Sheriff’s Office in Benoni (If I could give below 1 star, I would)

If there was an option to rate below 1 star, the Sheriff’s Office in Benoni would earn it from me...easily.

I began my divorce process on 23 January 2026 at the Benoni Magistrates Court. I was told to take the forms to the Sheriff’s Office, which I did. When I filled in their forms, they asked that I bring my wife in, so on 26 January 2026, I did exactly that. A friendly staff member helped us and took us to another room where my wife filled in and signed everything.

Then came the first excuse:

I was told they did not have any Return of Service forms, so I couldn’t take anything back to court. They assured me they’d get the forms the next day (27 January) and submit everything to court for me. I trusted them.

That was my mistake.

I waited the entire week. Nothing.

When I returned to court, I discovered no documents had been sent by the Sheriff. I was told to “be patient.” I then went to the Sheriff’s Office myself — only to find them closed for lunch. Fine. I gave them even more time.

Another few days passed with still no communication whatsoever. On 5 February 2026, I went back to court again. Still no documents. The clerk eventually asked me to fetch the documents myself.

Back I went to the Sheriff’s Office. This time, the excuse was that they “had no power last week.” Even if that were true, it didn’t explain why nothing was done this week, and it was already Thursday. Eventually they found my documents. I had to take them to court myself. At this point, I had practically done their entire job for them: • I brought the defendant to them, • I chased them for updates, • I fetched my own documents, and • I submitted them to court myself.

There were no updates, no communication, broken promises, and overall service that was honestly unacceptable.

If this is the level of reliability and professionalism one must deal with during something as important as a legal process, it’s truly disappointing. I’ve never experienced such poor service from an office that plays a key role in the justice system.

Absolutely unacceptable service.