Consumer rights council rebukes UPS

United Parcel Service (UPS) refused to come up with a proper plan to compensate a customer whose parcel was sent to the wrong address and then turned down the local consumer advocate's request to attend a mediation meeting, the advocate said in a press release Tuesday.

The case was one of a series of consumer rights cases that the Shanghai Consumer Council released in the run-up to World Consumer Rights Day on Saturday.

The consumer in this case, a woman surnamed Gong, sent the parcel, which contained important documents to help a relative renew a visa, to the UK on October 8. UPS charged her 350 yuan ($56.95) for the delivery.

The parcel was supposed to reach the destination in three days. The family member needed the documents by October 13 to renew her visa on time and be smoothly admitted into her school.

Gong checked the parcel's delivery status online and found that someone had signed for it on October 10. However, the family member never received it.

Gong requested that UPS find the parcel as soon as possible, but failed to solve the problem, forcing her to send a second parcel with the documents.

UPS did not reply to Gong until the company found the parcel more than 10 days later on October 22. The parcel had been sent to the wrong address.

UPS provided Gong with three solutions to the problem. It offered to deliver the package to the right destination, return the parcel to Gong at double the original fee, or to sign to an agreement to have the parcel destroyed.

Unsatisfied with her options, Gong filed a complaint with the consumer council. However, UPS turned down the council's request to attend a meeting with Gong and the council to come up with a proper compensation plan. Instead, it unilaterally transferred 1,000 yuan to Gong's bank account.

The council said UPS hurt its credibility by delaying Gong's compensation and refusing to talk to her. The authorities called on international companies to respect Chinese law and the rights of Chinese consumers.

UPS did not reply to an interview request by Wednesday evening.

The local market watchdog received about 3,800 complaints last year about courier services, according to the Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce.