SAPO ***** behaviour

I ordered a T-shirt from overseas on the 2nd Jan 2026 and the item cleared customs on 29 January. I expected that it would be couriered to my address but later learnt that it was possibly at the Post Office.

I went to collect the parcel on the 20th February although no notification had been sent to me that the parcel was there. I arrived at the Randburg Post Office at about 09h40 and upon arriving at the counter after a short wait, I was served by Ms Martha Matsaung. It took her and the manager roughly 20 mins to locate the parcel, thus by then the queue behind me had grown quite long.

I was then presented with the manifest which reflected that I owed an exorbitant amount of R2580,42 on an item that I had paid US$22,50 plus US$11,99 in shipping thus a total of US$34,49. Due to the long queue and the fact that I had already been at the counter for 20 mins, I elected to pay the amount.

Upon producing my credit card, Ms Matsaung advise me that the card machine was not working and I should go to ATM to get cash, which I did. When I returned and presented her with the R2480,00 (she did not ask for the 42 cents) she reacted with Shooo! Perhaps she expected me to abandon the parcel but I was determined to get my T-Shirt.

On reviewing the dubious manifest, my order and the packaging of the shirt together with contacting SARS it was clear that there was a big mistake or possibly something more sinister going on. I am awaiting a response from SARS and I thought it prudent to bring this to SAPO’s attention as well