Real phone turned into fake model; courier compensates for failure to fulfill duty.

Compiled from: Changqing Court, Shandong High Court
 
As a professional courier operator, the courier company should inspect the goods upon collection and prove that it has fulfilled its duty of proper custody in all logistics stages such as sorting, transportation, and delivery after collection; otherwise, it shall bear compensation liability for loss, substitution, or cross-shipment of the goods.

 
 

Case review
Xiao Zhang runs a store in the university town of Changqing District, Jinan City, that recycles, repairs, and retails second-hand digital products such as phones and computers. One day in May 2022, a buyer purchased two Apple phones online, priced at 4,850 yuan and 6,099 yuan respectively, with payment agreed upon delivery. After receiving the orders, Xiao Zhang mailed the phones via a courier company one day apart and entrusted the courier company to collect the payment on his behalf.
 
However, when the two packages arrived, the buyer opened them for inspection and found that they contained dummy phones instead of real ones, so the buyer refused to accept them. Upon learning this, Xiao Zhang suspected the courier company had swapped the packages, thus refusing the returned items and repeatedly contacting the courier company's customer service for compensation. The courier company denied the swap and refused to compensate the full value of the goods, offering at most 1,500 yuan. Unable to reach an agreement, Xiao Zhang sued the courier company in court.
 
 
[1] Court Opinion
This case involves a transportation contract dispute, with the subject matter being phones of high economic value. The defendant also accepted the plaintiff's entrustment to collect payment. Therefore, as a professional courier operator, the courier company should first inspect the goods upon collection to confirm consistency with the shipper's description, check for damage or defects. Failing to fulfill this inspection duty, it must bear corresponding legal consequences. Secondly, as a professional courier operator, the courier company should provide evidence that it fulfilled its duty of proper custody during all logistics stages, including sorting, transportation, and delivery. According to Article 832 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, the carrier bears liability for compensation for damage to or loss of goods during transport.
 
In this case, the courier company failed to provide evidence of fulfilling its duty of proper custody, so it must bear compensation liability for the swap of the subject goods. The court ultimately ruled that the courier company compensate Xiao Zhang for the goods loss of 10,949 yuan and the courier fee of 23 yuan.
 
 
Civil Code of the People's Republic of China
Article 832
The carrier shall bear liability for compensation for the damage or loss of goods during transportation. However, if the carrier proves that the damage or loss of goods is caused by force majeure, the natural nature of the goods themselves or reasonable wear and tear, or the fault of the consignor or consignee, the carrier shall not bear liability for compensation.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
For couriers, when collecting parcels at the door, they must pay attention to fulfilling the inspection obligation, especially for valuable items. They should take photos or videos to retain evidence, proving whether the goods were intact at the time of collection and consistent with the sender's description, to avoid situations like this case where evidence cannot be provided.
 
For courier companies, they should ensure that they have fulfilled the duty of proper custody at every logistics link and be able to provide evidence. Additionally, they must train their employees properly; otherwise, they may be liable for compensation due to non-standard operations by employees.
 
Finally, for the sender, it is essential to keep evidence to avoid being unable to prove the value of the goods in the event of a dispute. If it is a valuable item, it must be clearly stated, and it is best to use services such as insurance provided by the courier company to minimize losses.