In the past, people were not always protected against suppliers of goods or services. Suppliers could have misled consumers about the quality of their goods or services and offered them goods or services on unreasonable terms and conditions, leaving the consumer with little or no remedy if a problem occurred. Section 54 of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 regulates the specific rights of a consumer when a supplier gives an undertaking to perform any services for or on behalf of a...

This is a question that numerous business owners commonly ask throughout different sectors in South Africa. More often than not, the answer would be a quick yes, but let’s look at what approach business owners can take when establishing whether they need to comply with the act. The Protection of Personal Information Act applies when your business is registered and has an address within the Republic or if your business has a foreign address, but you process information within the Republic. It...

The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) is South Africa’s new privacy legislation that came into effect on 1 July 2021.   In Section 55 (1) of POPIA, an Information Officer has certain duties and responsibilities.  There are, however, additional duties and responsibilities placed on an Information Officer in terms of Regulation 4 of POPIA, one of which is to ensure that a manual is developed, monitored, maintained and made available as prescribed in sections 14...

Section 35 of the Consumer Protection Act has changed the landscape for suppliers who run customer loyalty programmes as part of their marketing strategy. Loyalty credit or rewards under these programmes are deemed a legal medium of exchange when redeemed for goods or services offered in the loyalty programme. A supplier or service provider who accepts loyalty rewards or credits as an exchange for any goods or services may restrict the availability of the goods or services during a particular...