Privacy Policy

Last Updated: July 2024 

FIRST BATTERY Division of METINDUSTRIAL (PTY) LIMITED concerned about privacy issues and wants you to be familiar with how we collect, use, and disclose information. This Privacy Policy describes our practices in connection with information that we or our service providers collect through the Website or Web property (including, for example, a mobile website or application) operated and controlled by us from which you are accessing this Privacy Policy (each, the 'site'). By providing personal information to us or by using the site, you agree to the processing of any personal information you may disclose to us as you engage with the site on the terms and conditions set out in this Privacy Policy. 

Information Collection 

Information you Provide 
Some areas of the site may ask you to submit personal information in order for you to benefit from the specified features (such as newsletter subscriptions, tips/pointers, or order processing) or to participate in a particular activity (such as sweepstakes or other promotions). You will be informed what information is required and what information is optional. 

We may combine the information you submit with other information we have collected from you, whether on- or offline, including, for example, your purchase history. We may also combine it with information we receive about you from other sources, such as other First Battery Operating Companies, publicly available information sources (including information from your publicly available social media profiles), and other third parties. 

Passive Information Collection and Use 
As you navigate around the site, certain information can be passively collected (that is, gathered without your actively providing the information), using various technologies. We and our third party service providers passively collect and use information in a variety of ways, including: 

  • Through your browser: Certain information is collected by most browsers, such as your Media Access Control (MAC) address, computer type (Windows or Macintosh), screen resolution, operating system version, and Internet browser type and version. We may collect similar information, such as your device type and identifier, if you access the site through a mobile device. 

  • Using pixel tags, web beacons, clear GIFs, or other similar technologies: These may be used in connection with some site pages and HTML-formatted email messages to, among other things, track the actions of site users and email recipients, measure the success of our marketing campaigns, and compile statistics about site usage and response rates. 

  • Online behavioural advertising: The use of cookies, pixel tags, web beacons, clear GIFs, or other similar technologies allows our third-party vendors to deliver advertisements about our products and services when you visit the site or other web sites or web properties across the Internet. These vendors may place pixel tags, web beacons, clear GIFs, or similar technologies on the site and other websites or web properties, and also place or recognise third-party cookies when you visit the site or other sites or web properties. They may use information about your visits to the site and other web sites or web properties to provide advertisements about goods and services that may be of interest to you. 

  • IP Address: Your IP Address is a number that is automatically assigned to the computer that you are using by your Internet Service Provider. An IP Address is identified and logged automatically in our server log files whenever a user visits the site, along with the time of the visit and the page(s) that were visited. Collecting IP Addresses is standard practice on the Internet and is done automatically by many web sites. We use IP Addresses for purposes such as calculating site usage levels, helping diagnose server problems, and administering the site. 

  • Device Information: We may collect information about your mobile device, such as a unique device identifier. 

How We Use and Disclose Information 

We use and disclose information you provide to us as described to you at the point of collection. 

We also use information from or about you:  

  • To respond to your inquiries and fulfil your requests, such as to send you documents you request or email alerts;  

  • To send you important information regarding our relationship with you or regarding the site, changes to our terms, conditions, and policies and/or other administrative information 

  • For our business purposes, such as data analysis, audits, developing new products, enhancing our website, improving our products and services, identifying site usage trends, personalising your experience on the site by presenting products and offers tailored to you, and determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns. 

We also disclose information collected through the site: 

  1. To our affiliates for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. A list of our affiliates is available here (click on the link for Form 10K, Exhibit 21, under “SEC Filings”). FIRST BATTERY Division of METINDUSTRIAL (PTY) LIMITED is the party responsible for the management of the jointly-used Personal Information. 

  1. To our third party partners with whom we offer a co-branded or co-marketed promotion. 

  1. To our third party service providers who provide services such as website hosting and moderating, mobile application hosting, data analysis, payment processing, order fulfilment, infrastructure provision, IT services, customer service, email and direct mail delivery services, credit card processing, auditing services, and other services, in order to enable them to provide services. 

  1. To a third party in the event of any reorganisation, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer, or other disposition of all or any portion of our business, assets, or stock (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings). 

In addition, we use and disclose information collected through the site as we believe to be necessary or appropriate: (a) as permitted by applicable law, including laws outside your country of residence; (b) to comply with legal process; (c) to respond to requests from public and government authorities, including public and government authorities outside your country of residence; (d) to enforce our terms and conditions; (e) to protect our operations or those of any of our affiliates; (f) to protect our rights, privacy, safety, or property, and/or that of our affiliates, you, or others; and (g) to allow us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that we may sustain. We may also use and disclose information collected through the site in other ways, with your consent. 

We also use and disclose information we collect passively as described above, under “Passive Information Collection and Use,” and for any other purpose, except where we are required to do otherwise under applicable law (for example, if we are required to treat such information as personal information). In addition, we may use and disclose information that is not in personally identifiable form for any purpose. If we combine information that is not in personally identifiable form with information that is (such as combining your name with your geographical location), we will treat the combined information as personal information as long as it is combined. 

Third Party Sites and Services

This Privacy Policy does not address, and we are not responsible for, the privacy, information, or other practices of any third parties, including any third party operating any site or web property (including, without limitation, any application) that is available through this site or to which this site contains a link. The availability of, or inclusion of a link to, any such site or property on the site does not imply endorsement of it by us or by our affiliates. 

Security 
We use reasonable organisational, technical, and administrative measures to protect personal information under our control. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet or data storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure (for example, if you feel that the security of any account you have with us has been compromised), please immediately notify us of the problem by contacting us in accordance with the 'Contacting Us' section below. 

Choices and Access 
Your choices regarding our use and disclosure of your personal information 

We give you choices regarding our use and disclosure of your personal information for marketing purposes. You may, at any time, object to our processing of your personal information on reasonable grounds. 

  1. Receiving marketing communications from us: If you no longer want to receive marketing communications from us on a going-forward basis, you may opt out of receiving them by contacting us via email. In your response to us, please provide your name, identify the form(s) of marketing communications that you no longer wish to receive, and include the address(es) to which it/they are sent. For example, if you no longer wish to receive marketing emails or direct mail from us, tell us that, and provide your name and email or postal address. You may also opt out of receiving marketing communications from us by visiting the site to update your online profile. In addition, you may opt out of receiving marketing emails from us by following the unsubscribe instructions provided in any such message. 

  2. Receiving reminders from us: If you no longer want to receive reminders from us on a going-forward basis, you may opt out of receiving them by contacting us via email. In your response to us, please provide your name and the email address or phone number at which you receive reminders from us. 

  3. Our sharing of your personal information with affiliates and third-party partners: If you would prefer that we not share your personal information on a going-forward basis with our affiliates and/or third-party partners for their marketing purposes, you may opt out of this sharing by contacting us via email. In your response to us, please state that we should no longer share your personal information with our affiliates and/or third-party partners for their marketing purposes and include your name and email address. 

We will seek to comply with your request(s) as soon as reasonably practicable. Please note that if you opt out as described above, we will not be able to remove your personal information from the databases of our affiliates with which we have already shared your information i.e., as of the date that we implement your opt-out request. Please also note that if you opt out of receiving marketing-related messages from us, we may still send you important transactional and administrative messages, from which you cannot opt out. 

Should you object to our processing of your personal information, you understand and acknowledge that this may affect the quality of the services provided to you through the site. 

How you can access, change, or delete your personal information 

You are responsible for ensuring that the information you submit to us through the site is accurate, up-to-date, and correct. We take no responsibility for any harm, loss or damage you may incur as a result of conduct that results from the use of incorrect information. 

If you would like to review, correct, update, or delete the personal information that you have provided via the site, please contact us via email. We will try to comply with your request as soon as reasonably practicable. You may also visit the site to update your online profile. 

Retention Period 

We retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy unless a longer retention period is required or allowed by law or to otherwise fulfil a legal obligation. 

Use of the site by minors 

The site is not directed to individuals under the age of 13, and we request that these individuals not provide personal information through the site. 

Cross-Border Transfer 

Your personal information may be stored and processed in any country where we have facilities or service providers, and by using our site or by providing consent to us (where required by law), you agree to the transfer of information to countries outside of your country of residence, including to the United States, which may provide for different data protection rules than in your country. 

Sensitive Information

Unless we specifically request or invite it, we ask that you not send us, and you not disclose, any sensitive personal information (e.g., information related to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion or other beliefs, health, criminal background, or trade union membership) on or through the site or otherwise to us. In those cases where we may request or invite you to provide sensitive information, we will do so with your express consent. 

Updates to this Privacy Policy 

We may change this Privacy Policy. Please take a look at the 'LAST UPDATED' legend at the top of this page to see when this Privacy Policy was last revised. Any changes to this Privacy Policy will become effective when we post the revised Privacy Policy on the site. Your use of the site following these changes means that you accept the revised Privacy Policy. 

Contacting Us 

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us via our email address: info@fnbacademy.co.za  

Competition and prize draw rules and regulations 

Prize draws and/or competitions may be run throughout the programme. 

In all competitions the judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. 

  • Prizes are not transferable and may not be deferred, changed, or exchanged for cash or any other item. 

  • Winners are selected at random. 

  • Winners will be drawn within 10 working days of each promotion’s closing date. 

  • If you use a mobile phone or email address for entry into the competition your details must correspond with those you registered with, or your entry will not be counted. 

  • It is your responsibility to ensure that any information which you provide to us is accurate, complete, and up to date. 

  • It is your responsibility to ensure that your entry is received by us prior to the closure of the competition or prize draw. Any entries which are not received by us prior to the closure of the competition or prize draw will not be eligible for participation, regardless of the reason for the late entry. We and our affiliates are not liable for the failure of any technical element relating to the draw and/or competition that may result in the unsuccessful submission of an entry. 

  • We and our affiliates will not be responsible for any harm, damage, loss, or claim relating to the provision of any element of a prize, or any changes to a prize that may be made at any time. 

  • Winners will be notified by means of the contact details they provided to us. Should we, or a third party supplier, be unable to contact a winner within 30 days, the winner will forfeit the prize and the First Battery Academy reserves the right to re-draw a new winner, under the same conditions. 

  • We and our third party agents, as the case may be, reserve the right to vary, postpone, suspend, or cancel the competition and any prizes, or any aspect thereof, without notice at any time, for any reason which we deem necessary. In the event of such variation, postponement, suspension, or cancellation, you agree to waive any rights, interests, and expectations that you may have in terms of this competition and acknowledge that you will have no recourse against us, our affiliates and third party agents. 

  • We and our affiliates assume no liability or responsibility whatsoever for any direct or indirect loss or damage arising from your participation in the draw and/or competition and will not entertain any direct correspondence with anyone in this regard. 

  • You indemnify and hold harmless First Battery and its affiliates to the fullest extent allowed in law, against any claims arising howsoever from your participation in the draw and/or competition and/or use of the prize. 

  • The terms and conditions will be governed by and enforced in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa.