A Hyderabad consumer commission has found three international courier companies guilty of deficiency in service and held them jointly liable after an international parcel containing homemade food items and household goods sent to Canada was allegedly damaged during transit and discarded instead of being delivered to the consignee or returned to the sender.Rejecting the courier companies’ defence that the parcel exceeded the permissible weight, the commission directed them to refund proportionate courier charges of Rs 24,000, pay Rs 6,708 (equivalent to 100 Canadian Dollars) towards the value of the damaged parcel, besides Rs 35,000 as compensation.President Ram Gopal Reddy, along with members J Shyamala and D Madhavi Latha, was hearing a complaint filed by a man who booked two parcels containing homemade food items, pickles, spices, dry fruits and other household articles for delivery to his employer’s son in Canada. While one parcel reached its destination, the other was allegedly damaged during transit and discarded by the courier companies.“The complainant, though only a driver acting on behalf of his employer, had personally undertaken the responsibility of booking the consignment and became answerable to his employer when one parcel was lost…apart from the contractual liability, the complainant is entitled to reasonable compensation for the inconvenience, harassment and mental agony suffered on account of the deficiency in service,” the July 6 order read.Parcel damaged during transitThe commission was hearing the complaint of a 45-year-old man, who claimed that he booked two parcels on behalf of his employer, who wanted to send homemade food items, pickles, spices, dry fruits and other household articles to his son residing in Canada. He booked two boxes weighing 15 kg and 31 kg, with a total weight of 46 kg, through the international courier company on July 31, 2022.It was claimed that the courier company accepted the consignment for international carriage after collecting courier charges of Rs 36,800 at the rate of Rs 800 per kg. Later, one parcel weighing 15 kg was delivered to his employer’s son in Canada, who paid CAD 70.14 (approximately Rs 4,333) on August 5, 2022.Also Read | ‘No lift impacts’ house owner’s rental income, company to pay him Rs 3.35 lakhThe courier company allegedly informed him that the second parcel weighing 31 kg would be delivered shortly and was expected to reach by August 10, 2022. However, it was never delivered. Instead, the online tracking status showed: “The package has been damaged. All merchandise has been discarded, and the sender will be notified.”Story continues below this adThe man claimed that later the courier company informed him that the food items had been damaged during transit, refused to refund the courier charges or compensate him for the damaged parcel, and thereafter stopped responding.Aggrieved, he moved the commission seeking refund and compensation. The complainant was represented by advocate Praveen Puram.‘Excess weight no excuse for non-delivery’The commission found that the companies had accepted the consignment for international carriage and collected the courier charges. It held that the courier companies’ contention that the parcel was not delivered because it weighed more than 30 kg could not be accepted, observing that if excess weight had actually been the reason, the objection ought to have been raised at the time of accepting the consignment itself.Noting that the courier companies’ own records showed that the parcel was damaged during transit, discarded without being delivered to the consignee, and not returned to the sender, the commission held that this amounted to deficiency in service and caused unnecessary hardship to the complainant.Story continues below this adAccordingly, the commission held the three courier companies jointly and severally liable to refund Rs 24,000 towards proportionate courier charges and pay Rs 6,708, being the equivalent of 100 Canadian Dollars, towards the value of the damaged parcel under the applicable minimum liability policy.The commission further directed the companies to pay Rs 25,000 as compensation for deficiency in service and inconvenience, along with Rs 10,000 towards litigation costs.Courier companies’ defencesThe first courier company, represented by advocate Shakir Hussain, admitted that the consignment was dispatched to Canada in time but argued that its responsibility was confined only to booking the consignment, whereas its delivery was the responsibility of another courier company in the logistics chain.It further submitted that the second parcel actually weighed more than 30 kg, contrary to the complainant’s declaration at the time of booking. It argued that, under the terms and conditions of the receipt, each package was required to weigh less than 30 kg, and therefore the parcel could not be delivered due to its excess weight.The third courier company, also represented by advocate Hussain, argued that the complainant was not the actual consumer, had not directly availed any service from it, had paid no consideration to it, and had not produced any authorisation from his employer. Therefore, it contended that he had no locus standi to maintain the complaint.Story continues below this adIt further submitted that neither the complainant nor his employer had raised any grievance with it before the consumer complaint was filed.