Legal
Privacy Policy and POPIA
In short
- We collect what we need to quote, book, track and invoice road freight, and to vet carriers.
- Shippers and carriers don't see each other's identity. A carrier only receives collection and delivery addresses and site contacts after winning a job.
- We don't sell personal information, and we don't use advertising or tracking cookies.
- You can ask to see, correct or delete your information at any time. Email loaderfreightsolutions@gmail.com.
1. Who we are
Loader ("Loader", "we", "us") is a road freight brokerage operating in South Africa. Shippers post loads on our platform, vetted transport companies ("carriers") quote on them, and Loader books, coordinates and invoices the job.
For the purposes of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA"), Loader is the responsible party for the personal information described in this policy.
- Information Officer
- The owner of Loader
- 073 068 4930
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 17:00
2. Information we collect
Everyone with an account
- Full name, company name, email address and phone number.
- Your password, stored only in scrambled (hashed) form. We can't see it.
- Your notification preferences and the notifications we've sent you.
Shippers
- Load details: towns, collection and delivery street addresses, extra stops, cargo type, weight, packaging, dimensions, handling needs, dates and budget.
- Names and phone numbers of people at collection and delivery sites. Please only give us these with that person's permission.
- The declared value of goods, if you add goods-in-transit cover.
- For monthly accounts: company registration and VAT numbers, accounts contact, billing email and phone, business address and expected monthly volumes.
- Invoices, payment status and payment references.
Carriers
- Vehicles (type, registration number and capacity), the services you offer, transit times and insurance details.
- Documents you upload for verification, such as company registration, a director's or owner's ID, a bank confirmation letter, insurance policies, tax compliance status, operator permits, roadworthy certificates, driver's licences and PrDPs, and B-BBEE certificates.
- Bids, notes to Loader, shipment status updates and locations you record.
- What Loader owes you, and payout status and references.
Collected automatically
- Your IP address, browser type and the pages you request, which our hosting provider records in server logs to run and secure the service.
From third parties
- Payment confirmations from PayFast. We never receive or store your full card number.
- Public records we check when verifying a company, such as CIPC records.
We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18; Loader is a service for businesses.
3. Why we use it
| Purpose | Lawful basis (POPIA section 11) |
|---|---|
| Creating and running your account, signing you in and resetting passwords | Performing our agreement with you |
| Sharing loads with carriers, collecting quotes, booking, coordinating collection and delivery, and tracking | Performing our agreement with you |
| Invoicing shippers, taking payments, paying carriers and keeping accounting records | Performing our agreement; complying with tax and company law |
| Vetting and verifying carriers, and checking insurance is in place and in date | Our legitimate interest in a safe, trustworthy network, and protecting shippers' goods |
| Assessing monthly account applications and managing account limits | Taking steps at your request to enter an agreement; our legitimate interest in managing credit risk |
| Arranging goods-in-transit cover you ask for | Performing our agreement with you |
| Sending notifications about your loads, quotes, invoices and account | Performing our agreement with you |
| Preventing fraud, misuse and attempts to take deals off the platform; keeping the service secure | Our legitimate interests; complying with the law |
| Responding to questions, complaints and legal requests | Our legitimate interests; complying with the law |
We only use your information for these purposes or ones closely related to them. If we want to use it for something new, we'll tell you first and, where the law requires, ask for your consent.
5. Information sent outside South Africa
Our main database and uploaded documents are stored on servers in Johannesburg. Some providers listed above, such as our email provider in the European Union, process information outside South Africa. Under POPIA section 72 we only do this where the recipient is bound by laws, rules or an agreement that protects personal information to a standard substantially similar to POPIA, or where the transfer is needed to perform our agreement with you.
6. How long we keep it
- Accounts: while your account is open, then up to 5 years after it closes, so we can answer claims and queries.
- Loads, invoices, payments and payouts: 5 years from the end of the relevant financial year, as South African tax and company law requires.
- Carrier documents: while you're on our network, then up to 5 years after you leave. Rejected or replaced documents you delete are removed straight away.
- Password-reset links: these expire after 1 hour, or 24 hours if Loader creates one for you, and work only once.
- Server logs: kept briefly by our hosting provider for security and troubleshooting.
When we no longer need information, we delete it or anonymise it so it can't identify you, unless the law requires us to keep it longer.
7. How we protect it
- All traffic to Loader is encrypted with HTTPS.
- Passwords are stored as one-way hashes (bcrypt); nobody at Loader can read them.
- Each person only sees what their role needs. Uploaded documents can only be opened by the carrier who uploaded them and by Loader administrators.
- Changing or resetting a password signs out every other session, and repeated sign-in attempts are limited.
- Loader administrators can suspend accounts that are misused.
No system is perfectly secure. If a security compromise affects your personal information, we'll notify you and the Information Regulator as soon as reasonably possible, as POPIA section 22 requires.
You can help by using a strong, unique password and keeping it to yourself.
9. Messages and marketing
We send service messages about your loads, quotes, shipments, invoices, payments and account. You can switch most email categories off under Settings; account and security emails always send.
We will only send you direct marketing (for example news or promotions) with your consent or, if you're an existing customer, about similar services, and every such message will include a free way to opt out, as POPIA section 69 requires.
10. POPIA compliance
POPIA sets eight conditions for processing personal information lawfully. This is how Loader meets each one.
Loader's Information Officer is responsible for making sure we comply with POPIA, and for handling requests and complaints.
We collect only what we need to broker freight, process it lawfully on the bases in section 3, and collect it from you directly wherever possible.
We collect information for the specific purposes listed in this policy and keep it no longer than section 6 allows.
We don't use information for purposes unrelated to why it was collected.
You can update your profile at any time under Settings, and we'll correct anything you tell us is inaccurate.
This policy explains what we collect and why. We tell you at sign-up and on our forms what we need and whether it's required.
Encryption, hashed passwords, role-based access and operator agreements protect your information (section 7). We report security compromises as required.
You can access, correct, delete or object to the processing of your information (section 11).
Site contacts and other people's information
When you give us someone else's details, such as a person who'll be at a collection site, you confirm that you're allowed to share them with Loader and the carrier for that delivery. We use them only to complete that delivery.
Identity documents
Carriers' ID and company documents are used only to verify the carrier, are stored securely, and are viewed only by Loader administrators.
Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA)
You may request records Loader holds under PAIA by emailing our Information Officer. We'll respond within the time PAIA allows.
11. Your rights
Under POPIA you have the right to:
- Know whether we hold personal information about you, and get a copy of it (section 23).
- Ask us to correct information that's inaccurate, out of date, incomplete or misleading, or to delete information we're no longer allowed to keep (section 24).
- Object to our processing based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing (section 11(3)).
- Withdraw consent where we rely on it.
- Be told if your information has been accessed by an unauthorised person (section 22).
- Complain to the Information Regulator (section 12 of this policy).
To use any of these rights, email loaderfreightsolutions@gmail.com from the address on your account, or message us on WhatsApp. We may ask you to confirm your identity. We'll respond within 30 days. Basic requests are free. If you ask us to delete your account, we'll close it and delete what we can, but we must keep invoices and related records for the periods in section 6.
12. Complaints
Please contact us first so we can try to fix the problem. If you're not satisfied, you may complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa) at inforegulator.org.za.
13. Changes to this policy
We'll update this policy when our services or the law change, and show the new effective date at the top. If a change materially affects how we use your information, we'll tell you by email or in the app before it takes effect.