Express insured price service is a guarantee service launched by express delivery companies, which not only allows consumers to buy with peace of mind, but also shares the transportation risks of express delivery companies. However, many readers reported on People's Daily Online's "People's Complaints" that the price was insured when sending express delivery, and disputes arose over compensation after the goods were damaged.
On July 22, Mr. Li mailed a 55-inch LCD TV via logistics from Heilongjiang to Shandong. In addition to paying the shipping fee, he spent an additional 12 yuan to purchase a fully insured service of 2,000 yuan. As a result, the screen was completely shattered after the express delivery, making it unusable.
"I immediately contacted the logistics customer service to initiate a claim. The actual value of the TV was 1,500 yuan and the express freight was 100 yuan, so I requested a compensation of 1,600 yuan. However, I negotiated with the logistics customer service many times to no avail. The other party used financial regulations and depreciation of items as an excuse to lower the compensation and only agreed to pay 1,000 yuan." Mr. Li believed that the express purchase was fully insured, and the damage to the goods during transportation was the responsibility of the carrier. The logistics refused to compensate in full, which violated his legitimate rights and interests.
Similarly, Mr. Song from Qingyuan City, Guangdong expressly transported a brand-new water heater from Hebei to Guangdong. When consigning it, he chose to fully insure the price, and the insured amount was 5,000 yuan. The water heater arrived severely damaged. "I submitted a complete set of materials such as a complete unpacking video, actual photos of the damage, and a receipt of the item's value, but the express delivery company only agreed to pay 1,500 yuan in compensation." Mr. Song said.
Is the insured value equal to the compensation amount? According to the "Interim Regulations on Express Delivery", if an express delivery is delayed, lost, damaged or has insufficient contents, the liability for compensation for insured express delivery shall be determined in accordance with the insurance rules agreed between the express delivery business enterprise and the sender. Therefore, when an insured express package is damaged or lost, compensation should be made in accordance with the insurance rules agreed between the sender and the express company. This is not the "compensate for the amount insured" as consumers understand it.
"In other words, the transportation damage of insured goods needs to be comprehensively determined based on factors such as the actual value of the goods, the degree of damage, and the residual value. It is undeniable that this brings discretionary space to express delivery companies in the amount of compensation, and is also the reason for some disputes." said Pang Jun, a professor at the School of Management of Sun Yat-sen University.
The reporter checked the information and found that at present, the insurance services launched by express delivery companies are divided into full insurance and insufficient insurance. The former means that the insured amount is greater than or equal to the actual value of the goods. The compensation rules are based on the actual loss amount, and the maximum does not exceed the insured amount. The insured value of the latter is less than the actual value of the goods, and the compensation rule is proportional compensation. The actual compensation is usually lower than the insured value.
In this regard, a large express delivery company gave an example: Ms. Zhang sent a brand new mobile phone, the official website price is 4,000 yuan. Assume that the screen is damaged during the postal delivery process. In the case of full insurance, the official repair price is 2,000 yuan. The claim settlement plan is 2,000 yuan repair fee plus 15% depreciation fee of 600 yuan, that is, the total compensation is 2,600 yuan. In the case of insufficient insurance, only 2,000 yuan in repair fees will be paid.
In practice, proving damages is the focus of disputes between consumers and express delivery companies. "In the compensation rules of express delivery companies, maintenance fees and depreciation fees are set by the express delivery companies themselves, and consumers may not necessarily agree with them. At the same time, some goods may be repairable in the opinion of the express delivery company after being transported, but they have no use value in the eyes of consumers." Pang Jun said that in recent years, such disputes have become common, exposing problems such as the complicated and difficult to understand the price guarantee rules, the difficulty of proving the damage, and the unclear compensation standards.
"Express delivery companies also have difficulties." An industry insider said, "The current premiums for insured services are generally relatively low, such as 1 yuan for 500 yuan or even 1,000 yuan. If each one is compensated according to the insured price, express delivery companies cannot afford it. But they cannot increase the premium too much. For example, 200 yuan for 500 yuan, consumers will definitely not accept it." "This determines that even in the case of full insurance, as long as there is no overall loss, we will try to pay according to the loss proportion rather than the full compensation." He said.
In addition, he also revealed that express delivery companies are indeed lacking in explanations to consumers: "Generally, couriers come to collect express delivery and will not explain to consumers the relevant rules of the insured price and final compensation."
Experts suggest that relevant departments should refine and clarify the loss assessment mechanism and evidence of loss assessment in the express delivery industry. For example, for damaged goods, express delivery companies cannot be allowed to "convert according to the proportion of the damaged part" according to complex and opaque calculation formulas, but should fully consider consumers' demands for "compensation according to the declared value." At the same time, unified standards should also be implemented to protect consumers’ “difficulty in proving” issues.
In June this year, the China Express Delivery Association released the group standard for "Express Mail Insured Service". Although this standard is not legally enforceable, by unifying service standards, it breaks the previous situation of express delivery companies acting as both athletes and referees in claims settlement, and helps reduce disputes between express delivery companies and consumers.
Experts remind consumers to carefully read the price guarantee clauses, especially the format clauses marked in special fonts such as red and bold, when sending mails to avoid infringement of their rights and interests. At the same time, express delivery companies should strengthen the training of employees and strictly implement the reminder and explanation obligations of inspection systems, service terms and price guarantee rules during the process of receiving and sending express delivery, so as to reduce consumer disputes caused by misunderstandings.
Our reporter Zhao Bing
