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Some courier work novices have been known to make one of the biggest mistakes in the book: failing to secure an appropriate proof of delivery receipt. Scenario Let’s consider an entirely hypothetical situation. You deliver five cartons to a client and later in the day you receive a question asking why you delivered only four. Unfortunately, you didn’t think to get a signature on your delivery ticket or you only have an unintelligible scribble. So, you pass on the message to your customer confirming you delivered five. Some days later, you receive a formal legal notification that you are being sued for the value of the missing carton at £1500 and that a complaint has been made to the police regarding potential theft. Sound incredible? Couldn’t happen in courier work? In fact, that sort of scenario can and does happen to the unwary driver who adopts a cavalier attitude towards the importance of proof of delivery receipts in courier work. Avoiding Trouble Such risks can be almost entirely avoided by adopting the practices below: • Always make sure that you keep a copy of what you signed for at the time you collected the goods. Make certain that what you sign for is clearly documented and of course, be absolutely certain that you saw what you are signing for actually got on to your vehicle. • Do not sign for things that you have no way of knowing are present. An example of that might be “…five cartons containing 250 watches”. Unless you are prepared to open all the cartons and count the watches - or are fortunate enough to be psychic - don’t sign for that type of wording. • If any of the cartons/objects you are collecting appear to be wet, stained, damaged or open, make sure that you sign clearly and boldly on the collection note that they are in such condition. Trying to explain subsequently, when the consignee objects, that goods were damaged when you collected them can be useless if the consignor has a clean signature from you. • At the point of delivery, make sure that you have a consignor document stating what is on the van and make sure that the consignee signs for it clearly and unambiguously. • If, for whatever reason, you have no consignor-issued document then you should keep a pad of delivery notes yourself and write one out for the consignee to sign. • Do not accept an illegible scrawl as a signature or printed initials only. Make the consignee sign for it and then print their name clearly in block capitals under the signature. Although it is now relatively unusual, some companies still have a hand-stamp with their name and address on it. If they do, insist they use it as well. • Do not, under any circumstances, accept vague promises that a delivery receipt will be sent you in the post later or that one will be sent electronically to you after you have departed. • If the consignee insists upon giving you a claused signature saying something like “boxes damaged”, then you should clearly write on the same receipt that you disagree if you actually do so. If you do not agree, say so clearly on the receipt and give the consignee a copy. If you can, take a photo as well. Get any of these things wrong in courier work and you may find yourself facing significant legal and financial liabilities. Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Courier Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day courier work in the express freight exchange industry. Over 4,000 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading jobs and capacity in a safe 'wholesale' environment.
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