FIND A TRUSTED TRADE

Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Tradee ("we", "us") operates the tradee.org online directory. Tradee is operated in South Africa and is contactable at support@tradee.org. For any privacy questions or requests, including to reach our Information Officer, please use this address.

2. What we collect

Depending on how you use Tradee, we collect: account details (name, email, password); for tradesmen — business details, contact details, location, photos, and identity/credential documents you upload; for reviewers — your name and review; and usage/analytics data (pages viewed, listing interactions, and device/approximate location and IP processed by our hosting and analytics providers).

3. Why we process it

To provide the service and your listing (performance of a contract), with your consent (for example publishing your listing or uploading documents), and for our legitimate interests in running and improving a safe, trusted directory. Reviews are published as part of the service.

4. Identity & credential documents

Documents you upload for verification are stored privately and are visible only to you and Tradee's review team. We use them solely to review your Verified badge — we do not publish them.

5. Who we share with

Service providers who process data on our behalf under contract: Supabase (database, authentication and file storage), Resend (email) and Vercel (hosting & analytics). Your public listing information — the details you choose to publish — is visible to anyone using the directory.

6. Where it's stored

Our providers host data outside South Africa (including in the United States). They are bound by data-processing terms providing an adequate level of protection, as permitted under section 72 of POPIA.

7. How we protect it

We use access controls, encryption of secrets, private storage for sensitive documents, and database row-level security. No system is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to safeguard your information.

8. How long we keep it

While your account or listing is active and for a reasonable period afterwards, or as required by law. You can ask us to delete your data.

9. Your rights

Under POPIA you may request access to, correction or deletion of your personal information, object to processing, and lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (inforegulator.org.za). Contact support@tradee.org.

10. Cookies & analytics

We use privacy-friendly analytics to measure traffic; it does not use advertising cookies.

11. Changes

We may update this policy and will post the new version on this page.

Terms of Service

1. Acceptance

By using Tradee or listing a business, you agree to these Terms.

2. What Tradee is

Tradee is an online directory that helps people find and compare tradesmen. We are not a party to any agreement, booking, payment or work arranged between users and tradesmen, take no commission on such work, and do not employ, supervise or control any tradesman.

3. No guarantee — your responsibility

We do not guarantee the quality, workmanship, licensing, insurance, conduct or availability of any tradesman. You are responsible for verifying a tradesman's credentials, insurance and references and for any agreement you enter into. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Tradee is not liable for any loss, damage, injury or dispute arising from dealings between users and tradesmen.

4. The Verified badge

The Verified badge means a tradesman submitted identity and credential documents which we reviewed before granting it. It is not a guarantee of their work, licensing or insurance.

5. Tradesman obligations

You confirm your information is true and that you hold any licences, registrations and insurance required for your trade. You may not post false, misleading or unlawful content.

6. Reviews

Reviews must be genuine and based on real experiences. We may remove reviews that are fraudulent, abusive or unlawful.

7. Payments & subscriptions

Tradee offers optional paid subscription plans for tradesmen: Verified (R149/month) and Premium (R249/month). Prices are in South African Rand and include VAT where applicable. The free Standard plan remains free.

Paid plans are monthly subscriptions billed in advance and processed securely by our payment provider, Payfast. Tradee does not store your card details. By subscribing you authorise Payfast to charge the applicable monthly fee to your chosen payment method on a recurring basis.

Renewals. Subscriptions renew automatically each month until cancelled. Each successful payment extends your plan for a further month. If a payment fails, we may retry and will notify you; if it remains unpaid, your listing is moved to the free Standard plan.

Founding-member offer. The first 100 tradesmen to sign up receive the Verified plan free for 6 months. At the end of that period, standard monthly rates apply unless you cancel beforehand.

8. Cancellation policy

You may cancel a paid subscription at any time from your Tradee dashboard or by emailing support@tradee.org. Cancellation stops future renewals. Your paid features remain active until the end of the current paid month, after which your listing reverts to the free Standard plan. There is no cancellation fee.

9. Refund policy

Subscription fees are charged for the month ahead and are non-refundable, including for partial months or unused time after cancellation — you simply keep your paid features until the end of the period already paid for. If you believe you have been charged in error or charged twice, please contact support@tradee.org within 30 days and we will investigate and, where a billing error is confirmed, refund the affected amount via Payfast.

10. Termination

We may suspend or remove listings that breach these Terms.

11. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of South Africa.

12. Contact

support@tradee.org