Free home delivery or there will be a "time limit"
The "new national standard" of express delivery is open for public opinion, and extra charges may be charged for door-to-door delivery under certain circumstances
Xu Jing
Recently, the State Post Bureau released the national standard "Express Service" (draft for comments).
Yangzi Evening News/Ziniu News noticed that one of the biggest changes in the draft for comments is that the "delivery times" are clarified for the first time, and additional fees can be charged for "home delivery" under certain circumstances.
The deadline for comments and feedback on the draft for comments is December 6, 2022.
Yangtze Evening News/Ziniu News reporter Xu Jing
The draft for comments classifies and refines the delivery methods.
Delivery methods should mainly include door-to-door delivery, delivery to intelligent collection and delivery service terminals (box delivery), delivery to express service stations (station delivery) and other methods.
If the door-to-door delivery is changed to box delivery/station delivery, the user's consent should be obtained in advance; if there is no agreement and without the user's consent, it should not be delivered to the smart collection and delivery service terminal/express service station.
It is worth noting that the "delivery frequency" is clearly stipulated in the draft for comments: the express service entity should provide at least 2 free deliveries for door-to-door delivery, and the delivery should be carried out during the time period of 8:00-20:00.
There should be an interval of more than 8 hours between 2 free deliveries, unless otherwise agreed with the user.
For door-to-door delivery of express items that have not been delivered twice, the express service entity may agree with the recipient to adopt delayed delivery, box delivery, or station delivery; if the recipient still chooses door-to-door delivery, the express service entity may charge additional fees, but Recipients should be informed of the charges in advance.
If the recipient cannot be contacted, the express shipment can be processed according to the sender's request.
"Express delivery delay" is the hardest hit area for consumer complaints. How long is it overdue before it is considered a delay?
The draft for comments clarifies that the time limit for "complete delay" should be 3 days for intra-city express services; 7 days for intra-provincial and inter-provincial express, and 21 days for international express.
When the express shipment is lost, the express fee should be free (excluding additional fees such as insured value), and the insured express should be compensated according to the insured amount.
The pricing of courier fees will take another step towards marketization, and the "price war" may become history.
The consultation draft proposes cost zoning, requiring express delivery service entities to scientifically calculate costs based on factors such as product types and service distances, and to publish service time limits and service prices to users based on the county where the express mail is received and sent to the county where it is sent. And express delivery service should not be provided at a price below cost without justification.