Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Refer is a referral and review management platform for New Zealand professionals. We help members build strategic referral partnerships, manage introductions, and use software tools that support reviews, onboarding, and member operations. Refer is operated by Refer Limited in New Zealand.

2. What We Collect

From members

Name, email address, phone number, business details, Google Business profile, scheduling link, ideal client profile, fit-call notes, matching preferences, and other information you provide during your application, onboarding, or membership.

Membership fees are processed by Stripe. Completing payment for a Refer membership constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service (including pricing, renewal, cancellation, and the guarantee where applicable) and this Privacy Policy. We record the time of payment and the document version in line with our internal records.

We may also collect account, support, and operational data such as login details, profile changes, communication preferences, referral activity, and Stripe customer or subscription references. We do not store your full payment card details.

From clients

Name, email or phone number (provided by the member), star rating, review text, and whether you consent to public display of your review.

From leads

Name and email address when you use our calculators, scorecards, or other marketing tools and opt in to receive follow-up emails.

3. Why We Collect It

• To operate the referral matching service between members.
• To review applications, onboard members, and manage memberships.
• To process billing, renewals, failed payments, and support queries.
• To send review and feedback requests on behalf of members to their clients.
• To display public reviews with the client’s consent on member website widgets and Google.
• To send educational email sequences when leads opt in via our calculators and scorecards.
• To protect the platform, investigate issues, and meet legal or compliance obligations.

4. Who We Share With

Member profile information may be shared with other members where reasonably necessary to facilitate introductions, matching, or participation in the Refer network.

Client contact details are shared with partner businesses only when the client explicitly consents. Consent is logged at the point of collection.

Review text may be displayed on the member’s website widget only for reviews where the client chose the public review path.

We use the following service providers to operate the platform: Resend (email delivery), TNZ Group (SMS), Supabase (database hosting), and Stripe (payment processing). These providers process data on our behalf. Some providers may store or process data outside New Zealand, subject to their own privacy and security obligations.

5. Security & Storage

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. No system is completely secure, but we use reputable third-party providers and internal access controls to reduce risk.

You are responsible for maintaining the security of your own account credentials and for notifying us if you suspect unauthorised access to your account or data.

6. Your Rights Under the NZ Privacy Act 2020

Under the Information Privacy Principles, you have the right to:

• Request access to your personal information.
• Request correction of inaccurate information.
• Request deletion of your data.
• Withdraw consent for public review display at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@joinrefer.co.nz.

7. Data Retention

We retain member data for the duration of their subscription plus 12 months. Review data is retained as long as the member’s account is active, unless a longer retention period is reasonably required for legal, tax, dispute, security, or compliance purposes.

You can request earlier deletion at any time by contacting privacy@joinrefer.co.nz.

8. Cookies & Analytics

We use standard web analytics to understand how visitors use our site. We do not use third-party advertising cookies or sell your data to advertisers.

9. Changes To This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to the platform, our practices, or legal requirements. When we make material updates, we will post the revised version on this page and may also notify members by email or through the platform.

10. Contact

For privacy inquiries, corrections, or complaints: privacy@joinrefer.co.nz