Lopsided courier consignment clauses

Guess how small the ‘Terms & Conditions’ printed on the reverse of a standard Courier Consignment Receipt are? I just analysed one on wordpad. It seems to be a font size of 6! That's far less than the font size of the text you are now reading. Most of us may need a magnifying glass to read the 'fine' print. It seems to be designed to ensure that the consignor cannot read it under normal circumstances.

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has consistently held that “A condition in small print would amount to a communication only when the attention of the consumer could be specifically drawn to it.” A routine reference to a clause will not suffice. In Sudhir Deshpande vs. Elbee Services Ltd, the commission observed that “the mention of limited liability is in very small print at the back of consignment note which is not necessarily read by the consignor before he entered into the transaction of despatch of the consignment and hence it cannot be said to be a part of negotiation between the two parties.”

So what do some of these courier agencies have to hide with such deliberately unreadable printing of conditions? It's a standard clause that limits their liability to a mere '1,000 for non-delivery, wrong delivery, damage or loss of a consignment. How unfair! If an applicant gets an interview call late and thus loses a job, can you cap his loss at '1,000? A template question at the time of booking is 'what's the declared value of the consignment?’  How does one value priceless research papers or documents or a college admission form? Strictly speaking, transit insurance cover is advisable if the declared value far exceeds the courier's stated liability.

The point is: how many consumers are aware or made aware of the lopsided limited liability? The only question asked is 'when will it reach?' or 'where is my Proof of Delivery challan'? In Skypak Couriers Pvt Ltd. vs. Consumer Education and Research Society, the National Commission upheld the observation of the state commission that “the objection of the Courier that liability of the opposite party was limited did not carry any weight as the printed memo containing the  above condition was neither signed by anybody, nor there was any evidence to show that the terms printed therein were shown to the consignor or the consignee or that the same were agreed upon by the consignor.”

Courier agencies have a few stock defences whenever a case of a consignment gone wrong ends up in a consumer forum. One is that it's outside the ambit of consumer law as consignments are governed by the Carriage Rules. The Supreme Court nailed this issue in Bharathi Knitting Co vs DHL Worldwide Express Courier Division of Airfreight Ltd. Interpreting the provisions of Sections 2(1)(g), 19 and 23 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, it  held that “it is true that the Act is a protective legislation to make available inexpensive and expeditious summary remedy.” Service providers would be liable to pay compensation if “there was a finding that they were  responsible for  deficiency in service”. The Maharashtra State Commission had, in Wartsila Diesel India Ltd. Vs Skypak Courier, put it succinctly: “so long as the goods are in the custody of the carrier, it is the duty of the carrier to take due care as he would have taken of his own goods and would be liable, if any loss or damage was caused to the goods on account of his own negligence or criminal act or that of agent and servants.''

In this day and age of double income families, a 'door locked' during regular business hours should actually be the norm rather than the exception. But many courier agencies don't seem to be in sync with reality and behave as if an addressee has committed an offence for not being at home to welcome their delivery boys with a red carpet and confetti. Some substandard agencies return the consignment to the sender without even intimating the intended recipient. Others follow some haphazard protocol.

They would do you a huge favour by leaving  a 'Door Locked' slip with a contact number that is functional usually only between 9 am and 5 pm, and invariably without mentioning the sender of the consignment. So an addressee on returning home from work will end up spending an anxious night, not knowing where the parcel is from. The
number on the slip would often be that of a nodal unit and not the local delivery point. So your best bet is to take a day off and wait for Santa's goodies, only to finally get some boring annual report of a company!

Away from private courier agencies, Speed Post is a more transparent option as you can track a consignment online. A downside is that the Acknowledgement Due Cards don't always reach you or if they do, come after an inordinate delay as they travel back by ordinary post. The 'speed' in the post is also questionable as I have found items travelling as slowly as ordinary snail mail. Speed Post may be the reliable tortoise but not the hare!

(Sanjay Pinto is a lawyer, columnist & author)