Prof this problem will not be solved...period. Everything is going digital...meaning the PO is losing a big chunk of their business. Municipality statements, eskom invoicing, edgars invoicing, banks statements...everything done electronically these days (only one that's still 100% postal invoicing is eToll). Fat cats upstairs knows this...and are in talks with the minister in trying to pass a bill making it "illegal" for couriers to distribute parcels under 2KG...giving SAPO the monopoly again. They tried this in the early 2000's as well, but due to the complete lack of SAPO's infrastructure (compared to the Royal Mail which delivers overnight to and from almost any part in the UK) it couldn't even be really considered...let alone implemented. Now...it's getting more and more likely that they will try something as drastic as that to "save" the PO
Hi Jax, Thanks for your comments, that is interesting information that you have posted there. I want to see them implement something like a 2 kg rule. I think you might find that the courier companies will have standard 2 kg rock containers to transport post in..... or just attach your letter to a brick..... at least it will get there..... Kind regards, Dirk
if they do a law that makes it illegal to send something under two kilos, but the post office is not sending the letters, this would be really interesting. Couriers are pretty flexible, and if the costs have to be passed to the comsumers they will be passed to the consumers. Look at Postnet.. R99 for the first 5kg.. Wouldn't you rather pay R99 to get your 100gram letter delivered? Sad situation, but this is Africa, and when I moved here I knew what the game was. There is no hope really to get this resolved, especially when the unions are in bed with the goverment, and who suffers are the workers. When people, as they are already, start to use the Couriers more often, who you think will loose jobs? The PO workers.. the temporary and the permanent. Also, who will deliver letters for government? Bills of sale? Invoices? contracts, etc? Couriers more likely. Give you an example.. I needed to get a police clearance report for my permanent visa. Normally you go to the Police, do the fingerprints, etc, post it to Pretoria and two weeks after you get it. You need to include a Post office registered envelope for them to send it to you. So after three months of waiting (the post office was on strike), I called them up.. ahh, boss, not here yet.. but as soon as we get it, we will send it. So it got there.. but now the PO is on strike again. Lucky for me there is a clause in the forms that says that if you in SA for less than 12 months you do not need the clearance. So I went and booked a trip to Europe.. R9000.. went to the UK, spent two nights and came back.. yes, I lost R9000, but my visa is being processed as we speak.. and I still have not received the clearance back from Pretoria.. 4 months in. It's Africa.. we just got to roll with it..
I have no qualms about the SAPO. My parents have been sending me stuff by surface mail and all the parcels have arrived in 10 days by air mail Sadly, the reverse scenario isn't as effective. What I don't understand is why one parcel, sent exactly the same time as another, gets to SA in 2 weeks while the other takes 3 months. Is there a Postal lottery or something?
Personally hate them all, I'm still waiting for globes since Aug last year, now they tell me there's no longer a back log and my parcel never arrived in the country , anyone got a number for customs ? Perhaps they can find the damn thing
Look Sweet and Sour, Maybe if you have a number for the PO, they may answer the phone at around Christmas. Just forget about phoning them, ask the persons who were supposed to have sent the parcel if they did! If they say that they did, then you won't know, because it could be anywhere in any of the PO's depots.... Kind regards, Dirk
I sent Ryno a box of Crypts last month. Apparently, it arrived at the wrong post office... and then they sent it back. A month later and the box shows up at my post office. Luckily, the Crypts all survived! No rotting, stinking mess. And they could go back in the tank to recover.
@Luis Embalo If I were you I would go and have my Police Clearance paperwork done again, take the documents myself and then send it via courier. This is the quickest and most effective way. When it is ready the couriers can pick it up again. I know people who have done this recently.
Will try.. In the mean time I booked another trip to the UK, another 5 days, just to be sure that I do not stay in the country more than 12 months.
@Luis Embalo you better make sure you don't overstay your "welcome"... A couple from the UK that used to rent the bossman's granny flat to do volunteer work at an AIDS orphanage in town were just banned from coming to SA for 5 years. They were busy renewing their visas and stuff traveling between Pretoria and Bloemfontein every week. Eventually the UK embassy told them to get out before they are deported. They were told at the airport that it's a good thing they left because deportation would have been worse. So now they've cut off a revenue stream for the orphanage and ruined a good relationship with this couple's church back in the UK. This is truly a crazy country!!!
Hi Luis, Isn't it cheaper to fly to Johannesburg, hire a car, drive to Pretoria, fetch the clearance, and come back again, than flying to UK? Kind regards, Dirk
Then my question is are they striking because of the temporary workers or because the temp guy that comes in highlights their incompetent lazy butts.
That just happened to a friend of mine.. wife and kids are South African.. he overstayed for a few days.. 5 year ban.. but somehow they managed to overturn it.. No way I am taking that chance.. I keep a tight look into my passport, and if it gets bad I can stay for 90 days at the time..
Fetch the clearance? Can I fetch it by hand? I will ask at the police station tomorrow.. I am not sure one can fetch it by hand, but will ask. One must not think that common sense prevails here, what may seem like a normal course of action may not apply here..