Privacy Policy

This policy is written to meet the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA). It covers this website. Records we keep at a testing station about a vehicle and its test are a separate matter, and we keep those because the law that governs vehicle testing requires it.

Who we are

VTest Group SA is the group behind a network of vehicle testing stations in Gauteng, South Africa. Each station is a separately registered business. This website is run by the group on behalf of all of them, and an enquiry sent through it reaches the group rather than an individual station.

For anything in this policy you can reach us at info@vtestgroup.co.za.

What we collect

We only collect what you give us and what the site needs in order to work.

• Details you send us. When you use the contact form we collect your name, your contact number, your email address and anything you choose to write in the message.
• Usage information. If you accept analytics cookies we collect anonymous statistics about which pages are read and how people arrive at the site. This is covered in our cookie policy.
• Bot protection. The contact form is checked by Cloudflare Turnstile, which decides whether a submission came from a person or a bot. It sees technical signals from your browser. It does not read what you typed into the form.
• Technical information. Our hosting keeps standard server logs, including IP addresses, for security and troubleshooting. We also count contact form submissions per IP address for a short period, so that the form cannot be flooded.

We do not collect special personal information through this site, we do not collect information about children, and we do not buy personal information from anyone.

Why we collect it

• To answer your enquiry, which is what you asked us to do.
• To understand which parts of the site are useful, where you have consented to that.
• To keep the site secure and working, which is our legitimate interest.
• To meet a legal or accounting obligation where one applies.

We do not use your details for unrelated marketing, and we do not sell them.

Who we share it with

We share personal information only with the service providers who make the site work, and only to the extent they need it.

• Google Analytics, for website statistics, and only if you accept analytics cookies.
• Cloudflare, for the Turnstile check that keeps bots off the contact form.
• Our email provider, which delivers your enquiry to our inbox.
• Our hosting provider, which runs the servers this site sits on.

Some of these providers operate outside South Africa, so your information may be processed in another country. Where that happens we rely on providers who are bound by data protection terms at least comparable to POPIA.

Separately from this website, information about a vehicle and its test is submitted to the transport authorities, because the law that governs vehicle testing requires it.

We will also disclose information where the law requires it.

How long we keep it

We keep enquiries for as long as we are dealing with you and for a reasonable period afterwards, so that we have a record of the conversation. After that we delete them, or keep them only where a law requires us to. Server logs and analytics data are kept for a limited period and then removed by the provider.

How we protect it

The site is served over an encrypted connection. Access to enquiries is limited to the people at VTest Group SA who need it. No system is perfect, so if a breach affects your personal information we will notify you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.

Your rights

Under POPIA you may ask us to do any of the following, free of charge.

• Tell you what personal information we hold about you.
• Correct anything that is wrong or out of date.
• Delete information we no longer have a reason to keep.
• Stop using your information for a particular purpose.
• Withdraw a consent you gave us, at any time.

Email info@vtestgroup.co.za and we will deal with it. Some records we are required by law to keep, and those we cannot delete on request. If you are not satisfied with how we handle your request, you may complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa at inforegulator.org.za.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy we will update the date at the top of this page. Material changes will be brought to your attention on the site.