Courier complaints
Good morning everyone.
When shipping parcels through brokers (including Packlink but "separate" from eBay), sometimes I’m challenged on shipment dimensions and weight that are greater than what I declared, with a consequent request for additional payment.
The courier has NEVER provided photos and/or objective evidence of this, but it is the broker itself that "disputes" it (claiming that it in turn was disputed by the carrier).
The broker, however, asks me to provide "counterproof" (photo of the parcel on the scale with dimensions measured with a tape measure) in my "defense".
Now: by law, carriers have certified and Ministry-approved scales and measuring systems, so it should be easy for them to provide clear proof of what they claim, but I have NEVER seen such proof.
On the other hand, what value does my "weighed" and "measured" photo have, given that it is "certified" by the Brico scale and the hardware-store tape measure?
And indeed, when I provided these photos, they were not accepted.
What I’m asking now is: is there a law or regulation that OBLIGES the courier to certify discrepancies in weight and dimensions compared to what was declared, or do they just do whatever they want and "take a shot" in order to earn a few extra euros?
Thanks everyone.
11 comments
technopartsbay
·3 years agoWithout going off on a tangent, I’ll come back to the original question, which I think is:
Can I get from a broker a justification for a discrepancy on a package reported by the courier?
It is the courier himself who does not provide the broker with a "justification" but simply tells him that that package is non-compliant:
Shipment "wxy": declared dimensions: 30x30x30, measured dimensions 50x50x50, declared weight: 5 Kg, measured weight: 12,004 Kg.
And that’s it.
The broker will apply an additional charge to the amount of the adjustment requested by the carrier and will communicate it.
He will then ask for "quoted" and "weighed" photos of the package to send to the courier but, unlike a fine issued with a speed camera, the courier will NEVER send a photo of the incriminated package!
lele.995
OP3 years agoI already wrote that I sent photos with measurements from a tape measure and scales.
Disputed because they were taken with unverified systems (that is, not calibrated and not equipped with a metrological booklet).
That’s why I asked the question at the bottom of my post: everything else is simple chronology that I included for completeness.
I’ll copy it again: is there a law or rule that OBLIGES the courier to certify the discrepancy in weight and dimensions compared to what was declared, or do they do whatever they want and "take a shot" just to earn a few extra euros?
sika700
·3 years agoI repeat my answer: weights and measurements are taken with equipment approved and certified by the Ministry, and that is an indisputable "certification".
So any measurement it records is already certified and is in itself a "certification" of the non-compliance that is reported on the slip filled out by the sender.
So the answer to your question is NO!
Best regards.
vonbalden
·3 years agoIn sixteen years of selling here on the platform, I’ve never relied on couriers from different backgrounds for my shipments. Only for the first sale, when the courier delivered a Deruta vase in a thousand pieces because of their roughly done packaging. Since then I’ve always used Poste Italia, which uses the SDA courier as its base shipper. I go into the post office, they weigh the package on the scale that can even handle the weight of an elephant, and depending on the option chosen I pay what’s due. That’s it. I pack everything myself and it’s civil-war proof. Never had a complaint for bad packaging or an item arriving broken or damaged. I even shipped a gigantic puppet theater to Sardinia. That time I was a little worried, all things considered. But it arrived at the recipient in perfect condition. With all its puppets packed inside one by one. And no dispute over the weights can stand against that. For now I’m sticking with this. Best regards
actar80
·3 years agoSame here, I've always done it like that too.
heavenwelkin
·3 years agoI’d try to understand the reason for these discrepancies; I don’t know how often you get them, but I’ve tried all the best-known shipping services and I’ve never had any discrepancies.
Many years ago I had a problem with TNT traco; they had a cheap public shipping service, so it was a direct service with no broker.
What happened was that when I shipped to Venice they always disputed measurement discrepancies.
After quite a few tickets and calls with the technical department, we came to the conclusion that the system counted Venice as a different zone compared to, for example, Rome (I can’t say whether it was a disadvantaged zone, island, or something else); the fact is that I hadn’t made any discrepancy, but each time I was charged discrepancies to make up.
If you often receive discrepancies, try changing service; if, by changing service, you keep having discrepancy problems, consider that maybe the issue could be your area, which is poorly served or in a disadvantaged zone.
If, after changing broker and changing courier, you still get discrepancies, I’d try looking for the cause elsewhere.
Kind regards.
lele.995
OP3 years agoheavenwelkin
·3 years agoDo you have any proof of what you're claiming?
How much did they contest it as a discrepancy?
If you counted the cm downward (for example, 11.05 cm and you entered 11 when the courier calculates 12 on that side).
The package may have become slightly deformed because it was crushed by other packages during transit before being weighed, or the package was not perfectly flat but slightly bulging in some spots.
In any case, if all you have in your defense is your word of "honor," I don't think you'll get very far with that.
Sorry.
Kind regards.
heavenwelkin
·3 years agoDear lele.995
Does it seem so "strange" to you that the broker would want proof to support what you claim?
As you were already told, the courier’s measurements are not disputable except in cases of major errors, where you ship a phone and they contest a discrepancy of 20 kg or measurements that are not consistent with the item shipped.
If instead we’re talking about a few cm or a few hundred grams, then you need to provide the proof the broker asked for.
This is a purchase I made in July
The seller bought a label declaring 3kg and dimensions 40x10x 5 (volumetric weight of 0.4 kg)
And they shipped me about 30 kg of material with volumetric packaging of 38kg, dimensions 93x50x40
And just from my purchases I found several discrepancies compared to the waybill, so I can imagine the issue is still widespread.
This is to make it clear to anyone reading that there are still MANY sellers who keep trying to get away with it
Kind regards.
actar80
·3 years agoI think reading this post might be useful to you:
https://community.ebay.it/t5/Supporto-Tra-Utenti/Notifica-di-recupero-crediti-PACKLINK-%C3%A8-una-truffa/td-p/967037
Regards
sika700
·3 years agoPersonally I've never used "broker" but I can tell you about my experience with direct courier: I would discover the discrepancy on the (monthly) invoice, and if I tried to dispute it, they would reply that weights and measurements had been taken from scales and systems approved by the ministry and therefore could not be challenged.
And we'd get screwed...
Best regards.