JS
JP S
1 reviews | Active since Aug 2026
23 Aug 2026, 12:20
FedEx Passport – I paid a premium for the worst customs experience I have had
I am writing this because I genuinely wish I had read an account like this before paying a premium to have my supplements shipped to South Africa using FedEx Passport. I have imported similar products numerous times using Aramex, including shipments requiring SAHPRA Section 21 approval. Those processes can take time, but Aramex has managed the customs detention while the approval is processed. My previous SAHPRA matter took weeks from the initial referral through the approval process and the shipment was managed without me experiencing what has happened here. With FedEx Passport I paid substantially more and expected a better service. I experienced the opposite. Two FedEx shipments were detained by Port Health and referred for SAHPRA Section 21 approval. I comp**** with the requirements and submitted the applications through my doctor. These are not my first applications; I have successfully completed the Section 21 process previously. FedEx's own customs documentation shows that both shipments were formally entered with SARS and received the status “DETAIN OTHER – DETAIN FOR PORT HEALTH.” Despite this, the communication I repeatedly received from FedEx focused on warnings that my goods would be moved to State Warehouse and that additional storage costs would follow. What concerned me even more was the documentation. These are two different shipments containing four different products. Yet the documentation FedEx provided to me for both AWBs reflects the same Hydroxyelite/Somatomax commercial-invoice product information. I raised this discrepancy directly with FedEx and asked them to confirm exactly which invoice and products had been submitted to SARS under each AWB. Instead of receiving an explanation of that discrepancy, I received another email telling me that the shipment was moving to State Warehouse. FedEx's latest email actually states that the shipment was already on day 16, despite saying it was “supposed” to move on day 14. That is what I find so frustrating about this experience. I have not asked FedEx to bypass Customs or release anything without SAHPRA approval. I have repeatedly asked them to manage the detained shipments while the government approval process runs and to investigate their own apparent documentation discrepancy before taking steps that could create additional costs. SAHPRA is processing the applications. I have comp**** with what has been requested from me. My experience with Aramex has been completely different. I have paid considerably less for shipments where regulatory approval was required and had the shipment managed through a lengthy customs process without this experience. I paid a premium for FedEx Passport expecting the premium to buy better support when something went wrong. Instead, I have spent an extraordinary amount of time chasing FedEx, escalating the matter myself, dealing with repeated State Warehouse warnings and identifying a documentation discrepancy myself. The most disappointing part is that this situation potentially costs everyone. If the goods become uneconomical to recover because of additional charges, I will have to pursue the appropriate non-delivery remedies and reorder elsewhere. The overseas supplier potentially loses the sale, FedEx loses a customer, and I have to pay and wait again for products I already ordered. For anyone in South Africa considering paying extra for FedEx Passport specifically because you believe the premium price means your shipment will receive better assistance if Customs, Port Health or SAHPRA becomes involved, my experience has been the exact opposite. I would use Aramex for this type of shipment based on my own experience. I have the email correspondence, customs documentation, AWB documentation, previous SAHPRA approval and current application correspondence supporting the chronology above. I will update this review if FedEx resolves the matter.
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Replies (5)
Fedex Express's replyOfficial
24 Aug 2026, 07:02Thank you for sharing your experience with FedEx. We truly value your feedback.
Please allow us some time to investigate the matter thoroughly.
A member of our resolution team will reach out to assist in resolving this issue.
We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Best regards,
Resolution Desk
Fedex Express's reply24 Aug 2026, 07:02
Official
Thank you for sharing your experience with FedEx. We truly value your feedback.
Please allow us some time to investigate the matter thoroughly.
A member of our resolution team will reach out to assist in resolving this issue.
We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Best regards,
Resolution Desk
Fedex Express's replyOfficial
24 Aug 2026, 08:33Thank you for sharing your experience with FedEx. We truly value your feedback.
Please allow us some time to investigate the matter thoroughly.
A member of our resolution team will reach out to assist in resolving this issue.
We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Best regards,
Resolution Desk
Fedex Express's reply24 Aug 2026, 08:33
Official
Thank you for sharing your experience with FedEx. We truly value your feedback.
Please allow us some time to investigate the matter thoroughly.
A member of our resolution team will reach out to assist in resolving this issue.
We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Best regards,
Resolution Desk
JS
JP S's updateReviewer Update
24 Aug 2026, 15:04FedEx, while waiting for your Resolution Team to contact me, I found another Hellopeter complaint describing an almost identical experience with your South African clearance department.
What is genuinely shocking is that the complaint names Phephile Malembe, one of the same people involved in my matter, and describes the same pattern: Port Health detention, repeated attempts by the customer to get assistance, emails not being answered, and ultimately the shipment being sent to State Warehouse.
That customer wrote in January 2026. I am experiencing essentially the same thing seven months later.
In my case I have gone even further: completed and paid for my 4th and 5th Section 21 applications, involved my doctor, personally followed up with SAHPRA, repeatedly asked FedEx to intervene, identified an apparent discrepancy in FedEx's own shipment documentation, and explained that my approvals are expected shortly.
Yet the overwhelming response from Clearance has still been warnings about moving my goods to State Warehouse rather than actually helping resolve the situation.
I paid a premium for FedEx/Passport and have received substantially less assistance than I have repeatedly received from Aramex at roughly a third of the shipping cost.
Seeing another customer publicly describing such a similar experience, involving the same clearance personnel, months before mine makes this considerably more concerning. This no longer looks to me like one unfortunate customer-service experience; it raises a serious question about whether there is a recurring service problem within this clearance function.
FedEx has now twice responded to my review saying that its Resolution Team will investigate. Please actually investigate it. I have the emails, customs documentation, SAHPRA correspondence and previous clearance history to substantiate my own experience.
I will update this review with the outcome.
JS
JP S's update24 Aug 2026, 15:04
Reviewer Update
FedEx, while waiting for your Resolution Team to contact me, I found another Hellopeter complaint describing an almost identical experience with your South African clearance department.
What is genuinely shocking is that the complaint names Phephile Malembe, one of the same people involved in my matter, and describes the same pattern: Port Health detention, repeated attempts by the customer to get assistance, emails not being answered, and ultimately the shipment being sent to State Warehouse.
That customer wrote in January 2026. I am experiencing essentially the same thing seven months later.
In my case I have gone even further: completed and paid for my 4th and 5th Section 21 applications, involved my doctor, personally followed up with SAHPRA, repeatedly asked FedEx to intervene, identified an apparent discrepancy in FedEx's own shipment documentation, and explained that my approvals are expected shortly.
Yet the overwhelming response from Clearance has still been warnings about moving my goods to State Warehouse rather than actually helping resolve the situation.
I paid a premium for FedEx/Passport and have received substantially less assistance than I have repeatedly received from Aramex at roughly a third of the shipping cost.
Seeing another customer publicly describing such a similar experience, involving the same clearance personnel, months before mine makes this considerably more concerning. This no longer looks to me like one unfortunate customer-service experience; it raises a serious question about whether there is a recurring service problem within this clearance function.
FedEx has now twice responded to my review saying that its Resolution Team will investigate. Please actually investigate it. I have the emails, customs documentation, SAHPRA correspondence and previous clearance history to substantiate my own experience.
I will update this review with the outcome.
JS
JP S's updateReviewer Update
24 Aug 2026, 15:19UPDATE: This is apparently not an isolated experience.
While waiting for FedEx’s Resolution Team to contact me, I found another Hellopeter complaint describing an almost identical experience with the same South African clearance team, including Phephile Malembe, one of the same people involved in my matter. That complaint describes Port Health detention, unanswered emails, repeated attempts to get assistance, and ultimately the shipment being moved to State Warehouse.
What is even more concerning in my case is that FedEx has still not properly addressed the documentation problem I raised. These are two separate shipments containing four different products, yet the documentation supp**** to me for both shipments reflects the same Hydroxyelite/Somatomax product information. I raised this directly and asked FedEx to confirm exactly what invoice and products were submitted under each shipment.
That issue has effectively been ignored.
Instead, almost every substantive response I have received from Clearance has been another warning about State Warehouse.
That is simply not acceptable. I am trying to resolve a genuine regulatory hold, my Section 21 applications are actively being processed, I have comp**** with everything required from my side, and I have raised a potential problem in FedEx’s own documentation. Yet rather than properly investigating and responding to that issue, the repeated answer has been State Warehouse.
Seeing another customer publicly describe such a similar experience involving the same clearance personnel months earlier makes this far more concerning. It suggests this may not be an isolated mistake, but a recurring problem in how these clearance cases are being handled.
FedEx has now responded twice saying its Resolution Team will investigate. Please actually investigate the documentation, the clearance handling, and the repeated failure to properly respond to the issues being raised — not simply send another State Warehouse warning.
I have the full email trail, customs documents, SAHPRA correspondence and shipment records to support everything stated above.
I will update this review with the outcome.
JS
JP S's update24 Aug 2026, 15:19
Reviewer Update
UPDATE: This is apparently not an isolated experience.
While waiting for FedEx’s Resolution Team to contact me, I found another Hellopeter complaint describing an almost identical experience with the same South African clearance team, including Phephile Malembe, one of the same people involved in my matter. That complaint describes Port Health detention, unanswered emails, repeated attempts to get assistance, and ultimately the shipment being moved to State Warehouse.
What is even more concerning in my case is that FedEx has still not properly addressed the documentation problem I raised. These are two separate shipments containing four different products, yet the documentation supp**** to me for both shipments reflects the same Hydroxyelite/Somatomax product information. I raised this directly and asked FedEx to confirm exactly what invoice and products were submitted under each shipment.
That issue has effectively been ignored.
Instead, almost every substantive response I have received from Clearance has been another warning about State Warehouse.
That is simply not acceptable. I am trying to resolve a genuine regulatory hold, my Section 21 applications are actively being processed, I have comp**** with everything required from my side, and I have raised a potential problem in FedEx’s own documentation. Yet rather than properly investigating and responding to that issue, the repeated answer has been State Warehouse.
Seeing another customer publicly describe such a similar experience involving the same clearance personnel months earlier makes this far more concerning. It suggests this may not be an isolated mistake, but a recurring problem in how these clearance cases are being handled.
FedEx has now responded twice saying its Resolution Team will investigate. Please actually investigate the documentation, the clearance handling, and the repeated failure to properly respond to the issues being raised — not simply send another State Warehouse warning.
I have the full email trail, customs documents, SAHPRA correspondence and shipment records to support everything stated above.
I will update this review with the outcome.
JS
JP S's updateReviewer Update
24 Aug 2026, 15:31A question I now believe FedEx needs to answer publicly.
After everything that has happened, I am beginning to seriously question why there appears to be such urgency from this FedEx clearance team to move shipments to State Warehouse, and what exactly drives that process.
I am not alleging ***** because I do not currently have evidence to establish that. I am asking the question because the pattern makes no sense to me as a customer.
I have completed more than 80 international orders into South Africa. This is my first experience using FedEx for this type of shipment. I can provide my previous import and Section 21 history if FedEx wants to verify that.
With other carriers, including Aramex, I have had products detained while regulatory approval was obtained. I have never experienced this relentless focus on moving my goods to State Warehouse while the approval process is actively underway.
What makes this even more difficult to understand is that FedEx itself has now confirmed in writing that one shipment reached day 16, despite repeatedly presenting day 14 to me as the critical State Warehouse deadline.
SARS's own rules state that after the 14-day period, goods can be moved to State Warehouse or another place indicated by Customs, which may include the goods remaining in the degrouping depot. SARS also specifically recognises degrouping depots for the detention of air cargo.
So I want FedEx to answer a very simple question:
Who is actually requiring these particular shipments to be physically transferred to State Warehouse, and why? Is this a specific instruction from SARS Customs in respect of my AWBs, or is this FedEx's clearance/operational decision?
If it is a SARS instruction, please provide the relevant written instruction or reference. If it is FedEx's process, please explain why continued detention at the existing facility was apparently possible beyond day 14 but is now being refused while my SAHPRA approvals are actively being processed.
This question becomes even more serious considering that I have repeatedly raised what appears to be incorrect/duplicated product documentation across my two shipments, and instead of receiving a proper explanation or correction, the recurring response has been State Warehouse.
I also now have another customer's Hellopeter complaint describing an extraordinarily similar experience involving members of the same clearance team: Port Health detention, unanswered questions, repeated State Warehouse communication and ultimately transfer to State Warehouse.
I therefore want FedEx's Resolution Team to investigate not only my shipments, but the process itself. Who authorises these transfers, what discretion exists, whether FedEx or any associated party receives any fee or other financial benefit connected with the transfer, storage, handling or subsequent release of goods from State Warehouse, and why alternative detention appears not to be pursued in cases where regulatory approval is actively pending.
Those are questions, not accusations. But after my experience and what I am now seeing from another customer, I believe FedEx owes its South African customers clear answers.
I have retained the complete correspondence and documentation and am happy to provide my previous import history for comparison.
JS
JP S's update24 Aug 2026, 15:31
Reviewer Update
A question I now believe FedEx needs to answer publicly.
After everything that has happened, I am beginning to seriously question why there appears to be such urgency from this FedEx clearance team to move shipments to State Warehouse, and what exactly drives that process.
I am not alleging ***** because I do not currently have evidence to establish that. I am asking the question because the pattern makes no sense to me as a customer.
I have completed more than 80 international orders into South Africa. This is my first experience using FedEx for this type of shipment. I can provide my previous import and Section 21 history if FedEx wants to verify that.
With other carriers, including Aramex, I have had products detained while regulatory approval was obtained. I have never experienced this relentless focus on moving my goods to State Warehouse while the approval process is actively underway.
What makes this even more difficult to understand is that FedEx itself has now confirmed in writing that one shipment reached day 16, despite repeatedly presenting day 14 to me as the critical State Warehouse deadline.
SARS's own rules state that after the 14-day period, goods can be moved to State Warehouse or another place indicated by Customs, which may include the goods remaining in the degrouping depot. SARS also specifically recognises degrouping depots for the detention of air cargo.
So I want FedEx to answer a very simple question:
Who is actually requiring these particular shipments to be physically transferred to State Warehouse, and why? Is this a specific instruction from SARS Customs in respect of my AWBs, or is this FedEx's clearance/operational decision?
If it is a SARS instruction, please provide the relevant written instruction or reference. If it is FedEx's process, please explain why continued detention at the existing facility was apparently possible beyond day 14 but is now being refused while my SAHPRA approvals are actively being processed.
This question becomes even more serious considering that I have repeatedly raised what appears to be incorrect/duplicated product documentation across my two shipments, and instead of receiving a proper explanation or correction, the recurring response has been State Warehouse.
I also now have another customer's Hellopeter complaint describing an extraordinarily similar experience involving members of the same clearance team: Port Health detention, unanswered questions, repeated State Warehouse communication and ultimately transfer to State Warehouse.
I therefore want FedEx's Resolution Team to investigate not only my shipments, but the process itself. Who authorises these transfers, what discretion exists, whether FedEx or any associated party receives any fee or other financial benefit connected with the transfer, storage, handling or subsequent release of goods from State Warehouse, and why alternative detention appears not to be pursued in cases where regulatory approval is actively pending.
Those are questions, not accusations. But after my experience and what I am now seeing from another customer, I believe FedEx owes its South African customers clear answers.
I have retained the complete correspondence and documentation and am happy to provide my previous import history for comparison.