Biddulphs International Reviews 55

THEY ARE COMPLETELY USELESS, run the opposite direction!
You pay for insurance and packaging, they dont package your stuff correctly, and damage. they dump it in your house and when you claim you get the run around! its been 6 months,and im still waiting, sending emails daily, calling, no one cares!

After numerous emails, phone calls regarding most of our appliances and furniture being damaged - no response. Paid for insurance however nothing being done to assist us. DO NOT USE BIDDULPHS!

Biddulphs International -Thank you!

We recently relocated from South Africa to Australia, and we could not be happier with the incredible service we received from Biddulphs South Africa. From the very beginning, when their team came to professionally pack our household goods, the service was outstanding. Every single box and item was carefully wrapped and packed with great attention to detail.
Our container was shipped in the first week of January, and everything arrived safely at our home in Australia in perfect condition. The team here unpacked our boxes, removed the protective packaging from our couches, chairs, and tables, and made the entire process so much easier for us. We also appreciated that they left certain items packed in boxes, such as books and things we do not currently need.
One item we were especially worried about was a large glass tabletop. Biddulphs built a custom wooden crate for it, and we were amazed and incredibly grateful that it arrived completely intact without any damage.
Nothing was lost or broken during the move, which speaks volumes about the professionalism and care of the entire Biddulphs team. A huge thank you to everyone at Biddulphs South Africa, as well as the staff and agents in Australia who handled everything on this side. Your service, communication, and professionalism were truly exceptional.
We can highly recommend Biddulphs South Africa to anyone planning an international move. Thank you for making such a stressful process such a pleasant experience!

My experience with Biddulphs was unacceptable from start to finish and caused significant financial loss, damage to my property, and unnecessary stress.

They were the most expensive quote I received, and I specifically chose them expecting a professional, well-coordinated move. What I received instead was poor planning, delays, negligence, and a complete lack of accountability.

On the day of the move, the team arrived late and with a truck that exceeded the size restrictions clearly communicated at booking. This immediately created issues with the estate I was moving from. Despite having eight workers on site, the team was extremely slow and inefficient. Packing only started around 10:00 and was only completed at approximately 16:30 for a three-bedroom house, which is entirely unacceptable.

The supervisor, Petrus, demonstrated a complete lack of control, urgency, and care. He continuously provided incorrect updates and failed to manage his team effectively. I had clearly communicated that the receiving estate has a strict 17:00 cut-off, yet this was completely ignored, resulting in the move not being completed.

Due to Biddulphs’ delays and incompetence, we were left stranded without accommodation, without access to essential belongings, and forced to make emergency arrangements for the night. We also suffered financial loss as refrigerated food spoiled with no access to proper storage.

I dealt directly with Jafta Ndlovu, the director/branch manager, whose level of customer service was shocking. At a critical point, I requested simple written confirmation for the next morning’s delivery time, as required by the estate. He refused. Instead of taking ownership or offering solutions, I was left chasing him for updates while dealing with a crisis entirely caused by his company. He also indicated that they would subsidise R1300 towards the inconvenience, yet since completion of the move there has been no follow-up, no communication, and no accountability.

The following day, the situation deteriorated further. The team handled my furniture with complete disregard. My belongings were damaged, my newly built home was damaged, and there was no care shown at all.

The damage includes (and this is only a portion of the items affected):
• Study desk dismantled with screws and stability components lost, leaving it unusable
• Custom-made sideboard chipped and structurally damaged
• LG fridge dented despite clear warnings about its fragile finish
• Two mirrored bedside pedestals significantly damaged, with cracks and chipped glass
• Walls, staircase, and even a staircase light damaged during the move

I had to repeatedly intervene and instruct the team to stop damaging my furniture and property, which should never be necessary when dealing with a so-called professional moving company.

Boxes clearly marked as fragile and “do not stack” were ignored. They were stacked, flipped on their sides, and carried carelessly, resulting in further damage. Biddulphs explicitly states they do not insure customer-packed boxes, yet they handle those same boxes with reckless disregard, effectively ensuring loss while avoiding responsibility.

This is not just poor service, it is negligence.

I have submitted an insurance claim, but based on the level of service and lack of accountability shown throughout, I fully expect resistance and attempts to avoid payout.

I would strongly warn anyone considering Biddulphs to avoid them entirely. Paying a premium price does not guarantee quality, professionalism, or care. In this case, it delivered the exact opposite.

If you value your possessions, your time, and your peace of mind, do not use this company.

I relocated from KZN to Gauteng and used Biddulphs. Biddulphs was the only company that packed, handled, transported, stored and unpacked my possessions. I paid a much higher price than other companies. On redelivery one of my possessions was no longer working as it used to. I paid for double the amount of transit and mechanical insurance. Biddulphs wanted to pay out less than a quarter of the value of my possession without assessing it so I insisted that they repair and resolve it at their own cost. They proceeded to dispatch a tech and once repaired they wanted to charge me an excess that amounted to more than the repair cost. There was no settlement for the repairs irrespective that I paid for transit and mechanical insurance twice. They did not inform me that I was responsible for the cost of the repair nor what it would possibly cost to repair prior to dispatching a technician. Thereafter they disputed and insisted I pay for the repairs and used 'wear and tear' as an excuse irrespective that my possession was in perfect working condition prior to Biddulphs handling my possession. There were no replacement of any parts just a simple reset that took a few minutes. The Biddulphs representative argued continuously until I informed her not to reply further and informed them that they were wrong. Based on ethics and them not being transparent I will not recommended or use Biddulphs again. I'm glad that this was not a huge expense for me as I can only imagine the situation I could have possibly ended up in as it could have been much worse. I would rate Biddulphs less than zero and would opt for a more transparent and reputable company in future.

I had an antique display cabinet delivered from Pietermaritzburg to Sydney. On arrival of the cabinet 9 months later two critical pieces were missing. I wrote emails and made numerous calls to enquire about this. My calls and e mail only received attention once i asked for the managing directors name. No apologies or any interest was shown prior to me asking for the MD’s details. during this process I phoned to ask how much longer my chest would take. no reply till a follow up call. the email reply said they would be delivered to another destination.If i could rate zero stars I would. A Monty Python organisation. strong avoid. This is the first time I have filled in one of these ratings. Total incompetence.

We used Biddulphs to relocate from Jhb to Cape Town. We were told the afternoon before the move that there was a delay and we would only get our furniture and goods NINE days later. When it finally arrived, only half was there and we ended up waiting TWO WEEKS for our goods. Their communication was shocking and they have yet to acknowledge receipt of my complaint. They overworked their staff and had a terrible logistics system. Absolutely awful.

My move with Biddulphs from Johannesburg to Cape Town (September 2024) was extremely disappointing. The process started well, but the delivery was a disaster. The truck arrived hours late, and items were handled carelessly, my inverter and washing machine weren’t even wrapped despite paying extra for packing. Several boxes were crushed, furniture damaged, and many belongings went missing.
The supervisor rushed me to sign delivery papers before I could check my items and didn’t leave a copy. Later, I discovered an antique credenza, clothes, and other items missing and even received someone else’s box. When I reported it, the responses were repetitive and dismissive, with no accountability.
A month later, I was called by their Cape Town warehouse saying they had my missing credenza, proving that items were indeed left behind. Despite this, I never received a proper explanation or apology.
The entire experience was stressful, expensive, and unprofessional. I chose Biddulphs for their reputation but deeply regret it. I strongly recommend avoiding this company.
I still hope Biddulphs will take accountability and contact me to resolve this matter properly, but based on my experience, I cannot recommend their services.

Terrible service from Biddulphs international receiving goods arriving from the Netherlands.

Shrugging shoulders and refusal to deliver goods referring to a he said she said situation when all facts are documented on paper and email.

I will not recommend this company

Lost items. Damaged items. Broken items. Cannot describe the losses and lack of repairs by this company that I have used for more than 30 years.

This completely incompetent company moved my house hold items in Nov 23 from South Africa to Curacao.
They did not comply to their own contractual obligations.
And it was complete amerture hour stuff.
Started at the packing stage which didn't go according to what was promised..
Then there were issues with them not knowing where the destination was.
Seriously a international moving company and they needed a geography lesson.
Then when arrived at destination several damages were uncovered.
Boxes upsidedown despite all the stickers. This side up and fragile.
Completely ignored.
They didn't unpack or get rid of the packing materials had to do it myself.
Then they don't have any insurance for damage caused by their negligence.
Still argue with them in this regard,
about compensation .
Thought pay a premium and deal with a professional competent company.
How wrong I was.
Could have gone a whole lot cheaper and had the same issues just cheaper.
They are completely useless and the contract is not worth the paper it written on.
Will recommend you look elsewhere .

My daughter moved from Howick to Cape Town. We decided to use Biddulphs International as we felt that they are an established and a reputable company. Her goods were loaded on 28 June 2024 and we were guaranteed that it would get to Cape Town on 1 July 2024. The items were bubble wrapped and boxes were marked fragile. By 3pm on 1July the goods had not reached her apartment. We had to make numerous calls to Biddulphs to enquire on the delivery. After being persistent the goods finally arrived at 8.30pm. To my horror her furniture was damaged. Boxes were opened and re-taped. I could only assume that staff had opened these boxes looking for items to remove. There could be no other reason for opening boxes and re-taping them. I visited the Biddulphs office in Pietermaritzburg on 2 July 2024 and I was assured that it would be sorted out as I had taken insurance. To date I have never received a call or an update as promised. I can only assume that the insurance is offered as this intentional damage seems to be a normal occurrence. This was not the service expected from a company of this calibre. This is a warning to all that are deciding to use this company. Please take photos of your belongings before they leave and when they arrive at their destination. I'm glad that I had done this so I have my evidence and proof to support my claim. This company never keeps you updated as the customer and you have to continously follow up.

Terrible service. Ended up with broken items and scratched furniture.

NO CUSTOMER RESPECT!
Timelines are quoted on in line with other service providers, promises are made, however not respecting any of their promises.
Ignoring follow up requests and causing out of pocket expenses because of their bad service.
Would not recommend to anyone.

I had 2 fragile items boxes which included plates and some other kitchenware.

The initial state of the boxes were abysmal as they all looked dented in and some even looked like it had water damage. I had a Fragile sticker on every possible side of one of the boxes and even written on it fragile and it was dented in and a lot of my items were just broken by the way they handled them.

Disgusting behaviour and lack of respect for your items, won’t be using them again as they clearly can’t even handle a small local move without breaking items.

Excellent service, very professional and the team has been responsive throughout the whole process. Thank you.

We would like to complement the crew for Johannesburg to Jeffreys Bay. The were professional, friendly and awesome.

The same with the delivery crew, who also went the extra mile as they came back  to drop items left behind.

Wish to thank all of you that made a difficult move effortless.

Thanks to Zozi, Terence and all crew who really were awesome

most of my gold jewellery was stolen from the packers while they were packing up my house and packed our stuff horribly and most things ended up being destroyed boxes also weren’t wrapped properly which caused things to get in just horrible and disgusting human beings a service disgusting

This is the second time that Biddulphs have let us down. They said they would be early, the 1st trip they only turned up at 15h00 after promising 09h00 both times, today we have been waiting since 11h00 and its 14h00 now. A real disgrace

We have used Biddulphs before and were happy so we used them again. They arrived, took charge and moved my elderly parents without 1 breakage and nothing was too much trouble to move again or lift. Very professional, clean, neat. Would use them again.