SAPO a total travesty!

I have had an ongoing (email) discourse with SAPO regarding 2 overseas parcels posted in 20thSept 17 ex Germany & 5th Oct17 ex UK respectvely, neither of which I received to date, on 6th Dec I was informed by Rodney from SAPO customer service as follows: Dear Lesley It is of deepest regret that I wish to inform you of the unfortunate incident of losing your parcell ex Germany. The bulk of the items that were in the bag were all delivered except your item. In connection with this the SA post office will compensate the sender, may I request that you kindly notify the sender please. The item ex UK is still at customs awaiting clearance, we have requested for the relevant section to expedite the process. My response as follows:- Rodney, thank you for your prompt response, much appreciated! However the explanation is hard to swallow; SAPS means to say that for the past 2 1/2 months there has been traceability on parcel ex Germany up until now when it is suddenly 'unfortunately lost' ? I paid for both of these parcels as they were items bought on eBay. Please see attached advice below. The value of my missing parcel ex Germany incl postage was R1009.00; however I hasten to add that the goods are all OOAK artworks; thus irreplaceable!! So, yes, I do expect adequate compensation, as well as an investigation as to why this happened to my one little parcel?? I also expect prompt delivery on the other parcel ex UK. Onerously Lesley

I have to say that in all my dealings with SAPO international parcel service circa 2014 , I can count out of some 12 instances only 3 that have been good & surprisingly quick; all the rest have been lengthy & extremely problematic! I must emphasize that the service has deteriorated every passing year. Most people I speak to have experienced the same degree of frustration/ disgust. Seems a lot now resort to couriers to secure their goods, albeit at a higher cost! If this is my experience as one person out of the 57 million poulation in SA, God help us!!