DHL incompetence cost me an unfair SARS penalty

I shipped a package from the UK to South Africa using DHL, and the entire process has been a nightmare.

When my aunt posted the parcel, she was asked for a valuation. She guessed £100, since she didn’t buy the goods - I had paid for them online myself. DHL later contacted me for invoices, and I immediately provided the correct documentation showing the goods were worth £226.

Despite this, SARS later did a physical inspection and issued me a penalty of R1524.87 for “failure to produce a correct and sufficient invoice,” plus R975 for a “post clearance modification.” DHL has now passed this penalty straight onto me.

My issue is this:

I provided the correct invoices upfront.

DHL, as my clearing agent, had a duty to reconcile the waybill value with the invoices I supp****.

Instead, they failed to correct the declaration and left me exposed to SARS penalties.

Now, I am being charged thousands of rand for a mistake that DHL should have prevented. The entire process has taken over two months, with poor communication and delays, and I am left with a massive bill for something that was not my fault.

DHL even had the nerve to phone me and ask if I want to open an account with them. Sending anything via DHL is a mistake I will NEVER ever make in the future