TRAVEL agents are advised
to review their contracts
with clients following
a new directive by the EU
regulating the Passenger
Name Record (PNR) data for
the prevention of terrorism.
Under the directive, which
was passed on April 14,
agents and airlines are
now obliged to provide
EU countries with the
personal information of their
customers. This could be a
sticking point for agents who
will have to comply with South
Africa’s Protection of Personal
Information (POPI) Act, which
comes into effect mid-2016.
In terms of the Act,
Advocate Louis Nel says travel
agents will need to ensure
they communicate in their
contracts with clients that
their personal information will
be shared, with which parties,
for how long the information
will be made available (five
years) and that “adequate
privacy precautions” will be
in place with the parties that
have access to their clients’
information.
“The travel agent would
not only have to obtain the
consent of the traveller
to share their personal
information in the initial
consultation but also for
further processing by the
other parties,” says Louis.
He adds that travel agents
will need to advise their
clients why parties would
have access to their personal
information.
In terms of the EU’s new
directive, travel agents will
have to advise their clients
on the role the EU member
states would play in the
exchange of their personal
information. Under the EU’s
directive, member states will
have to set up Passenger
Information Units (PIUs)
that will be responsible
for collecting, storing and
processing PNR data. This
would include transferring the
data to the authorities and
exchanging it with the PIUs
of other member states and
with Europol.
showed no link between
VSF Global and Islandsite
Investments. He said the
department could also not
dictate to companies that do
business with government
who they partner with
abroad.
Another probe
Hoosen, who says he has
been working on the case for
over two years, will submit
a request to the Public
Protector to launch a full
investigation into the matter.
“The evidence presented
in parliament was only the
tip of the iceberg. There is
so much more to uncover:
how did VFS secure these
tenders in the first place?
A full investigation is
warranted to uncover the
bigger issues.”
This is not the first
time VFS Global has
been investigated. In
July 2014 the company
was investigated by the
South African Competition
Commission following
allegations of abusive
market dominance and
unlawful tender procedures,
resulting in excessive visa
application prices and
hidden fees (see TNW
July 9, 2014).
VFS Global has exclusive
rights to accept visa
applications in South Africa
for the embassies of Austria,
Canada, Denmark, Greece,
New Zealand, Saudi Arabia,
Spain, Sweden, UAE and The
Netherlands, charging an
average R1 180 service fee
per applicant.
At the time, the
Commission ruled that as
“VFS does not determine
prices independently, it was
unlikely that prices were
excessive”.
The Commission said,
however, it would engage
with foreign governments
to discuss the likely impact
of exclusive agreements.
In its letter to the
foreign governments, the
Commission highlighted that
it was concerned that the
exclusive agreements could
enhance VFS’s dominant
position in the market and
enable it to charge higher
prices to the detriment of
visa applicants. It was also
concerned about the level
of service VFS could offer
clients with no competition
in the market, the letter
stated.
Jaco Badenhorst, former
md of Visa Request in
South Africa, says the
monopoly VFS has created
in the market has led to the
downfall of a number of visa
companies. “The company
charges excessive prices for
its services, which clients
are forced to pay as there is
no alternative.”
