Privacy Policy, POPIA & Platform Terms

1. What QuoteRequest does — and does not do

QuoteRequest is an advertising, marketing, enquiry collection and lead-introduction platform. We help people looking for quotes for repairs, maintenance, building and other trades connect with independent tradesmen, contractors and service providers (“suppliers”).

We do not ourselves perform the advertised trade work. Unless expressly and separately agreed in writing, QuoteRequest is not the supplier of construction, plumbing, electrical, painting, handyman or any other trade service. We do not employ or supervise independent suppliers merely because their details appear on our website or they receive enquiries.

Important: Sending an enquiry does not guarantee that a supplier is available, qualified for a particular regulated task, that you will receive a quotation, that a price is final or that an appointment is booked. Any agreement for the trade work is between the customer and the supplier directly.

Some suppliers purchase or subscribe to leads and marketing services. A supplier’s appearance, referral, payment for leads or use of our marketing services does not, on its own, mean that QuoteRequest has independently verified, accredited, endorsed, insured or guaranteed that supplier.

2. Who to contact

Website / platform: QuoteRequest (www.quoterequest.co.za)
Platform contact and privacy enquiries: Michael Loans
Physical / contact address: 45 Die Trek Street, Piketberg, South Africa
Telephone and WhatsApp: 072 684 2549
Email: leads@quoterequest.co.za

Use these details for access or correction requests, marketing opt-outs, security concerns, complaints and requests relating to personal information handled by QuoteRequest. For a privacy request, please say “POPIA request” in your message so it can be identified.

3. Personal information we may collect

What we handle depends on how you interact with the website or WhatsApp channels. It may include:

Quote enquiries: name, telephone/WhatsApp number, email if provided, town or suburb, service requested, description of the job, preferred dates and any photos or files you voluntarily send.
Supplier and paying-client details: names, business and contact information, service areas, trade descriptions, account, billing and lead-management records, and information supplied for listings or advertising.
Communications: messages sent to our business channels, follow-up notes, relevant chat exports or attachments submitted for a genuine complaint, and records of how a request was managed.
Technical information: limited website, server or security logs such as IP address, browser/device information or page requests where collected by our hosting or website technology.

You should not send identity documents, bank-card details, medical information, children’s information or other sensitive personal records unless reasonably required for a specific lawful purpose and requested through an appropriate channel. Never send passwords or one-time PINs. Do not send someone else’s private information without a lawful reason.

Completing an enquiry form is voluntary, but a workable contact number, area and description are normally needed to introduce your request to a supplier. Website forms may open WhatsApp rather than storing a quotation directly in the browser or website.

4. Why we use and share the information

We use information to

Receive, assess, record and route genuine quote enquiries.
Contact you about the request and arrange an introduction where available.
Provide lead and marketing services to participating suppliers.
Handle billing, prevent misuse, keep reasonable records and respond to complaints or legal requirements.

We may share it with

One or more suitable participating independent suppliers who may be able to consider your request.
Service providers assisting with hosting, WhatsApp/messaging, communications or operational support under appropriate arrangements.
Regulators, law enforcement, advisers or courts where disclosure is legally permitted or required.

Enquiry-sharing transparency: If you submit a quote request, you should expect the contact details and work information necessary to respond to it to be passed to participating suppliers, which may include suppliers who pay QuoteRequest for lead or advertising services. A supplier receiving your details may act as a separate responsible party under POPIA and must comply with its own privacy obligations.

HQ Leads marketplace submission: When you click Submit Enquiry on a QuoteRequest customer form, your details are saved in the HQ Leads marketplace first. We use the requested service, work area and source page to identify relevant participating suppliers and to operate the marketplace's existing alerts and allocation processes. If the service or area cannot be matched confidently, the enquiry is held for review rather than distributed to unsuitable suppliers. Once HQ Leads has saved the enquiry, WhatsApp opens with a pre-filled message to 072 684 2549. Sending that optional WhatsApp message is not required for the lead to be recorded.

We do not treat requesting one quotation as general permission for unrelated promotional messages. Any unsolicited electronic direct marketing must comply with POPIA, including the consent or existing-customer requirements and opt-out rights where applicable. Suppliers may contact you for the requested quotation but may not use your details for unrelated spam.

WhatsApp and third-party websites or hosting systems may process data under their own terms and privacy notices, potentially including processing outside South Africa. Where cross-border transfers are involved, appropriate legal requirements and safeguards apply. We do not control third-party platforms’ independent privacy practices.

5. POPIA explained in plain English

The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) sets minimum requirements for lawful processing of personal information in South Africa. It does not prohibit necessary sharing of an enquiry with a relevant supplier, but it requires responsible, transparent handling.

Accountability: the party deciding why and how personal information is processed is responsible for meeting its applicable obligations.
Processing limitation: collect and use information lawfully, fairly and only to the extent reasonably necessary.
Purpose specification: explain why information is collected and avoid keeping it longer than lawfully justified.
Further processing limitation: do not reuse information for unrelated purposes without a valid legal basis.
Information quality: take reasonably practicable steps to keep information accurate, complete and up to date for its purpose.
Openness: tell people what information is collected, by whom, why and with whom it may be shared.
Security safeguards: use appropriate technical and organisational steps to protect information and respond to security compromises as required by law.
Data-subject participation: support lawful requests to access, correct, object to certain processing or delete information.

Depending on the specific activity, processing may be justified by consent, steps requested before entering into an agreement, performance of a contract, compliance with law or another lawful ground recognised by POPIA. We do not rely on a blanket statement that visiting this website means you have consented to all possible uses.

Official resources: POPIA legislation and the Information Regulator (South Africa).

6. Security, recordkeeping and retention

QuoteRequest seeks to use reasonable security and access-control measures appropriate to the personal information it handles and the service providers involved. No internet transmission, messaging service or storage system can be promised to be completely secure.

We aim to keep identifiable enquiry, supplier and complaint information only as long as necessary for the purposes described here, operational and accounting requirements, legitimate dispute handling, or a retention period permitted or required by law. Information should then be securely deleted, destroyed or de-identified when no longer lawfully required. Certain records may need to be restricted or preserved while an investigation, dispute or legal process is pending.

We may use hosting logs and essential website technologies needed for site delivery, security and functionality. Where analytics, advertising tools or other non-essential tracking are used, their purposes and any required choices or consent must comply with applicable law.

Where a personal-information security compromise triggers notification duties under POPIA, affected persons and/or the Information Regulator will be notified as legally required. Please contact us promptly if you suspect an exposure or unauthorised use of information provided to QuoteRequest.

7. Conditions applying to tradesmen and lead-buying clients

Participating tradesmen, advertisers and lead clients are independent businesses. They are responsible for the truthfulness, accuracy, legal compliance and completeness of the information, claims, licences, qualifications, trade categories, coverage areas, quotations and representations they provide to customers or to QuoteRequest.

Suppliers must not falsely claim accreditation, insurance, experience, licensing, company registration, guarantees, prices, locations or qualifications.
Suppliers are responsible for their own site visits, pricing, contracts, workmanship, safety, warranties, invoicing, taxes, required insurance and legal or professional qualifications.
Lead recipients must use personal information only for the requested service and related lawful purposes, take reasonable steps to keep it secure and respect POPIA rights, objections and opt-outs.
A lead is an enquiry, not a verified sale, completed job, guaranteed genuine customer, assured appointment or promise of conversion.

Accuracy and lead quality: QuoteRequest does not warrant that information supplied by consumers, advertisers or any other third party is true, complete or authentic. We cannot independently validate every enquiry, stated budget, contact number, project description or declaration. We may review credible indications of fraud or abuse, but any screening or reasonable checking is not a guarantee.

To the extent permitted by law, QuoteRequest is not responsible for third-party falsehoods, incomplete information, inaccurate leads or dealings between a supplier and customer merely because it introduced the parties. This does not exclude QuoteRequest’s own duties or any liability that law does not permit us to exclude. Any additional commercial lead-supply fees, credits or refunds are governed by the applicable separately agreed client terms.

We may decline, pause or discontinue an introduction or a supplier listing where there is a credible safety, integrity, legal-compliance or misuse concern, subject to applicable arrangements and law. Being featured on the platform is not certification.

8. Important terms for customers requesting quotes

When you use QuoteRequest to request an introduction, you should provide truthful contact information, a reasonable description of the work and permission to share the enquiry with suitable suppliers for that purpose. We may decide not to pass on incomplete or suspicious requests.

The trade agreement is separate: You choose whether to engage any supplier and should verify its credentials and suitability, obtain a written scope and quote, agree on payment terms, confirm any necessary certificates or permits and retain proof of payment and communications. QuoteRequest is not normally a party to that agreement and does not collect deposits or payments for a supplier’s work unless separately and explicitly agreed in writing.

We do not promise the quality, completion date, affordability, legality or safety of work performed by an independent supplier. Quotes may change once the supplier has inspected the actual site and agreed any additional work with you.

If a supplier requests unusual upfront payments, pressures you to act immediately, or makes claims you cannot verify, consider pausing and checking independently before paying. Report suspected misrepresentation using the process below.

9. Concerns about scams, misleading leads or poor conduct

We take credible concerns seriously and are willing to consider a voluntary internal fact-finding review when a customer or participating supplier believes that an introduction involved a scam, material misrepresentation or dishonest conduct.

What we ask both parties to provide

Contact us with the name of the supplier/customer, approximate dates, the original QuoteRequest enquiry and a clear explanation of the concern.
For a meaningful review, both parties should provide complete copies of their relevant conversation or chat transcript covering the disputed dealings, including relevant attachments, quotations, proof of payment and other documents reasonably necessary to establish context.
Remove or redact unrelated third-party private information, bank-card details, passwords and irrelevant sensitive data. Do not alter the wording or dates of material messages. We may request clarification or verification before drawing conclusions.
Where appropriate, we may invite each party to respond to information from the other. Information will be handled and disclosed only as lawfully necessary for review, reporting or legal obligations.

Scope of our review: Where there is sufficient credible material, we may prepare an impartial summary of documents, statements, timelines and observations for the parties to use during mediation or other lawful proceedings. We are not a court, arbitrator, police investigator, forensic examiner or legal adviser.

We do not guarantee that either party will cooperate, that every fact can be verified, that the complaint will be resolved, that money will be recovered, or that a report will be completed where evidence is missing, disproportionate, unsafe or outside our reasonable remit. If the relevant transcripts or supporting material are not provided, any report may have to note that limitation or a review may not be possible.

Our optional internal review does not decide legal rights or liabilities, compel refunds, enforce warranties or replace reports to SAPS, banks, applicable ombuds or regulators, a legal practitioner, mediation or court proceedings. You do not have to use our review process before exercising statutory rights or reporting a suspected crime.

We may preserve or disclose relevant evidence when legally required and may take appropriate platform steps against suspected misuse. A factual report reflects only material reasonably available to QuoteRequest at the time and should not be interpreted as a guarantee of its completeness or a final ruling on wrongdoing.

10. Disclaimers and limits of platform responsibility

The website, advertising and introduction service is offered to assist people in finding potential suppliers. We take reasonable care with our own representations and handling of enquiries, but third-party listings, advertisements, photographs, customer submissions and supplier claims may be incomplete, outdated, mistaken or misleading.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable South African law, QuoteRequest does not accept responsibility merely because an introduction occurred for an independent supplier’s actions or omissions, alleged fraud, delay, pricing, workmanship, site damage, non-performance, unsafe work, contractual breach, guarantees or disputes, or for the authenticity and suitability of a third-party lead.

Any exclusion or limitation applies only insofar as it is lawful, fair and enforceable in the circumstances. Nothing in this policy excludes or restricts rights, remedies, liabilities or duties that cannot lawfully be excluded, including applicable obligations under POPIA, the Consumer Protection Act or other mandatory law, nor does it excuse QuoteRequest’s own unlawful conduct.

We do not warrant uninterrupted availability of the site or WhatsApp channels. External websites and messaging platforms are managed by their respective providers.

11. Your POPIA and access-to-information rights

Subject to the law and applicable exceptions, you may:

Ask whether we hold your personal information and request access to records concerning you.
Ask us to correct, update or delete information that is inaccurate, excessive, irrelevant, out of date, unlawfully obtained or no longer authorised to be kept.
Object to certain processing on legally recognised grounds or withdraw consent where consent is the applicable basis.
Request that direct marketing stop, and raise a complaint about suspected unlawful processing.
Seek access to records under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) through the applicable lawful process.

Contact Michael Loans through the details in section 2. We may need to verify that you are entitled to the requested information before disclosing it, and we may withhold or redact third-party information where the law requires. Requests will be assessed and handled in accordance with applicable requirements; erasure may not be possible where lawful retention obligations or rights apply.

For a complaint about personal-information processing, you may also contact the Information Regulator (South Africa). Visit the official complaints page, use its official eServices process, email POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za, or telephone 010 023 5200. You need not surrender your right to complain to the Regulator by using this site.

Google Analytics and optional visit measurement

QuoteRequest offers optional Google Analytics 4 tracking to understand how visitors find and use our pages, including visits from Facebook advertisements, visits to service and city pages, and whether enquiries were successfully submitted. Google Analytics may use cookies and related browser information if you choose to allow analytics. Optional analytics is off by default until you select “Allow analytics” on the site.

If you decline, we will not intentionally record identifiable browsing sessions with Google Analytics. You may change your choice using the “Analytics preferences” link at the bottom of our pages. Preferences are saved in your browser. Aggregated analytics may not include visitors who decline tracking or block the Google tag.

We do not intentionally send the name, phone number, email address, or contents of quote messages to Google Analytics. When you allow analytics, we may record a generic event for completed quotation forms and WhatsApp link clicks. Google is a separate provider and may process analytics data outside South Africa, subject to its services, safeguards and privacy terms. See Google's privacy information.

12. Questions, changes and contact

We may update this notice to reflect changes to our services, information practices or legal requirements. The latest version will be posted at this address with an updated date; material changes will be communicated where required by law.

Michael Loans — QuoteRequest
45 Die Trek Street, Piketberg, South Africa
WhatsApp / telephone: 072 684 2549
Email: leads@quoterequest.co.za

This page provides platform information and general terms. It is not an individual trade contract, insurance certificate, guarantee of a supplier or replacement for specific legal advice. Where separately signed agreements and mandatory law apply, they must also be considered.

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