A SingPost customer was left perplexed by the postal company's rules on compensation for missing parcels.

Fatah Kent shared his experience on Facebook on May 27.

According to him, he bought an item from Australia that cost AUD$1,551.57 (S$1,479.11) on April 10.

Parcel successfully shipped to Singapore

The parcel was shipped on April 30 -- so far so good.

Then, according to Fatah, it arrived in Singapore on May 2, at 6:38am.

But when he checked SingPost tracking service on the same day at 12:04pm, the status of his parcel read: "Unsuccessful delivery. Identification document not ready."

Fatah contacted SingPost through their live chat, and was informed that there was a "mishap" on their end and that "no attempted delivery" was made.

A copy of the parcel's tracking status from SingPost can be seen below:

Waiting for update

SingPost said he would get an update after three days.

Three days passed and there was no update.

Fatah called SingPost and was told to wait another two days.

After four days, Fatah called SingPost again. He was apparently told to contact the seller and ask for compensation.

According to Fatah, a SingPost representative told him that the item was lost at their processing facility.

When he asked for full compensation, he was told that SingPost was unable to do that, and that their standard procedure was to compensate the seller of the item instead.

Fatah pointed out:

"Mind you, the seller has received the money and it makes absolutely no sense for Singapore Post to give him more money and leave me empty-handed."

Waited for more updates

He was told to wait until the end of the day for a call from a SingPost manager to resolve the situation.

He would wait in vain.

Next up was a call from the supervisor of SingPost's social media team to repeat information he already knew, which was that the parcel was lost.

He had to wait another day for another SingPost manager to contact him, with less-than-satisfactory results:

"The conversation was exactly the same as the day before and I’m growing more impatient. He tells me that an investigation is ongoing and he would call me again once there was an update."

Compensation capped at S$150

SingPost eventually did get back to Fatah on May 27, and let him know that they would make a "one-time exception".

But instead of giving him a full reimbursement of the value of the parcel, SingPost said that a maximum of S$150 would be given.

The total cost of the parcel was almost S$1,500.

Fatah pointed out that the parcel was delivered from Australia to Singapore without an issue, and although it was lost by SingPost, he was offered compensation of only around 10 percent of the parcel's value.

Fatah said:

"This is daylight robbery and I am utterly disappointed. I’m currently trying to escalate the situation to get my full reimbursement and shed some light on how horrible Singapore Post is.

For a delivery Service, they are extremely incompetent. I know many people who constantly complain of them losing their parcel. This has to stop."

You can see Fatah's Facebook post below:

Mothership contacted SingPost for comment.

(Update: 7:15 pm) A SingPost spokesperson said they were in touch with Fatah.

According to SingPost, the package had a "seller-declared value" of AUD$300 (S$286.10), not around S$1,500.

Also, Fatah apparently did not take up additional insurance. Said SingPost:

"Under the Universal Postal Union (UPU) regulations, the maximum compensation for items sent or received by Speedpost or Express Mail Service is S$150 or the declared value of the item, whichever is lower, to the originating postal organisation."

SingPost is continuing their investigation into the missing item, and have provided Fatah with advice on how to seek compensation from the seller and service provider in Australia.

SingPost added that the value of goods brought in from overseas should be "accurately declared", and that sending parties who misrepresent or make a false declaration of the value of the goods could face penalties.

(Update: 10:00 pm) Speaking to Mothership, Fatah said that AUD$300 was the price of just one item. Since he ordered two items, and adding the service charge and booking fee, he arrived at the total of AUD$1,551.57 for the entire delivery.

He added that he had an invoice for the purchase, and had submitted this to SingPost as well.

Top image from Fatah Kent and Singapore Post's Facebook page.

 

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