Lack of regulatory authority to check the working of courier companies across the country has led to several serious complaints, including refusal to pay claims in case of loss or damage of a consignment. Courier companies are charging fees of their choice but are not taking responsibility in case of loss or damage of the products in shipment.
This was alleged by Waqas Ayub, an exporter who routinely uses courier companies to export his products. "There is no check on courier companies; they charge pretty much what they like," he said, adding that "there is dire need for a regulatory body to act as a check on these companies".
He said: "We have online business platform for different items in Rawalpindi and, for online shipment, we choose a courier company for our as well as customers' convenience. We shipped around four international shipments in three working days, out of which two were delivered, but items were misplaced in the rest of the two", Waqas said. Total eleven items were damaged or lost in these shipments, valued at $2619, he said, adding that the matter was raised with Zonal Manager of the courier company in October 2010, but the concerned official refused to pay the claim.
He said that during last six to seven months he tried all fora, including SECP, CCP and other organisations, but no one has taken any action on the grounds that courier companies do not come under their domain. For example, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Ministry of Port and Shipping, Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) and other regulatory bodies have shown ignorance as to who is responsible for courier companies.
He said that absence of monitoring of local courier companies by regulatory bodies has given a free hand to such companies to delay compensation in cases of theft or damage of consignments. In the absence of any check on these local courier companies, several months can pass before claims of compensation are entertained.
When contacted, Shahzad Anwar, Branch Manager of LCS courier company, Islamabad, told Business Recorder that all shipments/consignments are insured and when a shipment is lost or damaged, the company is responsible to pay the claim within a period of ten days.
He said that mostly all foreign shipments are either insured by the company or by the client himself. If the customer insures his shipment then he will directly get his claim from the insurance company and if the courier company insures a consignment then the company would pay the claim. Imtiaz Ahmed, Manager of a franchise of LCS in Blue Area, said, "If a customer claims that his shipment has not reached its destination or has been damaged, after appropriate verification we are bound to pay the claim within ten days".
Muhammad Riaz, Manager of Express Courier Service, located in Blue Area, said that all courier companies are bound to pay the claim in case of loss or damage of the consignment. When officials in Ministry of Pakistan Postal Services were contacted, they said that there is no check on courier companies. They said that courier companies are charging four times more than Pakistan Post and are not taking responsibility for damage or loss.
They said that Pakistan Post is earning billions for the national kitty per annum besides providing jobs to more than 47,000 people and handling Rs 4 to 5 billion cash daily. Government should declare Pakistan Postal Services as the regulatory body to bring the courier companies under purview of law, Pakistan Post officials added.