Complaints about the work of courier services: Is it the fault of the courier or someone else?

The average household in Serbia annually orders 102 packages via courier. Thus, postal operators performed more than 265 million postal services, according to the latest report of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Communications and Postal Services (Ratel) for the year 2024.

Although the number of shipments has decreased, courier services are getting richer because even with fewer packages, they increase their income, which in one year went up by an additional 11,5 percent. And that in a market that already experienced record expansion in previous years, especially during and in the period after coronavirus epidemic.

"The work of courier services should be objectively supported as a way of making life and everyday life easier for users, because in this way they can reach services significantly more easily," Petar Bogosavljević from the Belgrade Consumer Movement told Vreme. "Nevertheless, this is a relatively new activity and several factors need to be taken into account, so it is important that people are informed about the origin of responsibility for bad service."

They don't call, they ask you to come down in front of the building, they bring the wrong...

However, the new way of shopping has also opened up the need for consumers to protect themselves from unscrupulous sales - both from merchants who send goods, and from the courier services themselves. Thus, "Vreme" found only one out of a sample of ten readers who did not have a problem with couriers. Most complain about the communication of courier services before the delivery of the package.

"Many never call me before coming, to announce their arrival in a few hours or maybe a day before," says one Tanja. "Then they call at eight in the morning and if I don't answer, they don't send a message or information, they just check that I haven't picked up the package. Even if I call them two minutes later, because maybe I was sleeping or had a meeting, most of them have automatically set the phone not to receive calls. It turns out that it's easier for me to go to the store and buy something the old-fashioned way than to fight with them for days."

Some users complain that, as a rule, the couriers have already asked them to go outside the building to deliver the package, although then their service somewhat loses its logic.

"Once I was sick, so I ordered a package to be brought to me. If they ask me to go out, it's the same as if I went a little further to the store. Then what am I paying for?", one Ivan told "Vreme".

A quarter of download requests were not implemented

In accordance with the Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy for the Development of Postal Services in the Republic of Serbia for the period 2021-2025, Ratel, in the period from October to December 2024, conducted comparative measurement and analysis of the quality of postal services.

The idea was to give service users an insight into the quality of express services in the Republic of Serbia. They determined that the average time of transfer of express shipments in Serbia is 1,21 days, and the average time required to establish communication with the operator of the call center, when requesting to pick up the shipment at the address, is 1,25 minutes.

Also, 24,19 percent of the requests for collection of shipments were not realized, but Ratel determined that only 0,99 percent of the shipments were undelivered, on various grounds, most of which were returned to the senders.

By bike in the snow: Courier work - difficult and uncertain

wal_172619-courier-driver-4886839

Although many consumers complain specifically about the courier's work, this workplace does not have an enviable background. For numerous omissions, the Consumer Movement appeals, the companies that hire couriers should primarily be blamed, not the employees themselves, who often work in very bad circumstances.

The average net salary of couriers in Serbia ranges between 61.000 and 72.000 dinars, according to Infostud data. However, it is stated that the average salary, which represents a significantly more realistic insight into the situation, is only around 56.000 dinars, while more experienced delivery people can count on earnings of 79.000 dinars and above.

Their earnings depend significantly on the type of engagement. While classic couriers, employed in courier services with an official vehicle, have fixed incomes, numerous platform delivery people, who deliver food or services via the application, have variable earnings and depend on the number of deliveries. That's why many of them work overtime, on weekends, holidays, ride bicycles or motorcycles in extremely bad weather conditions.

Everyone in Serbia has at least once seen a courier who drives a motorbike - at least when it's raining or even snowing.

Many of the workers told the media that they have irregular contracts that prevent them from exercising their basic rights, such as adequate wages, sick leave or vacation pay, and the possibility of organizing a union.

This is not only a problem of Serbia, but of the whole world. That is why the EU adopted it Platform Work Directive, which also includes courier work, after several years of negotiations.

The aim of the Directive is to improve the working conditions of people working through digital work platforms (delivery, taxi transport, home services, online micro-enterprises), as it is estimated that millions of people in the EU may be misclassified as self-employed, even though they work in a relationship resembling an employment relationship. Member states have until December 2, 2026 to adapt it to the degulative national legislation and start applying its provisions.

How to protect yourself

Petar Bogosavljević from the Consumer Movement explains that in all new activities, especially in the first years of operation, problems occur, and that it is therefore very important that consumers are secured and know who to turn to.

"It is very important to analyze and determine the responsibility of the participants in the shipment transfer," says Bogosavljević. "This segment is fairly well regulated in Serbia according to the Law on Postal Shipments. There is a part in it that specifies the obligations of the one who receives the shipment, in order to determine who is damaged."

It is important to know that, in cases where the consumer has a direct relationship with the courier service, Ratel is responsible for resolving disputes out of court at no cost. Also, the market inspection is responsible when any of the violations from the Law on Consumer Protection have been committed, that is, the inspection for postal services when economic offenses and violations from the Law on Postal Services have been committed.

When the courier service is only there to deliver the shipment on the order of the merchant (legal entity, entrepreneur) who hired the service, the consumer has nothing to do with the courier service, but with the merchant who hired it to deliver the shipment. There, the consumer complains to the merchant himself and tells him that the goods were not delivered, or that the goods were lost somewhere in transport or that the delivered goods were damaged. The last instance is the court.

Real journalism costs money, and we will not be bought by tycoons and corporations. Support us with a one-time or monthly donation. The time for it is now!