New Courier Rules Ban 'Inspect First, Sign Later,' With Little Effect

[ppzhan abstract]

】Two weeks after the national standard for Express Services took effect on May 1, consumers in many places are still complaining that even when couriers' waybills are marked "right to open and inspect the package," express companies still force consumers to sign before inspecting, and some frontline couriers are not even aware of the new national standard. Some industry insiders believe that the thousands of express companies in China are still locked in a price war, while the new national standard still lacks a strict supervision and penalty mechanism, and some small and medium-sized express companies are bound to have loopholes in implementation. After visiting and interviewing, reporters learned that express companies are not implementing "inspect before signing" as well as they should.

On the 8th, a reporter called the Haimen branches of SF Express, Huitong, STO Express, and Yunda as a consumer. Two said that only if the outer packaging shows obvious damage or other abnormalities will the courier tell the recipient to inspect the goods before signing. Two said they had not yet received notice from above and would not implement the new rule for the time being. The others did not give a clear answer over the phone.

"I've never heard of this rule," said Ms. Xu, who likes online shopping. A few days ago, she bought clothes online. When she received the package yesterday, the courier did not remind her to inspect the goods before signing. She still signed first and then opened the package as usual. Ms. Xu said that sometimes the courier directly leaves the package in the reception room, so there is no way for her to inspect the goods before signing.

"Checking every item one by one slows us down, and consumers find it troublesome, too," SF Express courier Master Wang told reporters. At present, many customers, when sending packages, do not cooperate with couriers' inspections out of concerns about inconvenience or privacy leaks. Some couriers, to save trouble, are also unwilling to let customers inspect the goods before signing.

Inspection Is at the Mercy of Express Companies

Yesterday, a consumer in Beijing tipped off reporters that last Friday she received a cash-on-delivery package sent by EMS. Although the waybill clearly stated "right to open and inspect the package," the person delivering it explicitly refused to allow the box to be opened for inspection. The consumer had no choice but to sign for it reluctantly. A consumer in Hainan also encountered the requirement to sign before inspecting when buying a laptop online, and the courier was not even aware of the new national express standard.

However, according to reporters' understanding, because some small and medium-sized sellers on Taobao do not have strong bargaining power with express companies, their cooperation contracts also focus on "driving down prices," while services such as on-time delivery and inspection depend on the express company's mood.

Express Companies Still Focus Only on Price Wars

Yesterday, reporters also saw on the Taobao forum that sellers, on the one hand, were teaching each other how to "lower cooperation prices with express companies," and on the other hand, were complaining about express companies' delivery speed. Some industry insiders believe that the thousands of express companies in China are still waging fierce price wars, and it is hard for some express companies to avoid loopholes in implementation.

An industry insider said that for ordinary citizens, the new regulations are indeed a good thing, but for express companies facing fierce competition and meager profits, it is inevitable that implementation will be somewhat difficult: if the mailing process is operated entirely according to procedure, for example, if every sender's package is received by first inspecting the goods and then signing, then couriers' work efficiency will drop significantly, and delivery times will be delayed accordingly. If more couriers are added, express companies' operating costs will rise again, which will inevitably increase mailing prices, and consumers will have to bear the higher costs. This is a situation no one wants to see.

— This article is reposted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362072.html