Privacy Policy

VBN operates an online directory of vetted businesses and a public Trust & Compliance Registry ("Blacklist"). For POPIA purposes VBN is the responsible party for personal information processed on this website.

Information Officer: [Name to be confirmed], hello@vbn.example, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Customers: name, email address, phone number, province/region, interests, communication preferences, reviews, quote requests, disputes, saved businesses and vouchers.

Businesses: business and contact person details, physical address, CIPC registration number, SARS tax PIN (optional), compliance documents (e.g. company registration, director ID, proof of address), logos, photos and subscription/payment status.

Reports: reporter phone, email, invoice or quote reference and evidence files (screenshots, chats, documents).

Technical: sign-in data and, only if you allow it, your device location to show distances to businesses. Your location is used in your browser and is not stored by us.

• To create and secure your account and verify customers and businesses.
• To check business compliance documents and display verification status.
• To publish reviews, specials and registry entries, and to issue review vouchers.
• To pass quote requests to the business you choose and to mediate disputes.
• To process subscriptions and payments.
• To send marketing, only where you have opted in.
• To share anonymised or aggregated insights with partners. We will only share identifiable information with third parties for marketing where you have given separate, specific consent.

We process information on the grounds allowed by section 11 of POPIA: your consent, performance of our agreement with you, compliance with law, and our legitimate interest in keeping the network safe and trustworthy.

• Business contact details are shown only to signed-in users.
• Businesses can choose to hide their address; it is then shown only to VBN administrators.
• Reviews are public without your contact details.
• Reporter details and evidence, compliance documents and customer contact details are visible only to VBN administrators (and, for quote requests, the business you contacted).
• Service providers who help us run the platform: hosting and database, our payment processor (PayFast) and mapping (OpenStreetMap, which receives business addresses to find map positions).

We use access controls so users can only see their own private data, private file storage with short-lived links for documents and evidence, and administrator-only access to sensitive records. No system is completely secure; if we become aware of a breach affecting you we will notify you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.

We keep information only as long as needed for the purposes above or as required by law (for example, financial records). You can ask us to delete your account at any time.

Under POPIA you may ask to access, correct or delete your information, object to processing, and withdraw marketing consent at any time (you can update preferences in My account). Contact hello@vbn.example.

You may also complain to the Information Regulator: inforeg.org.za, enquiries@inforegulator.org.za.

We may update this policy. The date above shows the latest version; significant changes will be communicated on the site.