{"id":625164,"date":"2026-01-15T16:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T14:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=625164"},"modified":"2026-01-15T16:01:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T14:01:03","slug":"temu-order-problem-details-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/business\/625164-temu-order-problem-details-in-south-africa.html","title":{"rendered":"Temu order problem details in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of Temu’s new order fulfilment partners in South Africa has apologised for delayed deliveries and poor communication over the festive season and committed to improving its service quality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MyBroadband recently noticed numerous complaints from people who had ordered items on the Chinese e-commerce app that were handed over to newcomer GFS Express.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many were frustrated that they had not received order updates for several weeks after their items shipped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some also reported that GFS Express’s drivers falsely claimed to have been at their address to deliver their items, but that no one was available to receive them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the big problems was that GFS Express was failing to answer customers’ calls, leading some shoppers to try alternative contact information they found online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That caused problems for another fulfilment service headquartered in the United Kingdom with the same name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UK-based GFS Express<\/a> issued an “important message” that it does not deliver for Chinese e-commerce retailers or any other service providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are receiving many phone calls and emails from Saudi Arabia and other countries about the tracking status of parcel deliveries,” it said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Please note that if you are not able to track your parcels on our website, GFS Express, then it is not our shipment.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The notice led some South African shoppers to conclude that GFS Express on Temu was a fraudulent operation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth was less concerning \u2014 it was just a case of mistaken identity. The GFS Express Temu used<\/a> is based in Saudi Arabia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two companies use similar logos and URLs for their websites (gfsexpress.com and gfsxpress.com). However, closer inspection showed that Temu’s partner’s domain excluded the “e” in Express. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked for comment, Temu did not apologise for the service and communication issues. “During peak shopping periods, delivery times may fluctuate due to increased parcel volumes,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are working with our logistics partners to ensure they maintain high service standards for our users.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the publication of MyBroadband’s first article on the situation, a representative of GFS Express reached out and clarified what went wrong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitigation measures were insufficient<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The GFS Express spokesperson told MyBroadband the company first entered the South African market in 2025, but its issues started during the peak holiday season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Several [Temu product] batches arrived at the same time due to flight backlogs, which overloaded our short-term capacity,” they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Since the start of the Christmas holiday, we have been aware of the severe backlog and delivery delays.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company said it implemented various mitigation measures to limit the impact, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Recruiting drivers to supplement transportation capacity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Arranging deliveries on a first-in, first-out basis according to the arrival time of shipments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Increasing customer service staff to answer hotline calls and address complaints.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Sending text messages to consumers who have not yet received their packages to explain the situation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    However, it acknowledged that these preparations were insufficient in the early stages of its local operation, resulting in a poor service experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “We sincerely apologise for this,” it said. “Going forward, we will continue our efforts to clear the backlog and deliver the packages to consumers as soon as possible.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    GFS Express said it took all customers’ complaints seriously with a view to providing better services in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “We kindly request your continued trust and anticipation for GFS Express and Temu, as we remain committed to delivering the highest standard of service,” the company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “Meanwhile, we will also strive to treat our employees as partners and grow together as a team.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    One of Temu’s new order fulfilment partners in South Africa has apologised for delayed deliveries and poor communication over the festive season and committed to improving its service quality. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":584118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[97086,73828,63733,11165,99035,102804,10412,87953],"class_list":["post-625164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-chinese-e-commerce","tag-courier-deliveries","tag-couriers","tag-e-commerce","tag-e-commerce-marketplaces","tag-gfs-express","tag-online-shopping","tag-temu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625164"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625164"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":625201,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625164\/revisions\/625201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/584118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}