Temu and courier service respond to South African delivery complaints
Dozens of South Africans have taken to social media to complain about the quality of service they have been receiving recently.
Whether you are scrolling on Facebook, TikTok or Instagram, you've probably seen ads for Temu.
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In the last few years, the super-affordable e-commerce site has become one of the most popular shopping sites in the world.
It officially launched in the US in 2022 and entered the South African market in 2024.
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In 2025, Temu worked to shorten delivery times worldwide and broaden its merchandise selection.
The company even opened a new local warehouse, dispatch, and fulfilment option in South Africa.
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However, Temu might have fallen out of favour with South African shoppers.
MyBroadband recently reported that dozens of SA consumers have complained about delayed and failed Temu deliveries in the last two months.
There also seems to be one courier service that is proving to be problematic.
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Shoppers have turned to social media to air their grievances, leaving scathing reviews on Hellopeter and posting on Facebook.
Users have given Temu a rating of 1,59 out of 5 based on 456 reviews on the consumer sentiment measurement website Hellopeter.
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According to MyBroadband, 1-star ratings remained above 60% of the total for 11 months of 2025, but dissatisfaction peaked in December, when 90,3% of reviewers gave the store a 1-star rating.
Only 2,8% of users gave a 5-star rating in December, while there were no four or three-star reviews.
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While some users complained about the quality of the products they received, the majority of upset buyers were frustrated by misleading and unsatisfactory courier updates.
Here are just a few of the most recent reviews:
- "I placed on [sic] order with TEMU on 05/12/2025 but I have still not received my order." (Posted by a user on 15 January 2026)
- "I will never use Temu as long as they make use of GFS. They took 45 days to deliver only because I kept on insisting for [sic] an update and they marked my order as delivered days before it was delivered."
- “Their courier company, GFS Express, has not provided me with any information on my package, except that the date for delivery was 22 December 2025, which has long passed". (Posted on 31 December)
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Multiple users also alleged that GFS Express were falsifying their delivery updates:
"I ordered items from Temu at the beginning of December. The parcel arrived in Durban on 21 December 2025 and was handed over to GFS Couriers for final delivery.
From that date, the tracking has repeatedly shown “out for delivery” followed by “delivery failed”, yet no delivery attempt has ever been made. No courier has arrived at my address, no phone calls were received, and no notices were left. This has happened multiple times and is clearly misleading. Because GFS Couriers keeps falsely marking the parcel as attempted delivery, Temu is refusing to issue a refund or credit, claiming that the courier is actively trying to deliver which is absolutely not true."
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Temu has also not been safe on Facebook.
One post on the Consumer Complaints South Africa Facebook page asked: "Has anyone received a Temu parcel via GFS Express?" and the comments were flooded with complaints.
Customers claimed to have placed orders in November 2025, in time for Christmas, but have still not received their orders in January 2026, and several users have also experienced issues with CN Express.
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South African Reddit users also experienced similar issues in November 2025 with Temu orders fulfilled by CN Express and have not yet confirmed whether they have received their products.
Temu and GFS Express shared their feedback about these issues with MyBroadband.
Temu: “During peak shopping periods, delivery times may fluctuate due to increased parcel volumes. We are working with our logistics partners to ensure they maintain high service standards for our users.”
GFS Express representative: "We value the customers’ grievances and implemented strategies to boost customer satisfaction."
They also acknowledged they had experienced some "hiccups" during the festive season and were focusing on fixing them going forward.
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Image: AFP