1 reviews | Active since Aug 2012
Very dissatisfied
In January this year I paid a deposit to get my dog from JHB to aNrw York. The company seemed legit assuring you feel your pet was in good hands all the way. We flew out on 5 July. Before we flew we asked petport three times for the full details of where to collect our pet. We were told to go to SAA cargo but at the wrong street address and even when we phoned them they had no clue of the address.... we drove around for hours trying to find where to go as no one could give us an address. When we eventually found where he was (at a huge warehouse with fork lifts and cranes driving all over) we still could not see him. We were then told that we needed to take the documents that were sealed in an envelope to the other side of town to get the dog customs cleared. Then back to cargo to finally collect our pet. We also had to pay an unplanned $100 for his release. When we got him, despite petport s promises that he would be walked and well treated on arrival, he had not been taken out of his cage since he left joburg the previous day. He was sopping wet sitting in his own urine. So much for petport saying they will take care of him and we need not worry ... my other problem I have is that my vet warned me of the seriousness of a disease called heart worm in the states. The lady dealing with my casein petport said she had never heard of it and I shouldn't worry.. Apparently everybody in States is aware of this and inoculating is important. My next huge problem is I never got my dogs passport/ book with his history details back ... I gave everything to petport . I expect petport to take charge otherwise what am I paying them for? I need that book in order to get my dog inoculated... I am totally stressed by this. I have no idea how to get my dogs book? I am waiting for petport to get back to me ... no one is getting back to me. I also found some other persons details in between my documents... this person was from Mauritius...
Dear Brenda,
We are sorry that you feel our services were less than satisfactory, especially since we have been in communication with you privately regarding all of the above at management level since we received your first email on the 8 July notifying us of the above concerns.
Just to reiterate our communications in everyones best interest: Because we are a South African based company, we advise all clients to make use of our recommended Agents in international travel. You were offered on numerous occasions if you would like to make use of our agent in New York and you declined their services to meet, clear customs and handover / deliver Benny to you. This would have definitely alleviated a lot of the stress you felt on collection and clearing. We cannot unfortunately comment on the warehouse / cargo area where you met Benny as each airline has their own protocols and layouts for their respective cargo sections. Im sure it was extremely heart sore to have to see Benny in that state, but I am sure you can appreciate that after such a long transit that there would indeed be a slight mess in the crate.. this is the reason we use special travel mats inside our international travel crates to help absorb any messes that occur. (crates are all leak proof as part of the IATA regulations for animal travel)
The vet card was firmly attached to Benny’s crate in Johannesburg, please do remember that once the airlines have the pets in their care we are unable to have any control over their internal processes as I am sure you will understand. We have reached out to both Johannesburg and New York stations on the situation of the vet cards and are awaiting feedback from them. As promised in our communications with you, we are following this up and keeping you updated, however remain at the mercy of the airlines.
To confirm, we did not have any discussion on heartworm as this is not a disease that is endemic to South Africa and is only discussed with clients importing their pets INTO South Africa due to the treatments they need prior to arrival into South Africa. You may be referring to the discussion we had, which was *****-worm of which is a pre-requisite for inspection for travel to the USA and inspection was carried out by your vet in accordance with our Veterinary Health Certificate protocol. If you are concerned about Benny now having Heartworm then please do urgently see your vet to discuss this, I would believe this would be highly unlikely as Heartworm is not a problem we have in South Africa but do alleviate your concerns in the best interests of your pet.
As suggested in the interim you may use the copies of the vet book that were made prior to travel to get Benny inoculated. Your new vet may even be able to create you a new vet book using the copies while we are awaiting feedback on the original.
We have been responsive and assistive to all your questions through-out the long road we have walked together, and hope that you find some comfort in this. We will remain in contact privately as promised until we can resolve all outstanding matters.
Wishing you, Benny and the whole family all the best settling into your new home!
Warm Regards,
PETPort Customer Relations
Dear Brenda,
We are sorry that you feel our services were less than satisfactory, especially since we have been in communication with you privately regarding all of the above at management level since we received your first email on the 8 July notifying us of the above concerns.
Just to reiterate our communications in everyones best interest: Because we are a South African based company, we advise all clients to make use of our recommended Agents in international travel. You were offered on numerous occasions if you would like to make use of our agent in New York and you declined their services to meet, clear customs and handover / deliver Benny to you. This would have definitely alleviated a lot of the stress you felt on collection and clearing. We cannot unfortunately comment on the warehouse / cargo area where you met Benny as each airline has their own protocols and layouts for their respective cargo sections. Im sure it was extremely heart sore to have to see Benny in that state, but I am sure you can appreciate that after such a long transit that there would indeed be a slight mess in the crate.. this is the reason we use special travel mats inside our international travel crates to help absorb any messes that occur. (crates are all leak proof as part of the IATA regulations for animal travel)
The vet card was firmly attached to Benny’s crate in Johannesburg, please do remember that once the airlines have the pets in their care we are unable to have any control over their internal processes as I am sure you will understand. We have reached out to both Johannesburg and New York stations on the situation of the vet cards and are awaiting feedback from them. As promised in our communications with you, we are following this up and keeping you updated, however remain at the mercy of the airlines.
To confirm, we did not have any discussion on heartworm as this is not a disease that is endemic to South Africa and is only discussed with clients importing their pets INTO South Africa due to the treatments they need prior to arrival into South Africa. You may be referring to the discussion we had, which was *****-worm of which is a pre-requisite for inspection for travel to the USA and inspection was carried out by your vet in accordance with our Veterinary Health Certificate protocol. If you are concerned about Benny now having Heartworm then please do urgently see your vet to discuss this, I would believe this would be highly unlikely as Heartworm is not a problem we have in South Africa but do alleviate your concerns in the best interests of your pet.
As suggested in the interim you may use the copies of the vet book that were made prior to travel to get Benny inoculated. Your new vet may even be able to create you a new vet book using the copies while we are awaiting feedback on the original.
We have been responsive and assistive to all your questions through-out the long road we have walked together, and hope that you find some comfort in this. We will remain in contact privately as promised until we can resolve all outstanding matters.
Wishing you, Benny and the whole family all the best settling into your new home!
Warm Regards,
PETPort Customer Relations