Never again!

We will not use their services again. Petrus was friendly at the start of the moving process, but communication soon broke down to a frustrating degree.

We booked our furniture to be collected on the 14th of December and delivery was scheduled for the 19th of December.

There was no communication as to when they would arrive on collection day (after sending messages) and we had to check in on collection day again to find out that they would be there in a few hours. Upon arrival, they had sent a smaller truck to collect our load and unfortunately not everything would fit. Admittedly, we asked to include an extra carpet, 5 extra boxes and an extra small fridge, but regardless of this the original load did not even fit on the truck that was sent. On top of this, the wrapping we had to pay for to have our TV wrapped was sent to another client and we were offered that our TV can be "put between two mattresses". It was clear the driver and movers were annoyed by this point as they just wanted to get the move loaded and did not want to come back to wrap our TV (that we had to pay extra for). Petrus admitted they had sent a different truck to our home (apparently because he had sent the truck allocated to us to another client because this client needed a bigger truck as a result of not disclosing their entire load upfront) which caused the logistical issues we had.

By the 18th we had received no communication, again, regarding the delivery time. Upon enquiry we were told our furniture "might" be delivered on the 20th. We had clearly communicated that we needed our items by the 19th and we had followed up on this more than once, too. Our move was mid December to Stellenbosch, this means its peak holiday season and not having our items meant we were stranded with nowhere to sleep. We also had our 3 pets with us, making it even more stressful!

Petrus was unapologetic and unconcerned regarding this major issue we were now faced with and merely told us to read the terms and conditions. Upon tellimg him that this was bad service and that it would reflect in his review, he told us that he would sue us for defemation. We luckily managed to get a room in an AirBnB for the night and accepted it for what it is and tried to make the best of the situation.

However, our furniture did not arrive on the 20th and Petrus was unreachable on this day. For the 3rd time we were left in the dark as to what was happening. His colleague Sachin stepped in and informed us our load is in Mosselbay and would "maybe" arrive on the 21st. For the second time we had to try find accommodation for the night on short notice with no sympathy from Petrus and his team.

Luckily Sachin kept to his word and our items arrived early the next morning. However, the drivers called us around 7h in the morning to tell us they are at the gate waiting, catching us by surprise again because our AirBnB was an hour away. Again, communication could have been better by telling us that they are on their way. Upon arriving, Petrus was quick to notify me that we had to pay the balance of the money otherwise the items would not be offloaded. Understandably this is to ensure they are paid in full for their services, but given the service that was rendered until this point it was ironic that this was the only clear communication we had received! It also became unclear who was actually in charge of our move, as the movers talked about Shafik being in charge and that they needed permission from Shafik (and not Petrus or Sachin).

Our relief was very short lived once we saw the state our furniture arrived in. Multiple items were damaged so badly, and our bed frame was broken in half. Some furniture items were disassembled without our consent, too. The movers kept asking us if certain parts that had fallen off furniture belonged to us or other people whose furniture was crammed into the back of the moving truck. Petrus was unfased by this damage and merely asked me "how we packed these items" and advised we should put in an insurance claim. More admin and frustration!

This move ended up costing us more than what we had budgeted for and there was no remorse for the disposition he placed us under. Moving is never easy, and moving across the country is definitely one of the most stressful things to do. Getting a reputable mover is supposed to bring a moderate sense of security, but in our case we had added stress that could have been avoided with clearer communication, punctuality, and better care of our furniture.

Highly do not recommend Rock Steady Services!