monitor your internet and e-mail traffic on our website. You acknowledge that we monitor internet and e-mail traffic on the website primarily to ensure that users and consumers are not acting illegally, unlawfully or in breach of these terms of use and:

• to maintain the integrity and security of our website and information technology systems;
• to investigate and detect any unauthorised use of our website and information technology systems;
• as an inherent part of and to secure the effective operation of our website and information technology systems.

Security

We endeavour to take all reasonable steps to protect your personal information. All the data collected by us is stored on a secure server. The communication between your workstation and our servicer is encrypted with a secure socket layer tunnel.

Disclosures

We will only disclose personal information to reputable companies and suppliers we engage to process data on our behalf, (which may include companies within the Group).

Internet-based transfers

Given that the Internet is a global environment, using the Internet to collect and process personal data necessarily involves the transmission of data on an international basis. Therefore, by browsing this website and communicating electronically with us, you acknowledge and agree to our processing of personal data in this way.

Personal data and your rights

You may request and receive your credit report from Experian once within any period of twelve months without charge (Section 72(1)(b)(aa) NCA). Should you request your credit report more than once within any period of twelve months, Experian will be entitled to charge a fee for same.

If at any time you no longer wish to receive any of our e-bulletins, newsletters or other information for which you have subscribed via this website, then please contact us on unsubscribesouthafrica@experian.com so that we can remove your relevant details.

Sale of business

In the event that the business is sold or integrated with another business your details may be disclosed to our advisors and any prospective purchasers' advisers and will be passed onto the new owners of the business.
 

The law governing our relationship

The conditions will be governed and construed in accordance with the law of the Republic of South Africa without reference to any conflict of law provisions.

Address for Notices and Service of Legal Process - All legal notices must be delivered to our registered address being Experian House, Ballyoaks Office Park, 35 Ballyclare Drive, Bryanston, 2021 marked for the attention of the Legal Department.

We may send you legal notices to any of the addresses you have specified on any of your application/Member Registration Forms with us or at the address you actually work or live.

No legal service shall be validly affected by email or fax.

Experian shall be entitled from time to time, by giving notice to you, to vary its physical address for service to any other physical address within the Republic of South Africa.

You are required to take note of the following:

• While we have taken care to ensure that the content on this website is accurate, this website and the services accessible on or via this website are provided "as is" and your use of and reliance on the information on this website and the online services is entirely at your own risk. You assume full responsibility for the risk or loss resulting from your use of this website and your reliance on the material and information contained on it.
• We and our affiliates, shareholders, directors, agents, consultants or employees are not liable for any damages whatsoever relating to your use of this website or the online services or the information contained on this website or your inability to use this website or the online services. This includes, without limitation, any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential or punitive damages, whether arising out of contract, statute, delict or otherwise and regardless of whether we were expressly advised of the possibility of such loss or damage.

Without derogating from the generality of the above, we will not be liable for:

• any interruption, malfunction, downtime or other failure of the website or online services, our system, databases or any of its components, for any reason whatsoever;
• any loss or damage arising from your orders, purchases or disposal of goods and services, from third parties, based on the information provided on this website;
• any loss or damage with regard to your or other data directly or indirectly caused by malfunction of our system, third party systems, power failures, unlawful access to or theft of data, computer viruses or destructive code on our system or third-party systems; programming defects; negligence on our part;
• any interruption, malfunction, downtime or other failure of goods or services provided by third parties, including, without limitation, third party systems such as the public switched telecommunication service providers, internet service providers, electricity suppliers, local authorities and certification authorities;
• any event over which we have no direct control.