Damaged Item- poor customer service

Very unlikely to recommend. Had my stuff delivered in early April. I dealt with Vuyani and concluded all business and transactions with him. In his own discretion, he loaded my things onto a partner driver's truck to have them delivered to JHB. Upon arrival, a midcentury credenza of mine was not only damaged, but the door missing completely. When I spoke to Vuyani on the day he picked my stuff up, I mentioned to him 3 things that needed to be carefully loaded, to avoid damage, with the credenza being first priority, as I'd be putting it up for sale. While **** happens and stuff gets damaged, and that would have been somewhat understandable, the entire door went missing. After consulting with a few woodworkers, it became clear that replacing the door to the credenza would be impossible as matching the wood to the entire unit was impossible. Vuyani told me this is not something he could put in claim for with insurance, but instead, a direct payment to me for the damage was the way forward. To which we both agreed.

A few weeks back and forth trying to understand when I'd get compensated, he then transferred all liability to his partner driver and left me, his client, to deal with this partner, instead of dealing with it himself. I'd never dealt with his partner driver, I paid Vuyani and only ever dealt with him in Cape Town. When it came down to needing to compensate me, I was told how he can't be the one to pay me because he isn't the one who damaged the item. While true, I did not conclude any of my business with his partner and instead of leaving me to deal with him and claim directly from him, Vuyani should have app**** pressure from his side instead of me constantly needing to be the one running around to find out when I'd get compensated to remove an item that has now lost its resale value.

5months later, I've been the one to frustratingly chase after his partner to find out about payment. Been told various things month after month. Sat with a ~R5k item that's lost its resale value unable to do much with it, and Vuyani has been less than helpful in assisting me to claim from his partner and ensure all this fixed. My last message to give him an update was ignored.

On the day of pickup, we'd agreed On a set time. And again, while things happen, it was me who constantly had to check up when he ran late and ask how far he is with not much notification from his side at the start. He arrived ~1.5-2 hours later than scheduled. Unfortunately, unlikely to recommend for these reasons as the customer service hasn't been all that great. Not sure clients who have their stuff damaged or lost are assisted to great lengths after they've paid. Seems liability is transferred and responsibility is evaded