Last updated: 20/10/2026
This policy explains what personal information Motorshield collects, why we need it, who sees it and what you can ask us to do with it. It covers this website, enquiries by WhatsApp, phone and email, and the work we do in our workshop.
In brief
- You can contact us through the quote tool or the contact form. The quote tool writes a WhatsApp message, which reaches us only if you send it. The contact form emails us what you type in.
- Google Analytics counts visits to the site. It doesn’t tell us who you are.
- We use your details to quote, fit and invoice. We don’t sell them, and we don’t send you marketing unless you’ve agreed to it.
- You can ask to see what we hold about you, correct it or have it deleted, except where the law says we have to keep it.
Who we are
Motorshield is a sole proprietorship owned by Peter Meeding. Peter is the responsible party under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and our Information Officer.
Motorshield
10 Judges Avenue, Windsor West, Randburg, 2194
Email: peter@mshield.co.za
Phone and WhatsApp: 082 498 4316
“We” and “us” mean Motorshield. “You” means anyone whose information we handle: website visitors, people asking for a quote, customers, and people dealing with us on behalf of a business, such as a fleet manager.
What we collect
On this website
The quote tool. The vehicle and fitment picker runs in your browser. It uses what you select, plus your name and area if you add them, to write a WhatsApp message. Nothing is sent to us or saved on our website. If you close the page or don’t send the message in WhatsApp, we never see it.
The contact form. When you send the form on our contact page, your name, phone number, email address and message are emailed to peter@mshield.co.za. We use Cloudflare Turnstile to stop automated spam.
Google Analytics. We use it to see how many people visit, which pages they read, how they found us (a Google search or an Instagram link, say) and how many tap through to WhatsApp from each page. It records your device type, browser, screen size and approximate location, at the level of a city. Google says Analytics doesn’t store IP addresses. We don’t use it to identify anyone, and we haven’t switched on Google’s advertising or demographics features.
Server logs. Like every website, ours runs on a server that keeps short-term logs of requests: IP address, browser, the page asked for and the time. Our hosting provider, HostAfrica, uses these to keep the site secure and fix faults, and keeps them for the period its own policy sets.
When you contact us
When you message us on WhatsApp, phone, email us, message us on Instagram or come into the workshop, we keep what you give us: usually your name, number or email address, your vehicle’s make, model and year, photos of your vehicle you send us, and what you’d like fitted.
When you become a customer
To do the job and invoice for it, we keep:
- your name, phone number and email address;
- your vehicle’s make, model, year, colour and registration and VIN number;
- the quote, the work done, the invoice and a record of payment;
- for a business customer, the business name, VAT number and the contact person’s details.
What we don’t collect
We don’t need your ID number, and we don’t collect special personal information such as health, religious or biometric details. Please don’t send us a copy of your ID unless we ask for it for a specific reason.
If you give us someone else’s details, such as a driver collecting a fleet vehicle or a family member whose bakkie it is, please let them know you’ve done so.
Why we use it
POPIA allows us to use personal information on a few specific grounds. These are ours:
- To quote, fit and invoice. We need your details to do the work you’ve asked for.
- Because the law requires it. Tax law requires us to keep invoices and payment records.
- For legitimate business reasons. Website analytics, keeping our systems secure, showing photos of our work and dealing with any dispute about a job.
- With your consent. Publishing a photo that shows you, quoting your review on our homepage, or sending you marketing.
Photos of our work
We photograph fitments to show our work on this website, on Instagram and on our Google Business Profile. Before anything is published we blur or crop out number plates, and we don’t publish a photo showing you or anyone else without permission.
If you’d prefer your vehicle not to be photographed or published, tell us when you book. If a photo of your vehicle is already up, ask and we’ll remove it from our website, Instagram and Google profile.
Reviews
Google reviews are published by Google, under Google’s terms and with the name on your Google account. We reply to reviews publicly.
Our homepage shows a selection of Google reviews with the reviewer’s name as it appears on Google. If you’d like yours taken off our website, ask and we’ll remove it. To edit or delete the review on Google itself, use your Google account.
After a job, we may send you one WhatsApp message with a link to leave a review. If you’d rather not get it, just say so.
Marketing
We don’t send newsletters or promotions. If we start, we’ll only message customers about products and fitments similar to what they’ve bought from us, and anyone else only with their permission. Every message will tell you how to stop them.
Who we share it with
Suppliers and manufacturers. To order parts for your vehicle we share its make, model and year, and sometimes the registration or VIN. Some manufacturers need your name, contact details and fitment date to register a product warranty.
Service providers. These companies store or handle information for us and may only use it to provide their service:
- our website host, HostAfrica, in South Africa;
- Google, for Analytics;
- WhatsApp (Meta), for messages;
- Capiche PDI, as email service provider;
- Sage Accounting, for invoicing;
- our bookkeeper or accountant.
When the law requires it. For example SARS, or the police or a court with a lawful request.
If the business is sold. Customer records may pass to the new owner, who would have to follow POPIA.
We never sell, rent or trade your personal information.
Information sent outside South Africa
Google, Meta and Capiche PDI store some information on servers outside South Africa. So do phone backup services, which keep copies of WhatsApp chats. POPIA allows this when the recipient is bound by data protection laws or contract terms that protect information to a standard comparable with POPIA, which applies to the providers we use, or when it’s needed to deal with your request.
How long we keep it
- Enquiries that don’t go ahead: deleted within 12 months.
- Job and invoice records: at least five years, as tax law requires.
- Records linked to a dispute or claim: until it’s resolved.
- Google Analytics data: 14 months, then deleted automatically.
- Server logs: as set by HostAfrica.
- Published photos: until we remove them or you ask us to.
Keeping it safe
- WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted.
- Our phone and email accounts are protected with a passcode and two-step verification.
- Access to the website’s admin is limited to named people, each with their own login and two-step verification.
- The website runs over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection.
- The service providers listed above are required to protect what they handle for us.
If we believe someone has got hold of your personal information who shouldn’t have it, for example after a lost or stolen phone, we’ll tell you and the Information Regulator as soon as we reasonably can, and explain what we’re doing about it.
Your rights
Under POPIA you can:
- ask whether we hold personal information about you, and ask for a copy;
- ask us to correct anything that’s wrong or out of date;
- ask us to delete it;
- object to us using it, including for marketing, at any time;
- withdraw consent you’ve given, such as for a photo or a review on our site;
- complain to the Information Regulator.
Asking is free. If there’s a charge for copies of records, we’ll tell you before doing anything.
How to ask. Email peter@mshield.co.za or WhatsApp 082 498 4316. You can use the Information Regulator’s Form 1 (objection) or Form 2 (correction or deletion) if you’d like to, but a plain message is fine. We’ll check it’s really you before sharing or changing anything, and reply within 30 days.
If we can’t do what you’ve asked, for instance deleting an invoice we have to keep for tax, we’ll explain why.
Cookies
Cookies are small files a website saves in your browser. This site uses only the Google Analytics cookies:
| Cookie | Set by | What it does | Kept for |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics | Tells one visitor from another | 2 years after your last visit |
| _ga_[ID] | Google Analytics | Keeps track of your current visit | 2 years after your last visit |
We don’t use advertising cookies or tracking pixels. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, or install Google’s Analytics opt-out add-on. The site works the same either way.
Other websites
Links to WhatsApp, Instagram, Google and our suppliers take you to sites with their own privacy policies. This policy doesn’t cover them.
Access to our records
Our PAIA manual explains what records we keep and how to request access to them under the Promotion of Access to Information Act.
Complaints
If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your information, please talk to Peter first so we can try to put it right. You can also complain to the Information Regulator at any time:
Information Regulator (South Africa)
Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191
Phone: 010 023 5200 · Toll free: 0800 017 160
Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za
Website: inforegulator.org.za
Changes to this policy
When this policy changes, we’ll update this page and the date at the top. If a change affects how we use information you’ve already given us, we’ll tell you directly.