Boredworkers.com

A friend of mine used to send packages and letters back home. Whenever she did that, she would opt for registered mail or a courier service, claiming that it’s guaranteed to reach the destination. I’ve kept that in mind and believed it for the longest time. Until a recent incident with City-Link caused me to reevaluate my expectations.

I recently redeemed some items from the Bonuslink loyalty programme. Bonuslink employs City-Link to handle its deliveries. Previous instances of the courier have gone smoothly. However, this time around, City-Link decided to deliver my goods to a different address.

The unexpected recipient was nice enough to give me a call, telling me that my package had been dropped off at his house, two streets away from mine, and asking me to collect it. Had he decided to be mean, he could have just as easily kept it for himself. When I drove by to collect the package, I found that there was no signature on the package to confirm the delivery. Since it was a relatively small package, the delivery guy had simply slipped it into the mailbox.

This just goes to show that packages and registered mail isn’t all it’s made out to be. Despite all the claims that a company may make, the weakest link is the human factor. Anywhere along the flow of delivery, from the acceptance of the package until its arrival in the recipient’s hands, there’s a risk of something going wrong. As they say, proof of postage is not proof of receipt.

Checking the City-Link’s policy on their courier service, I found that they indemnify themselves from any loss that may arise from failed delivery. Their liability is limited to the lowest of the following values:

1. RM 200.00
2. The amount of loss or damage to a document or parcel actually sustained
3. The Actual Value of the document or parcel as determined under another subpart of their standard shipping order, without regard to its commercial utility or special value to the shipper

However, this liability only holds true if a claim is made within 30 days from the date when City-Link accepted the shipment. In my case, I had redeemed my points from Bonuslink and they had in turned contracted City-Link to make the rounds. I don’t know when the package was accepted by City-Link, and if the nice guy hadn’t called, I sure as heck wouldn’t know when it had arrived. It could have gone way pass the deadline for claims before I realised that a delivery was late or missing. Furthermore, Bonuslink only allows three days from the receipt date for the recipient to make any claims regarding the condition of the delivery. Needless to say, by the time the gift actually reached my hands, it was long pass any of the time limits set for complaints or disputes.

Basically, through a series of disclaimers and incidents, both City-Link and Bonuslink have effectively pushed the liability to the consumer. Personally, I feel this is bad practice and have given them my two sen on the matter. Whether or not it falls on deaf ears is left to them to decide.

Similar policies are probably widely adopted by a majority of companies, in particular those that employ third party courier services to deliver their goods. In such cases, the consumer should be extra careful, making the effort to follow up on a courier instead of taking for granted that delivery is guaranteed. Otherwise, you may just wind up with the short end of the stick.

Fortunately, this lesson came at no cost to me. I received my goods in the end. And even if I didn’t the value was small enough to be negligible. I’m just glad that it didn’t happen on a larger consignment or something with a higher risk. I’ll be sure to think twice and double check before fully relying on a delivery service. How about you? Have you had a bad experience with courier service, registered mail, or similar services? Tell us about it and let us know how you handled the situation.