Useless Service from DHL

<p>I am writing to complain about the lousy service I have received from DHL over the month of April. I sent my camera overseas for an upgrade. Before I did so I called DHL and spoke to a customs consultant. They told me I needed to get an NEP form from the bank and attach it to the parcel. I did so. I then called and booked a collection and told the consultant that it was a repair and return and asked if I needed to do anything other than attach the NEP. I was told that nothing else was necessary. I nonetheless wrote in large black capitals “Repair and Return” in 2 places on the box.</p> <p>When the camera and lens mount returned to SA I was informed that I had to pay a small fortune in VAT/import because DHL did not fill out the temp export forms. I was only then informed that I needed to check the “Repair and Return” box on the waybill. Unfortunately, there was no “Repair and Return” checkbox on the waybill since DHL sent Ram to collect. So I was somehow expected to know (without being told, even though I called twice to find out the process of doing a temp export) that I needed to write “Repair and Return” in the "Special Instructions / Additional Services / Consignee’s Details" box on the waybill!</p> <p>The process of then getting my camera and lens mount cleared though customs took weeks and cost me a small fortune in unnecessary duties and lost business. DHL was utterly useless throughout the process. Emails were ignored. Phone calls were not returned. Misinformation was provided. Nobody went out of their way to help fix what was quite clearly DHLs fault in the first place, I was just told to pay the money or I wouldn’t get the camera back! Not once did a single DHL employee (and I spoke to a lot of them) apologise or make any real effort to help.</p> <p>I then lodged a complaint with DHL and, after a few emails blaming me and making excuses, they eventually begrudgingly apologised "for the inconvenience caused". I'm sorry, but that's simply not good enough.</p>