Privacy Policy
Last updated: 25 August 2026
At Terence Sorour Books, we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal information you share with us.
This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and the rights you have regarding your personal information.
We process personal information in accordance with applicable privacy and data protection legislation, including the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA) in South Africa and, where applicable, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Who We Are
Terence Sorour Books operates this website and online bookshop.
For purposes of POPIA, Terence Sorour Books is the Responsible Party in respect of personal information collected through this website.
Where the GDPR applies, Terence Sorour Books acts as the Data Controller for this information.
Information We Collect
We collect only the information reasonably necessary to operate our website, process orders and respond to enquiries.
Depending on how you use the website, this may include:
your name;
email address;
telephone number;
billing address;
delivery address;
order and purchase information;
payment and transaction information;
information you provide through our contact or enquiry forms;
correspondence between you and Terence Sorour Books;
your IP address;
browser, device and basic technical information; and
information collected through cookies and similar website technologies.
When you use our Contact page, we may collect your name, email address, enquiry type, subject and the contents of your message.
How We Use Your Information
We use personal information only for legitimate and relevant purposes connected to our website and business.
These purposes include:
processing and fulfilling book orders;
arranging courier and delivery services;
processing payments;
providing order confirmations and updates;
responding to questions submitted through our contact forms;
handling book, event, media, speaking and review-copy enquiries;
managing refunds, returns and exchanges;
providing customer support;
maintaining records relating to transactions;
complying with accounting, tax and other legal obligations;
maintaining the security and functionality of the website;
preventing fraud, misuse or unauthorised activity; and
improving the operation and performance of our website.
We will not use your personal information for purposes that are materially different from those for which it was collected unless we have an appropriate legal basis for doing so.
Legal Basis for Processing
Depending on the circumstances, we process your personal information because:
it is necessary to complete or perform a transaction with you;
you have provided your consent;
we are required to process the information to meet a legal obligation; or
processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided that those interests do not override your privacy rights.
For example, when you place an order, we require certain information to process your payment, prepare your books and arrange delivery.
When you submit a contact form, the information you provide is used to respond to your enquiry.
Payments
Payments made through our website may be processed by a third-party payment service provider.
Payment providers may collect and process information required to complete your transaction in accordance with their own privacy and security policies.
Terence Sorour Books does not require access to your complete payment card details in order to fulfil your book order.
Delivery and Couriers
When you place an order for delivery, we may share the information necessary to complete that delivery with our courier or delivery service provider.
This may include:
your name;
delivery address;
telephone number; and
information necessary to identify and deliver your order.
Courier companies receive only the information reasonably required to perform the delivery service.
Contact Forms and Enquiries
When you submit an enquiry through the website, we use the information you provide to respond to your message and manage any resulting correspondence.
We will not automatically add you to a marketing mailing list simply because you submitted an enquiry.
International Orders
If you use the International Orders option on one of our book pages, the information you provide may be used to:
respond to your international order enquiry;
calculate or confirm international delivery arrangements;
communicate with you regarding your order; and
arrange delivery if you proceed with the purchase.
Where international couriers or service providers are used, personal information may need to be transferred to or processed in another country for the purpose of completing your delivery.
We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information transferred internationally receives appropriate protection as required by applicable law.
Sharing Your Personal Information
We do not sell or rent your personal information.
We may share limited personal information with trusted third parties where this is necessary to operate the website or provide a service you have requested.
These may include:
payment service providers;
banks and financial institutions involved in processing transactions;
courier and delivery companies;
website hosting and technical service providers;
website maintenance and security providers;
accounting or administrative service providers; and
government, regulatory or law-enforcement authorities where disclosure is required by law.
Third parties are provided only with the information reasonably necessary for the relevant service.
Marketing Communications
We will only send promotional or marketing communications where we have a lawful basis to do so.
Where consent is required, you will be given the choice to opt in.
You may withdraw your consent or unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time.
Transactional messages relating to an order, payment, delivery, refund or enquiry are not considered marketing communications and may still be sent where necessary to provide the service you requested.
Cookies
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to enable important website functionality.
These may include cookies required for:
the shopping basket;
checkout;
remembering website preferences;
website security;
maintaining user sessions; and
measuring website performance and usage.
Where non-essential analytics, advertising or tracking technologies are used and consent is required by applicable law, appropriate consent mechanisms should be provided.
You can also control or delete cookies through your web browser settings, although disabling essential cookies may affect the operation of the online shop.
How Long We Keep Your Information
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or where we are required to retain it to meet legal, tax, accounting or regulatory obligations.
For example, transaction and order records may need to be retained after an order has been completed for accounting, tax and record-keeping purposes.
Enquiry information will generally be retained only for as long as it remains reasonably relevant to the enquiry or subsequent correspondence.
When personal information is no longer required and we have no lawful reason to retain it, it will be deleted, destroyed or anonymised where reasonably practicable.
How We Protect Your Information
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:
unauthorised access;
loss;
misuse;
alteration;
disclosure; and
destruction.
These measures may include secure website connections, access controls, software updates, website security measures, backups and appropriate restrictions on access to personal information.
While we take reasonable precautions, no method of transmitting or storing information online can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
Your Privacy Rights
Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:
ask what personal information we hold about you;
request access to your personal information;
request that incorrect or incomplete information be corrected;
request deletion or destruction of information where we are no longer entitled to retain it;
object to certain types of processing;
withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
object to direct marketing;
request restriction of processing in certain circumstances; and
where the GDPR applies, request data portability in appropriate circumstances.
Some rights are subject to legal limitations. For example, we may be required to retain certain transaction information for accounting, tax, fraud-prevention or other legal purposes even after a deletion request.
Requesting Access, Correction or Deletion
If you would like to access, correct or request deletion of personal information we hold about you, please contact us through the Contact page on the Terence Sorour Books website.
We may need to verify your identity before providing, amending or deleting personal information to ensure that we do not disclose information to an unauthorised person.
We will handle privacy requests in accordance with the timeframes and requirements of applicable data protection legislation.
Complaints
If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to address the matter.
South African users also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if they believe their personal information has been processed in violation of POPIA.
Where the GDPR applies, individuals may also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority in their country.
Third-Party Websites
Our website may contain links to websites or services operated by third parties.
Terence Sorour Books is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of external websites. We recommend reviewing the privacy policy of any third-party website before providing personal information.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our website, business practices, service providers or legal obligations.
The latest version will be published on this page together with its most recent update date.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, how your personal information is used, or would like to exercise any of your privacy rights, please contact us through the Contact page on the Terence Sorour Books website.
Terence Sorour Books
We collect and use personal information only where it is reasonably necessary to process your order, deliver your books, respond to your enquiry, operate our website or comply with our legal obligations.