Privacy Policy

1. Responsible party

The responsible party for personal information processed through this website is Abbey Tooling & Engineering Supplies. Contact: abbtool@mweb.co.za.

2. Lawful basis for processing

Under POPIA we rely on one or more lawful grounds to process personal information, including:

• Performance of a contract (e.g., order fulfilment).
• Consent where required (eg. marketing communications).
• Compliance with legal obligations (eg. tax, accounting, fraud prevention).
• Legitimate interests where such interests are not overridden by your rights.

3. Information we collect

• Contact & identity data: name, email, telephone, delivery and billing address.
• Order & payment data: order details and payment references (we do not store full card details).
• Account data: username, hashed password and preferences for registered users.
• Technical & usage data: IP address, device/browser information, pages visited and referral data.
• Cookies & tracking: cookies, local storage and similar technologies for site functionality, analytics and marketing (see below).
• Security tokens: reCAPTCHA tokens and other ephemeral tokens used to protect the site and detect abuse; these are used only for session verification and fraud prevention and are not used to identify you beyond that purpose.

4. How we use personal information

• To process and fulfil orders, deliver goods and communicate about your order.
• To provide account features and support.
• To detect, prevent and investigate fraud, abuse or security incidents.
• To operate, maintain and improve our website and services, including analytics and performance monitoring.
• To send marketing communications where you have given consent; you may opt out at any time.
• To comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests from authorities.

5. Cookies, analytics & tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies for essential site functions, analytics and optional marketing. You can manage or disable cookies via your browser settings, but that may affect functionality. Third-party analytics and advertising providers may set cookies on our site; see their privacy policies for details.

6. Sharing and third-party processors

We may share personal information with trusted service providers who process data on our behalf (e.g., payment processors, delivery partners, analytics providers). These processors act under contract and are required to keep data confidential and only process it for the purposes we specify.

We do not sell personal information to third parties.

7. International transfers

Some service providers we use may process data outside South Africa. Where personal information is transferred outside South Africa we ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to protect the information, consistent with POPIA.

8. Data retention

We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described (for example, to fulfil orders, comply with legal obligations or resolve disputes). When information is no longer required we will securely delete or anonymise it.

9. Your rights under POPIA

POPIA gives individuals rights in relation to their personal information. These include the right to access, correct, object to processing, withdraw consent, request deletion or request a copy of the information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format where applicable.

To exercise these rights contact us at abbtool@mweb.co.za. We aim to respond to data subject requests within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa): https://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/

10. Security

We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure. No system can be guaranteed 100% secure; please contact us if you have concerns.

11. Children

Our services are not intended for children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If you believe we have collected information from a child, contact us and we will take steps to remove it.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date and, where appropriate, notified to you.

13. Contact us