Do not use UPS if you value communication and reliable customer service

It's a little unfair to blame UPS South Africa for this because the issue is actually with UPS London, but this needs to be a warning to anyone using UPS to deliver parcels to the UK! I sent a surprise birthday gift from Cape Town to London on 6 August 2026. Instead of being delivered promptly, the parcel became "stuck" in the UK for weeks. Every few days, UPS tracking claimed they had contacted the sender or receiver for clearance information. Neither my son nor I received any communication—not by email, spam folder, or otherwise. The tracking system simply appeared to repeat the same message while nothing happened. Trying to get assistance was incredibly frustrating. Emails to the UK Brokerage Department went unanswered, customer service repeatedly apologised and promised to "escalate" the matter, and online chat simply directed us to telephone UPS. Bearing in mind that I'm in Cape Town, dialling a call centre in London is not my preferred method of resolving an issue. Eventually, after my son contacted the UPS Technical Division on 3 September, the parcel was mysteriously delivered the very next day. So, if the problem could be resolved that quickly, why did it take almost a month—and countless emails and phone calls—to get there? The worst part? What was meant to be a surprise birthday present was no longer a surprise because we had spent weeks chasing UPS for answers. A very disappointing experience, with poor communication, no ownership of the problem, and far too much effort required from the customer to get a parcel delivered.