Deutsche Post DHL Group, or simply DHL, has expanded a service that could save users significant time in the future. We are talking about taking parcels directly to the front door or – and this is new – at a previously defined storage location.
For quite some time, recipients of parcels have also been able to give a parcel to the deliverer and thus save themselves a trip to the DHL branch or parcel shop. The prerequisite for this is that the parcel carrier has sufficient free loading capacity in his vehicle. So it could well happen that he had to refuse to take it with him. This is where the new service from DHL comes in, which now allows users to book a package delivery free of charge.
Register your parcel with DHL free of charge
In order to be able to use the service, certain key data must be met. As DHL reports, the package can only be taken if the customer is expecting a package and the delivery person is going to the recipient anyway. In shipment tracking, there is a corresponding point for registering that you want to take it with you. With the registration, the DHL messengers receive a notification and can adjust to the service. You then take the new and sufficiently franked package or the returned item with you when you hand in the actual delivery. Here, too, there is enough space in the delivery van, which can be better planned for the deliverer if you register in advance.
Alternatively, DHL customers can also specify a storage location for the package to be taken if they cannot be present in person. According to DHL, this place should be protected from the weather and not visible. The company cites a terrace, garage, garden shed or carport on its own property as examples. With the new filing option, the sender no longer has to be present when the parcel is delivered and the parcel is handed over. According to DHL, recipients are already having up to 40 million parcels delivered to an agreed DHL storage location each month. The next logical step is that parcels to take away can also be deposited here in the future.
Also read: That’s why many DHL parcel carriers no longer ring the bell
Storage location should be chosen with care
However, users should choose the storage location carefully – be it for receiving or taking parcels away. If a delivery is left here with the permission of the recipient or sender and is lost, the question of liability is more complicated. Statements are often made against statements: the courier says he put the package down, but the recipient never received it. In these cases, the risk of loss usually lies with the recipient, since DHL cannot be held liable due to the previously issued storage permit. When asked by TECHBOOK, DHL spokesman Stefan Hess explained to us that stealing parcels is a criminal offense that can be prosecuted by the police and punished legally. At the same time, the company referred to the terms and conditions. In this case, they state in section 6, point 2:
DHL and its vicarious agents are not liable for the loss of or damage to shipments after they have been deposited at the deposit location as ordered or after they have been handed over to the neighbor as part of the receipt option in accordance with Section 4 Paragraph 7 or Section 4 Paragraph 8. The same applies to shipments that are lost or damaged before they are picked up by DHL from the storage location. The customer and any other recipients he may represent (e.g. family members or roommates in the same household) also indemnify DHL from claims by third parties, including the sender of the shipment in question.
This, in turn, only applies if no misconduct can be proven on the part of the parcel carrier, for example if he left the parcel at a different location than agreed. If this can be proven with a video recording or eyewitnesses, the situation is different. As DHL informed us, each reported case is checked individually and an attempt is made to find a solution for both parties.
The offer supplements the previous DHL package delivery service
The new offer complements the collection, which could previously be ordered from DHL. The difference to this, however, is that users have to pay money for this. DHL charges 3 euros for taking a package away from a delivery that is already taking place, since the package carriers go to the customer for this purpose. Only those who have four or more packages picked up will receive the offer free of charge. The order to take the parcel outside of a delivery is made online via the DHL website.
TECHBOOK means
“I find the extended parcel pickup very practical. This does not make the trip to the parcel station superfluous per se, but in many cases it can be saved. Above all, people for whom the nearest DHL or Packstation is further away benefit. Likewise for those who are not good on foot. The option of notifying the delivery person that you want to take your parcel with you in advance may only be a small adjustment to an existing service. But I’m hoping that the ability to plan will result in an even higher take-away rate, since the deliverer can adjust to the additional service. On the other hand, I am more skeptical about picking it up at a storage location. If this is not really secured, the risk of the package getting lost would be too great for me personally.” Rita Deutschbein, Editor-in-Chief