Who we are
Virtual Adviser (Pty) Ltd is an authorised FSP (#51419). Our website address is: https://virtualadviser.net.
What personal data we collect and why we collect it
Comments
When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
Media
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
Contact forms
Cookies
If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Analytics
Who we share your data with
You are sharing your information with Virtual Adviser (Pty) Ltd.
We do not sell your information to any third parties.
We share your information with a credit bureau to obtain your credit score and credit report when you apply for financial products and services.
If you ask us to, we may share your information with other companies who advertise on our website and with those companies whose products or services you applied for.
We share your information with the service providers who help us deliver our services to you only if they have agreed to protect your information. For instance, we may share your information with our SMS service providers. Some of our service providers are situated overseas, and we may share your personal information with them.
Sometimes we need to disclose your information to a third party:
- if we believe that disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with the law, legal process, or a government request:
- to enforce our contracts and policies;
- to protect the security and integrity of our service;
- to protect ourselves, clients, and the public from illegal activity; or
- to respond to an emergency which we believe in good faith requires that we disclose information.
If there is a change in our company structure or ownership, we may share your information as part of the assets transferred, or the due diligence for that transaction.
How long we retain your data
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
What rights you have over your data
If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes. Send requests to [email protected].
Where we send your data
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
Additional information
How we protect your data
We protect your data on our locally secured servers, located behind locked doors in our head office.
We often require data from third parties. These are requested after you give us permission to do so.
Your rights and preferences
You have the right to
- ask what personal information we have about you;
- ask what personal information we sent to our suppliers, service providers, or anyone else;
- ask us to update, correct, or delete any out-of-date or incorrect personal information we have about you;
- unsubscribe from any direct marketing communications we may send you,
- object to the processing of your personal information; and
- lodge a complaint about our practices with the Information Regulator.
It can take us up to 21 days to respond to your request because there are procedures that we need to follow.
In some instances, we may need proof of your identity, and sometimes we may have additional requirements before we can update your information.
We have reasonable security measures in place based on how sensitive the information is. These measures are in place to protect the information from being disclosed, from loss, misuse, and unauthorised access, and from being altered or destroyed. If you suspect that we (or you) have had a security breach, please let us know immediately by sending an email to [email protected]. Please include as much information as you can.
Virtual Adviser (Pty) Ltd TERMS & CONDITIONS
This agreement was last updated 25 May 2022 .
This contract applies to you when you use the Virtual Adviser website, our services, and when you interact with us.
Our services
We provide information to assist you in making comparisons between products, and we give advice or recommendations on your choice of product, services or providers.
By agreeing to our terms and conditions you also agree that we may perform a third-party credit check on your behalf.
We give you free access to your credit report and credit score
To use our service, you must register through our website www.virtualadviser.net. Your profile will give you access to your credit report and your credit score. By registering for our service, you give us permission to obtain these monthly reports for you from a registered credit bureau. We will let you know by email when a new report is available.
If you have not registered to use our services, but if a credit report is drawn with your permission and/or by completing our product forms, you give us permission to automatically create a credit score profile on your behalf where you are able to access your credit report as required once you have activated your profile, and we may send you communication to visit your profile.
Our partner companies
Many providers in South Africa do not publish actual rates for products such as mortgages, vehicle finance and short-term loans, so we are currently unable to compare those products as we do with bank accounts and credit cards.
However, wherever possible we have created partnerships with independent companies that provide access to a wider number of providers and products, or with companies that we feel offer good service and value in particular areas.
We may act as a referral service to these partners and from of them we earn commissions.
Any advice provided by partner companies does not constitute advice from us, and any contracts and agreements entered into by users with those companies are not agreements with Virtual Adviser.
If you have any concerns or complaints about our partners please contact us on [email protected].
We are independent
We are completely independent and provide an unbiased view of financial services, products and providers. We do not promote ‘sponsored’ products or individual product providers and advertising will not affect our independent stance.
‘Best Buy’ selections are chosen purely on an independent editorial basis and you should always ensure that those products meet your specific needs and that you understand your obligations when agreeing to a contract.
Our guides have been written on an independent editorial basis, except for those guides that have either been wholly written by one of our partner companies, or in cooperation with one of our partner companies. We will clearly indicate where a partner company created or contributed to our content. In all cases, our guides simply provide guidance and do not constitute advice.
Your responsibilities
You should ensure that you are satisfied with the suitability of a product before committing to a contract. We recommend that before agreeing to any contracts you should seek the advice of an independent financial consultant or the individual provider.
To find out more about your rights, contact the Financial Services Board www.fsb.co.za, the Office of the Ombud for Financial Services Providers www.faisombud.co.za, the Ombudsman for Banking Services www.obssa.co.za or the National Credit Regulator www.ncr.org.za, amongst other organisations.
Consumers should always use a financial advisor or planner that is approved by the Financial Services Board, such as those employed by Virtual Adviser (Pty) Ltd.
Where our responsibilities end
We have taken every care to ensure that the data we provide here is reliable by only using sources that we believe to be accurate. However, the accuracy of the information, including rates, fees and charges, that we provide cannot be guaranteed. We accept no responsibility for any loss incurred from the use or reliance on information provided here.
Although every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the guides published here, we do not take responsibility for any loss incurred from the use or reliance on the data published in them and you should always seek independent advice before acting on the information included in the guides.
Although we have taken every effort to ensure that our partner companies offer high-quality services and advice, we do not take responsibility for any losses incurred from the use or reliance on information and advice provided by these companies.
Links to Other Websites
Our provision of a link to another website does not constitute any authorisation to the user to access material held at that location, nor is it evidence of an endorsement of the material held there.
We accept no responsibility or liability for the privacy of your personal information on such websites, as these are beyond our control and will accept no responsibility or liability in respect of any materials on any third party internet website which is not under its control.
We own the copyright
All text, data, templates, /images, information, tools and layouts, other than those supplied by third parties such as advertisers and partners, are the property of www.virtualadviser.net.
You are permitted to copy or print extracts from this website for your own personal use however all rights, intellectual or otherwise, will remain with www.virtualadviser.net and do not pass to you. Should you wish to use the content of the site for any other purpose, please contact us on [email protected].
How we treat your personal information
All rights of Virtual Adviser are reserved.
In the event of Virtual Adviser not being able to meet the agreed service level agreements and performance subsections, we will refund all payments received within 7 days.