TNT Express - please avoid at all cost!

[touch_stone]

Hi guys, just a heads up if you're ever considering using TNT Express.

It's been a very painful experience getting my goods from China via TNT Express who just don't seem to give s#!t about their clients.

It's the first time I used them as my supplier in China recommended.

TNT first contacted on the 13 June 17 to complete a customs clearance form which I duly did.

Fast forward until today every time I call them via their stupid call centre they tell me the goods are still stuck at Customs Border Control Unit. CBCU have a turnaround time of 3-5 days supposedly.

I've already paid the SARS penalty, their exuberant admin fee, supplied my importers code etc.

I've lost faith that my goods will every arrive because whenever I call which is daily I'm told the same story and nobody EVER gets back to me

Anybody have an alternative contact number (not call centre) or somebody I can speak to at TNT who is actually willing to assist?

 

[zizebra]

noted. Perhaps they are part of SAPO.

 

[cyclesmith]

We are waiting for 6 containers to arrive and their ETA were pushed back because of the maize exports, they are overloaded at customs. I know it's extremely frustrating, I once imported a carbon fibre bicycle frame from China and it got stuck at customs for 2 months, but that was because my parcel got randomly selected for a drug screening. Good luck!

 

[LazyLion]

When one of our containers gets pulled out for customs inspection, we just know we are not going to see it for the whole week.
And we have to pay the storage fees for that week.

 

[touch_stone]

Things are going from bad to worse over at Customs. The case officer still hasn't provided feedback on my goods which has been laying there for weeks now and these are only 2 boxes.

I'm afraid of what the wait on a container might be like!

 

[cyclesmith]

@touch_stone Our stock we ordered for Nampo was delayed... 3 x 40 foot containers. That sucked and caused a lot of last minute arrangements!

 

[originalmmd]

@touch_stone sorry to hear, it sucks waiting so long when you know your stuff is only a short drive away. I've experienced the same with DHL. Once customs has pulled your shipment, the shipping company can do nothing. Our shipment was stuck at customs for 8 weeks. According to DHL, the way they explained it to me, SARS pulls packages at a "consistent" rate. If a backlog builds up on their side, they don't stop pulling packages, they just get further behind till someone decides to book some overtime and catch up on the backlog.

So, it might be out of TNT's control. I've had a package delivered by TNT from china in less than 3 days.

 

[touch_stone]

@touch_stone sorry to hear, it sucks waiting so long when you know your stuff is only a short drive away. I've experienced the same with DHL. Once customs has pulled your shipment, the shipping company can do nothing. Our shipment was stuck at customs for 8 weeks. According to DHL, the way they explained it to me, SARS pulls packages at a "consistent" rate. If a backlog builds up on their side, they don't stop pulling packages, they just get further behind till someone decides to book some overtime and catch up on the backlog.

So, it might be out of TNT's control. I've had a package delivered by TNT from china in less than 3 days.

It's not so much customs that I'm complaining about as that would be beyond their control. My gripe is their communication or lack thereof. Their online tracking service says one thing the consultant says another. I have to call them daily, if I don't get through I'm told they will call me back which they never do. I did a HelloPeter search on them and found this to be a common issue.

Even my supplier in China has stopped using them opting for DHL instead.

 

[touch_stone]

So I finally got my goods 52 days after they were shipped from China.

I managed to get the TNT Team Leader's cell phone number through "social engineering" and called him twice a day for 2 weeks straight! Something had to give.

As for Customs, that's another thread......