The problem of overtime charging for express cabinets to be solved

  Recently, the controversy over the overtime charging of Fengchao continues to ferment. From Hangzhou to Shanghai and Beijing, the owners of multiple communities have come out to expressly oppose the charges of express cabinets, and Fengchao also gave a "counterattack", saying that the unilateral power outage of Hangzhou Dongxinyuan Community Committee constituted a breach of contract and insisted on its charges Decide. According to Fengchao's charging rules, non-member users who have stayed for more than 12 hours will be charged. After the timeout, they will be charged 0.5 yuan for every 12 hours and capped at 3 yuan. Intriguingly, why does this seemingly low charging price provoke anger? Why do couriers often send express to courier cabinets without the recipient's consent? Behind the dispute, the problem of express delivery "the last 100 meters" still needs to be resolved.

The community resists the expansion of the toll collection camp

  After the "May 1" small holiday, the Fengchao express cabinet officially launched the overtime charging system, but the online opposition has gradually increased, and now it has almost evolved into a "confrontation" between consumers and the Fengchao express cabinet.

  In response to Hangzhou Dongxinyuan Community ’s first suspension of the use of Fengchao Express Cabinet, Fengchao issued the “Dongxinyuan Industry Committee Event Statement” on May 9 that Fengchao paid the site fee in accordance with the agreement to provide services to Dongxinyuan Community owners. The agreement does not contain restrictions on Fengchao's business model and prices. The unilateral power outage of Dongxin Park Industry Committee has constituted a breach of contract, causing huge economic and goodwill losses to the company. "Our company reserves the right to recover the contract broken by Dongxin Park Industry Committee, and at the same time will recover the economic and goodwill losses according to the contract."

  Although Fengchao gave a "counterattack", the community team that suspended the use of Fengchao express cabinets was growing.

  According to incomplete statistics, more than 70 residential communities in Shanghai have voiced their voices, resisting overtime charges for Fengchao express cabinets. Some communities in Beijing also require Fengchao express cabinets to be withdrawn. Beijing Jinyu Feili Community has opened a temporary storage area for owners who do not agree to use express cabinets to store parcels.

  Shanghai Central Huayuan, the first community in Shanghai that has deactivated Fengchao express cabinets, recently issued a statement questioning Fengchao ’s so-called “high entry fee”. The average daily site rent plus electricity fee for each express cabinet in the community is more than ten yuan. Fengchao will charge the courier for use. The three grids of large, medium and small are charged 0.45 yuan, 0.4 yuan and 0.35 yuan per order. According to the turnover rate of each grid only once a day, and a single express cabinet 80 grids, the average daily income of a single cabinet exceeds 30 yuan. "If you think of a machine as a store, the current preliminary estimates are completely self-sufficient and a virtuous circle." The community business committee said in an open letter.

Some consumers call for extension of free storage period

  Why does Fengchao's seemingly low charging standards cause controversy?

  Judging from the comments of netizens, in addition to the fact that some consumers do not recognize the "secondary charge" of express delivery, many consumers are also concerned about the difficulties caused by express cabinet charges. In the current state of express delivery services, consumer packages are often placed in express cabinets without permission, which makes it easy to passively pay overtime fees. In addition, in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, many commuters have to commute two hours a day, and overtime is also more common. Therefore, many consumers believe that the 12-hour free storage period is too short and should be Extended to 24 hours.

  "Every day I go out early in the morning and return to my hometown to get a courier, and I have to pay 5 cents more. It's really not a taste in my heart." Ms. Zhao, who lives in Tiantongyuan and works in Wangfujing, said the office worker was not at home during the day, and the parcel was delivered The cabinet is the best choice, but the overtime fee is obviously unreasonable to be borne by consumers.

  It is worth noting that the country has introduced management measures for express cabinets, but there are no clear details about the charging standards. According to the “Administrative Measures for the Delivery of Smart Express Boxes” formally implemented in October 2019, enterprises using smart express boxes to deliver express items using smart express boxes should obtain the consent of the recipient; smart express box operating companies should set a reasonable period for express storage, The recipient shall not be charged within the storage period.

  "The management method stipulates that no charge is allowed during the storage period, and the part beyond the storage period has not yet been clarified. It is determined by the market." Yang Daqing, a special researcher of the China Logistics Society, analyzed how long the storage period is set and how to charge after the storage period. It is necessary for the market and enterprises to run in to find a feasible plan.

Fengchao denies mandatory charges to users

  At present, consumers' biggest dissatisfaction with Fengchao is to take advantage of the market's monopolistic position to force charges. In response to this, Fengchao denied yesterday that there were four options when the express cabinet paid overtime fees, namely pay-per-view, monthly membership card, seasonal membership card and I think about it again. The user can refuse to pay after clicking "I think again". According to reports, if the owner does not want to pay, he can click "I think about it again". After refusing to charge for two consecutive times, the parcel will no longer be sent to the Fengchao express cabinet.

  The stalemate between some communities and the Fengchao express cabinet also triggered a series of chain reactions. Recently, due to the suspension of delivery of courier cabinets, some couriers in the Hangzhou Dongxinyuan community have to extend the delivery time, and the collection points near the community have also begun to burst.

  The reporter noticed that on April 17, the General Office of the Ministry of Commerce and the State Post Bureau issued the "Notice on Further Promoting the Collaborative Development of E-Commerce and Express Logistics", which clarified the public attributes of smart express boxes and integrated service sites for express terminals. In Beijing, the smart express cabinet has also been included in the subsidy project for the life service industry.

  Express expert Xu Yong said that today, express delivery has long been popularized, and the express cabinet is similar to the former post office box. It has a public service function and should be included in the scope of property management and become a supporting facility in the community. At present, the express cabinet enterprises have insufficient self-blood-making capacity, and long-term losses are unsustainable. Consumers also hope to enjoy better services. How to balance commercial interests and public interests requires the government and enterprises to explore together.

  Our reporter Ma Jing