Due to the wrong waybill filling, the shipment was lost and the claim was 16,000 yuan, and the actual compensation was 91 yuan——
Express delivery price insured urgently needs to improve the compensation rules
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The legal profession believes that the root cause of the frequent occurrence of disputes over the insured value of express delivery is that the express companies involved often apply their own claims standards. After the loss of the goods, they lack a scientific and reasonable evaluation mechanism, and ultimately cannot reach an agreement on the amount of insured value with consumers.
After the delivery of the courier was lost, the negotiation with the courier company failed. Recently, a law firm sued the courier company to the court, demanding compensation of 16,000 yuan based on the value of the delivered item.
After the court heard, because it did not choose to insure, in accordance with the payment rules stipulated in the "Electronic Waybill Contract Clause", the express company was judged to compensate the law firm for 7 times the freight of 91 yuan, and the plaintiff's claim was rejected.
According to data from the State Post Bureau, in the first half of 2021, the express business volume was 49.39 billion pieces, and the per capita use of express mail was 35 pieces. In daily life, it is more and more common to order and deliver items through the Internet. At the same time, express delivery is lost and damaged. There have also been many disputes.
The reporter's investigation found that even if the "insurance service" was added with a guarantee, the problems such as failure to obtain corresponding compensation as agreed on insured value, increase or decrease of insured money by couriers privately, and prevarication have become the hardest-hit areas for consumers' express disputes.
How much can I pay for lost courier?
In November 2019, a law firm placed an order through the client of a courier company and mailed 40 special value-added tax invoices issued by it to the client unit with a total face value of 400,000 yuan.
After the mail was lost, the express company's customer service offered an opinion of 1,000 yuan in compensation, but the law firm said that the tax department fined it 16,000 yuan, and the express company's fault caused the loss of the mail, so it should compensate for the economic loss of 16,000 yuan.
The courier company believes that the consignment filled in the waybill is a document rather than an invoice. According to the insured rules agreed by both parties, the uninsured should be compensated at 7 times the freight.
The court found that the sender did not choose to insure the items it sent, and the existing evidence could not prove that the items it sent were the 40 special value-added tax invoices that it reported missing.
According to the "Interim Regulations on Express Delivery", if express delivery is delayed, lost, damaged or lack of internal parts, for insured express mail, the liability for compensation shall be determined in accordance with the insured rules agreed by the express delivery company and the sender; for uninsured express mail, the civil The relevant provisions of the law determine the liability for compensation.
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In this regard, Judge Huang Yang of the Beijing Haidian Court suggested that from the perspective of reducing disputes and avoiding their own economic losses, the sender must make a clear statement in advance when sending valuables and try to insure the price.
It is understood that express delivery insured is a value-added service provided by the express delivery company to the user after the sender declares its true value to the delivery company and pays a certain percentage of the fee for the delivered item.
When an unexpected loss occurs to an express, the courier company will compensate the sender for the corresponding loss within the scope of the "declared value".
However, the reporter's investigation found that some consumers still don't know much about express delivery services.
In random interviews at the express site, many citizens said that they "do not know what express insured is" or "have never used express insured."
In this regard, some couriers said that some users do lack the awareness of price insuring, so he will actively ask the other party whether the mailed items are expensive and whether they need to be insured before sending the shipment.
Can the insured price be safe?
Wang Ning (pseudonym), who graduated last year, chose the insured service when he sent his graduation certificate. “It’s not that you really want to get as much compensation as you want, but it’s just a peace of mind.” In Wang Ning’s view, since the express mail is insured, it’s It should be safer and more careful during transportation.
However, some consumers said that even the insured valuables were not signed in person, but were sent to the courier point.
A courier told reporters that insuring the express does not mean that accidents will not happen. "The over-priced express may be more carefully packaged, but it is still placed with other express during the transportation process, and it may still be encountered. Accidental damage, etc."
The reporter searched on a rights protection platform with the keyword "express insured" and found that the total number of complaints from users was as high as 7,718, and the complaints involved many domestic express companies. The complaints mainly focused on the failure to comply with the insured agreement after the accidental loss of express delivery. Get the corresponding compensation, when the courier charges privately for the user to increase or decrease the insurance premium, customer service prevarication and other aspects.
"A box of 6 bottles of Feitian Moutai will be insured at the market price of 4,000 yuan a bottle at the time of delivery, but compensation can only be paid at the ex-factory price of 1,499 yuan a bottle. The problem is that 1,499 yuan is not available in the market." Consumers Mr. Zhang told reporters that he did not ask for any proof when insuring the price, but the courier company asked him to provide proof of value and check the authenticity of the wine when making a claim.
In addition, some consumers said that the courier insured the waybill at 10 yuan without authorization. After loss or damage, the courier refused to make full compensation on the grounds that the insured value was 10 yuan, and only compensated for 10 yuan. .
"Eight large boxes of luggage are either not insured. If you want to insure, no one will only insure the price of 10 yuan." The consumer said.
Zhao Liangshan, a senior partner of Shaanxi Hengda Law Firm, believes that the root cause of the frequent occurrence of express delivery insured disputes is that the express companies involved often apply their own claims standards and systems. After the goods are damaged, they lack a scientific and reasonable evaluation mechanism, and ultimately cannot resolve them. The insured amount reached an agreement with the consumer, resulting in disputes.
Without uniform rules, how to protect the rights of senders?
The reporter learned that different express companies have different insured charging standards, insurance caps, and compensation mechanisms, and there is no uniform standard in the industry.
Some items with a minimum price of 1 yuan can insure up to 500 yuan, and some individual shipments have an upper limit of 20,000 yuan and 30,000 yuan respectively.
There are also express companies that do not display the option of insured services when placing orders online. The customer service said that they need to contact the business outlet or the courier to discuss with them.
The reporter called one of the outlets, and the other party said, "Insured services are not provided, and valuables such as electronic products are not sent. It is recommended to contact other companies."
The courier Zhang Wei (pseudonym) told reporters that if he or she places an order to send wine and asks for insuring the price, he would refuse to accept the package. “In the event of a loss, the courier needs to compensate by himself.”
The compensation ratio set by each express delivery company is based on the rules for postal price insured in the "Postal Law".
Song Jia, a lawyer at Beijing Huajia Law Firm, said that express delivery service and postal service seem to be the same, but they are different in terms of main business, business nature, and service scope. Therefore, the "Postal Law" does not provide for compensation for mail damages. Applicable to the express service industry.
Many consumers believe that the amount of insured value is equal to the amount of compensation that consumers can get, and express companies say that these are all written in the relevant regulations.
The reporter logged onto the "shipping" business pages of many express companies and found that many express companies have service agreements such as express delivery contract terms and electronic waybill contract terms. If you do not check agree, you cannot place an order for payment.
Attorney Song Jia pointed out that insuring is not insurance, but a restrictive clause. Express service companies provide two different standards for insuring and non-insurance and fulfilling the obligation of prompting and explaining.
If the courier service company violates the obligation to prompt and explain in the format contract, even if the consumer finally signs the express service waybill, it does not mean that the two parties have reached an agreement. Naturally, the limit compensation clause cannot be applied in the event of damage to the delivered item.
Therefore, the restrictive liability clauses provided by the format contract will be effective only when the express delivery service company has fulfilled the most basic format contract reminder and clarification obligations.
In this regard, Lawyer Song Jia suggested that relevant legal departments should promulgate more detailed laws and regulations, such as specific regulations on compensation standards, claimants, and burden of proof.
When formulating or modifying the agreement, the express delivery company should pay attention to reasonably and fairly determine the rights and obligations of the parties, and at the same time improve consumer remedies and compensation mechanisms to ensure that consumers can reflect their opinions and demands through effective channels, and reduce the difficulties and difficulties of consumer rights protection. Unnecessary complaints.
Our reporter Tang Shu, our newspaper intern Yu Jiaxin