Slept on floor for one week thanks to Stuttaford Van Lines

I would never wish the traumatic experience I had with Stuttafords Van Lines on anyone

After phoning around for a moving company because I was relocating from Durban to Johannesburg, I got referred to Stuttaford Van Lines who were apparently the best in the business and since I needed the delivery for the same week I was pleased to hear that they would be able to fit me in.

So I called through and got attended to by Chantal Govender. Got my quote approved. Then went on to filling out the necessary documentation as the week progressed and then lastly, payment was made on Thursday, the 05th of July

Throughout this interaction with Chantal, I stressed that since the initial moving company I chose did not have any vehicles going up to Johannesburg for the weekend of the 06th of July, I decided to use them as they are also one of the bigger companies in the business and I received assurance that all will be well. I explained how nervous i felt but again I was told by Chantal "I am here to help take the stress away".

On Friday morning my stuff got picked up and all my uneasiness was put to rest when I saw a schedule that said my stuff was set to be delivered on Monday the 09th of July.

I drove up to Johannesburg on Saturday the 07th so I could rest on Sunday and also be there in time for my delivery on Monday the 09th. Come Monday I call Stuttafords to ask at what time I should be expecting my delivery and I find that nobody knows anything about a Monday delivery to Johannesburg but my delivery was actually set for Tuesday the 17th of July.

I had taken off that week to setup since I was starting work on Monday the 16th but now I was going to loose that week. I didn't carry sufficient bedding so I had to sleep on the floor. Unfortunately I don't even have family or friends in Johannesburg so I was going through this ordeal all by myself. I cannot explain the stress I felt because now I also needed to make arrangements to expect my delivery on Tuesday when I was expected to start work on Monday. Now how do you tell your new employer that you cannot come in on your second day of work?! All my work clothes and shoes were in this consignment . Did this now mean that I had to buy new clothes and shoes for work?! Point of the matter, had I known upfront that Stuttafords were not able to help, I would have looked at alternative arrangements.

With full tears in my eyes I called Stuttafords again, Chantal in particular, to explain my situation. I tried to be rational and calm and her suggestion was I book a BnB. Now for anyone who has relocated, you would know that relocating is not cheap and I really didn't have the money to stay at a BnB.

Anyway she then suggested I speak to someone in operations who I know tried his best to help. In fact he managed to get my stuff delivered to me on Sunday night the 15th of July. By the time I unpacked, it was already the morning of the 16th. I was drained. Two cooler boxes of my perishable that I tried to sustain by filling ice everyday had gone bad. By this time I had even gotten the flu. Again, how do you go off sick on your first week of work?! All this because someone tried to rush a sale.

I strongly feel like just one person let Stuttaford Van Lines down because both the pickup and delivery teams were very professional. A week has passed now and I didn't even receive a courtesy call from Stuttaford Van Lines and I'm rather disappointed.