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The weight of the parcel does not match. What to do if your weight has changed? Real example, fake status

This article will be relevant not only to Aliexpress buyers, but also to everyone else who, while waiting for a parcel, suddenly discovered that the weight of the parcel for some reason has increased along the way. On the one hand, the difference in the weight of the parcel in the direction of increase is better, because a plus is not a minus. But in fact, there are also possible pitfalls here. Since a change in the weight of the parcel may also indicate that it has been opened. Now we will look in detail at all possible options when the weight of a parcel suddenly becomes greater than when sent.

Reasons for increasing parcel weight.

The difference in parcel weight may be affected by:

  • - error when weighing at a sorting point, warehouse, customs, post office
  • - the parcel may become damp, then there will be a slight increase in weight. Or, conversely, dry out and then the weight will decrease slightly
  • - after customs inspection, the parcel was packed in a bag with a seal, which adds 150-200 grams of weight.
  • - typos by operators entering data on the weight of the parcel
  • - replacement of goods: the parcel was opened on the way, the attachment was stolen, something was put in return
  • - if your parcel comes from a country where weight is indicated in pounds, then Russian-speaking employees may make a mathematical error when converting pounds into kilograms and grams.

The package weighs more. Should I worry?

In most cases there is no reason to worry. Buyers worry all the way about what happened to their parcel, was it stolen? But they arrive at the post office and it turns out that the package is exactly the same as when it was sent. Moreover, the weight in the tracking number may exceed the actual weight by several kilograms. This is because a mistake was made.

Well, packing parcels in a bag also spoiled many nerves. Moreover, they can pack not only large and heavy parcels, but also small-sized items, where a weight gain of 150-200 grams seems significant.

It is worth noting that when the weight of a parcel increases, the likelihood that something is wrong with it is orders of magnitude less than if the weight were decreased.

According to customer reviews, in approximately 80% of cases with increased parcel weight, there are trivial errors, inaccuracies, etc. That is, everything turned out to be in perfect order with the parcel. and in about 20% of cases the contents were stolen. Moreover, this mainly happened when the parcel contained phones, tablets and other equipment.

Often, items whose contents have been stolen arrive at the post office with an enclosed certificate of difference in weight.

How to receive a parcel with a difference in weight?

If you see in tracking that the parcel has begun to weigh more or less than when sent, then you need to receive it very competently.

  1. We fill out the information in the notice, but do not sign.
  2. Please show the package packaging and weigh it.
  3. If everything is fine with the packaging, the weight corresponds to the declared one, then you can pick up the parcel. Be sure to film the unpacking. You never know.
  4. If the weight still differs, or there are signs of opening on the package, or there is a report on the weight spill, then do not sign the notice! It is necessary to open the parcel at the post office in the presence of a postal worker, followed by drawing up an opening report f.51

If a difference in weight is recorded, then you need to know that postal workers MUST offer you to open the parcel in front of them. And only if you refuse to release the shipment.

Here's what the Russian Postal Rules say about this:

If a postal item is defective (damage to the shell or missing mass) at the time of delivery to the addressee, the postal service employee is obliged to offer the recipient to open the defective postal item.

If the recipient refuses to open the defective postal item and agrees to receive it, the postal service employee issues the item, and the recipient is notified by f. 22 or the accompanying form for the parcel puts the mark: “I have no claims” indicating the date and signature.

If the recipient agrees to the opening, then the postal item is opened and, based on the results, an opening report f.51-v is drawn up, which, in addition to the employees of the post office, is signed by the addressee.

A copy of the act f.51-v is issued to the addressee along with the attachment, while the envelope of the postal item remains in the post office for a departmental inspection to establish the reasons for the shortage of weight, replacement or damage to the attachment.

If everything is fine with the contents of the parcel, then you can safely sign the notice. If the contents were stolen and a substitution was made, then the post office employees will send it back, and you will be given a copy of the act f.51, which will serve as evidence in the dispute.

Have a question? Write it in the comments or chat

Mobile phone Huawei ascend P6.

The order was placed on December 2, 2013, when the site had a Black Friday sale. The seller supplied the order with a case, bumper and protective film as a gift.
All the fun cost me 344.99 USD + “free” shipping by Singapore Post.
Customs accepted and released my order on December 30, but Russian Post did not want to make a New Year's gift and delivered the order to my post office only on January 8.

Unfortunately for me, on the day when I went to pick up the parcel, my post office had already accumulated 4 parcels from China. The operator brought me a stack of 4 items, outwardly everything was fine. And then I made the main mistake - I did not look at each box, but signed for receipt, took the entire stack by the bottom one and walked home happy.
At home, I discovered that the package with the phone was weightless (or rather, it weighed 64 grams).

The first thoughts are “who is to blame?”: the seller, customs or Russian Post. Having carefully examined the parcel, I realized that the tape around the perimeter was not a native element of the packaging. Having carefully removed it, I found a cut running along the 2nd edge of the box, through which the phone was removed.

Then I went to the Russian Post website and using the parcel tracking service (http://www.russianpost.ru/tracking/) I learned that the weight of the parcel had changed somewhere in the bowels of the Russian Post.

I tried to call the Russian Post hotline with the question “which sorting center has the weight of the parcel changed?”, but the operator said that they don’t have this information in the database and the only thing I can do is write a complaint at my post office .
I take the parcel in my hands and run to the post office. At the post office, I immediately ask you to call the head of the department, but that day only his deputy was at work. I explained to him my situation, that the parcel left customs with a weight of 507g, but arrived at your office with 64g. When I asked why they were not alarmed by this, I received an excellent answer: “They say they often have technical errors in indicating the weight of the parcel, there are cases when the actual weight differs from the indicated weight by a kilogram and they do not pay attention to it - the packaging is intact.” He refused to accept my complaint because I opened the package at home, but promised to find out from the higher department what I should do and advised me to come another day when the boss was there.

Arriving home, I decided not to waste time and opened a dispute with the seller on AliExpress.com with a request to return the full amount of the purchase (maybe it will work).

A couple of days later I stopped by my post office and spoke with the boss. He threw up his hands, saying that the deputy did not convey anything and in general he is not here today and will not be for another 7 days and he cannot accept the complaint now, because... I opened the package at home. But they say he will try to call the deputy and find out something.

I realized that it was useless to look for the truth in my Russian Post office and tried to send an electronic appeal on the Russian Post website. But within two days the service displayed an error: the confirmation code was entered incorrectly, or the site was overloaded. As a result, I sent my claim by email to .

The answer came after 3 days.

Briefly, the essence of the letter is that I can submit a written claim within 6 months at the Russian Post office, and the employees of my department will receive additional training to improve the quality of service (looking ahead, I will say that 2 months after receiving the parcel with the phone number I still I did not notice any changes in the quality of service provided by the employees of my branch of the Russian Post).
The most illogical thing is that I must attach to the claim a document certifying the provision of postal services: an agreement, a receipt or an inventory. But how can I have these documents if I am the recipient, and if there was an inventory included in the parcel, then it went along with the phone.

At this time, the seller refused to refund my money and asked me to show proof that I received a weightless parcel.
I decided to put more reasonable pressure on the seller and again requested a refund in the amount of 294.99 USD, arguing that the customs declaration indicated the cost of the phone as 50 USD and I could only demand a refund of this amount from the Russian Post.

To file a claim with Russian Post, I asked him for an agreement with Singapore Post. And to confirm that I received the weightless parcel, I sent a track from the Russian Post website (presented above).

As a result, the seller was stuck for 8 days. Eight days later, his knowledge of English was enough to copy his first message and cancel the refund.
To this response, I repeated my request to mail the documents to me and return the $294.99 in slightly simplified English.
The seller hung up again, the timer on the AliExpress.com website was reset and my dispute was “escalated”, i.e. Now the site administration had to decide who was right.
The site administration recognized my claims as justified and asked the seller for evidence. But then the Chinese New Year came and all of China froze for 2 weeks (and they also say that Russians take a long rest)
On February 09, the seller was finally honored to present evidence - it turned out to be a video showing how the package with Huawei ascend P6 is packaged and that it weighs 507g. and a delivery certificate generated on 02/09/2014
It took the site administration 8 days to make a decision. I was pleasantly surprised, my claim was recognized as justified and I was refunded the full cost of the order (344.99 USD).

But I’m not going to stop there and I’m ready to file a claim with the Russian Post, let them return me 50 USD for moral damage, and maybe there will be more order at the sorting centers.

In conclusion of this article, I would like to remind you of a few simple rules to avoid this situation:
1. Before receiving the parcel, check the track on the Russian Post website and make sure that the weight of the parcel has not changed along the route and corresponds to the weight indicated on the postal notice;
2.Never sign a postal notice before receiving the parcel;
3. If you have any suspicions about the integrity of the parcel, ask the postal employee to weigh the parcel in front of you and check the actual weight with the weight indicated on the package. Point out the packaging elements that cause you doubt. Draw up a claim act and open the parcel in the presence of a Russian Post employee. At the same time, do not sign the mail notification under any circumstances.
5. Open the parcel in the presence of a Russian Post employee and record a video of the process of opening the parcel. This record will be significant evidence when opening a dispute on AliExpress.com.
6. If everything is in order (weight, packaging), do not be lazy to open the parcel at the post office. There are cases when parcels are confused (I saw it personally). It will be very difficult to prove that you were given someone else’s package if you open it at home.

If you have any questions write to me This email address is being protected from spambots. You must have JavaScript enabled to view it. .

P.S. You can read another story about the theft of a tablet from a parcel (with a replacement attachment)

To understand what to do if you notice changes in the weight of your parcel, let’s first understand the reasons for such changes.

How can you find out about changes in the weight of a parcel from Aliexpress?

- track number information;
- upon receipt of the parcel during its control weighing or at home;

Reasons for reducing or increasing the weight of a parcel

- incorrect entry by the operator of the weight of the parcel when accepting it from the seller;
- weighing error (which is unlikely);
- substitution of goods in the parcel along its route;
- if the weight of the parcel has decreased or increased by several grams, then this could be affected by humidity or, conversely, dry air;
- theft of the contents of the parcel (empty parcels arrive quite rarely; a common practice is the substitution of goods);

What to do if a change in the weight of a parcel from Aliexpress is detected?

If the change in the weight of the parcel ranges from a couple to 15 grams, then in principle there is nothing to worry about.
But what should you do if the weight of a parcel from Aliexpress has changed significantly?
Having received a notification from the post office that you can pick up the parcel at the post office, before handing it over, the operator is obliged to weigh it and only after that hand it over to you. Until you receive the parcel, the sender is responsible for it. Once you sign for receipt of the parcel, you are responsible for it.
If the stated weight of the package upon shipment is significantly different, first inspect the package for signs of tampering.

The parcel was opened and checked at customs
Recently, cases have become more frequent when parcels from China began to be selectively checked at customs for compliance with their declared value.
If your parcel was opened at customs, then it must have a corresponding mark and written confirmation, which must be shown to you upon receipt.

Opening and inspection of the contents takes place in the presence of two postal employees.
If the inspector’s suspicions are not confirmed, then the shipment is packed, and a customs inspection certificate certified by the participants in the process is attached to it on the outside.

If the parcel contains goods that are prohibited for transportation, it will simply be returned to the sender.
If the presence of prohibited goods is detected during the inspection procedure, the parcel is subject to seizure and disposal.
Customs officers are unlikely to steal the contents of your parcel, since there are a lot of CCTV cameras in the customs control areas.

The parcel shows signs of being opened or does not correspond to the declared weight
If the parcel shows signs of tampering or does not correspond to the declared weight (the product is missing or it has been replaced), then in such cases, upon receipt, you must perform the following steps.
- Be sure to continuously shoot a video of the opening of a parcel at the post office in the presence of post office employees (the boss).
- Ask for Act 51 to be drawn up in printed form with the signature and seal of the post office, which should be handed to you.
- If the goods were stolen or the inside is not at all what you ordered on Aliexpress, then you will need to refuse the parcel.
- To open a dispute, take a photo of the parcel on the scale, a photo of the packaging on which the weight is indicated, and a photo of the notice from the post office, which also indicates the weight.
- Open a dispute on Aliexpress, attach video and photo evidence and request a full or partial refund.

Still have questions? ask your question in the technical support online chat or write it below in the comments

What should you do if your package arrives in a damaged condition or is significantly different in weight? Refuse the parcel at the post office or receive the parcel and open a dispute for a refund?
First of all, before opening a claim on Paypal or Aliexpress, it is better to check everything with the mail. It happens that the weight of a parcel is indicated incorrectly (both by the sender and by the post office), this is especially true for Russian Post.



If the parcel is damaged, sealed with tape, there is a certificate of damage to the parcel, or since the moment of sending the weight of the parcel has changed both more and less, then your actions are as follows:

  • 1. You require to draw up an act of opening the parcel (Form 51) at the post office. Don't forget to get a copy of the parcel opening certificate. The act is drawn up in triplicate and one copy is issued to the recipient.
  • 2. Take video/photo recording whenever possible. Might be useful for an argument.
  • 3. If the goods are damaged, missing partially or completely, then in this case you must REFUSE to receive the parcel.
  • 4. Wait until the parcel leaves the country and open a dispute adding all the documents.

This is the simplest and most effective way to get your money back if your investment is stolen or damaged. If, at the time of opening the parcel under the certificate, you find that everything is in order with the attachment, then you can take the attachment and not draw up a certificate as unnecessary.




  • What to do if postal employees refuse to draw up a report on opening the parcel?

Try to explain to the employees that you did not come to them to make trouble, but simply to pick up your package with the least loss of time. In addition, opening a parcel under ACT 51 is their direct responsibility, which is regulated by their internal rules, as well as the postal law.

Namely:

"For failure to fulfill or improper fulfillment of obligations to provide postal services or their improper fulfillment, postal operators are liable to users of postal services. Responsibility of postal operators arises for loss, deterioration (damage), lack of attachments, non-delivery or violation of delivery deadlines postal items, postal money transfers, other violations of established requirements for the provision of postal services."

Russia - Federal Law of July 17, 1999 N 176-FZ (as amended on July 6, 2016) “On Postal Services”
Ukraine - Law of Ukraine dated October 4, 2001 No. 2759-III, Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On approval of the Rules for the provision of postal services”

If this does not help, then write a complaint in the Book of Reviews and Suggestions, and also fill out an online complaint on the hotline.

  • What to do if you received a parcel without an opening certificate?

a) If you videotaped the opening of the parcel.

Foreign services for protecting buyers and sellers (PayPal, Escrow/Aliexpress) are quite loyal to such cases and can issue a refund based on a video of the parcel opening.
Although recently, protection services have been demanding official documents from the post office or police. This is due to the fact that there are a lot of scammers who receive the goods and then demand a refund based on a fake video.

If you are a frequent visitor to the post office and you are well known there, try to obtain an opening certificate for the parcel or issue a retroactive refusal of the parcel based on your opening. Not always, but this can be done if you have friends at the post office. This guarantees a 99% refund on the product.

b) If you open the parcel at home and there is no attachment.

In this case, your chances are slim, but they are there. Try to make a video of weighing the parcel and its contents on scales and show that at the time of receipt of the parcel the goods were no longer in the parcel. Check if your post office provides the weight of the parcel at each stage of the journey. This can also be added as evidence.

Question:

Hello!
I'm waiting for a parcel with a phone purchased on Aliexpress. As the parcel is tracked, it is clear that a decrease in the parcel's weight has been detected (from 524 g to 410 g). Once the weight is confirmed, I plan to open the package with a video recording at the post office in the presence of its boss.
But there are doubts about the following: when identifying incompleteness, damage, theft, substitution of a parcel, etc. refuse to receive it and open a dispute without receiving the goods (as I understand it, it will be sent back to the sender) or receive the parcel and argue with it in your hands?
Please tell me if anyone has had a similar experience or knows how best to do it.

Changes in the weight of a parcel are always very alarming to recipients. What happened to the shipment if it began to weigh less? Suspicions immediately arise that the contents of the parcel have been stolen or replaced. And in a situation when suddenly the weight of a parcel decreases, these suspicions often turn out to be well founded. Let's figure out why the weight of the parcel may decrease.

The parcel may weigh less if:

  • - employees of the sorting point, warehouse, customs, post office made a mistake when weighing
  • - the operator made a typo when entering data on the weight of the parcel
  • - the package may lose moisture a little (dry out), and then the weight will decrease a little
  • - replacement of goods: the parcel was opened on the way, the attachment was stolen
  • - if your parcel comes from a country where weight is indicated in pounds, then Russian-speaking employees may make a mathematical error when converting pounds into kilograms and grams

The recipient may notice a difference in the weight of the parcel:

  • - according to the information in the tracking number, even before receiving the parcel
  • - at the post office before receiving the parcel
  • - at home, after receiving the parcel

What difference in parcel weight is acceptable?

If your parcel begins to weigh 2-5 grams less, then there is a high probability that this is caused by an error in the scales. Usually 2-3 grams is an acceptable error. But it can reach up to 5 grams (if you use old scales).

On average, due to changes in humidity, the package may become 10-15 grams lighter.

A decrease in the weight of a parcel by more than 15-20 grams should already be alarming. Not to mention the halving, or when the parcel suddenly decreases in weight to 20-50 grams. If the weight of the parcel has become significantly less, then this most likely tells us about theft or substitution of the attachment.

What should I do if the package weighs less?

If you discover, by track or at the post office, that the weight of the parcel has suddenly become less, then do not rush to receive it at the post office. Do not sign the notice in advance! Require a check weighing and inspection of the package before receiving it. Receive the shipment only if you are sure that the package weighs as much as it should. And also, there are no signs of opening on the packaging.

If, during control weighing, the data is confirmed that the weight has decreased, or you see that the package has been opened, or a report from customs is attached to the parcel, then you need to ask the postal employees to open the parcel under act 51. In this case, it is best to additionally film the process of opening the parcel on video. So that you have all the evidence when opening a dispute.

Should I receive a parcel with less weight or not?

Until you have received the parcel, it is the property of the sender. And all the problems lie on his shoulders. Once you sign for receipt, the responsibility becomes yours. Therefore, it is much easier to get your money back if you refuse to receive the parcel.

The main thing is to properly prepare for receiving it. Open the parcel at the post office under Act 51. Be sure to take a video of the opening, which must be made by the head of the department.
Ask for Act 51 in printed form. With signature and stamp. (Sometimes mediators find fault with documents written by hand and ask for a printed version).

If the item was stolen or the inside is not at all what you ordered on Aliexpress, then you will need to refuse the parcel. You will be issued an Act 51, and the shipment will go back to the seller in China so that he can obtain insurance.

If you notice a difference in weight after receiving the parcel, then you MUST open it on video. The video must be shot in one take, so that the package does not leave the frame. And also, take a photo of the parcel on the scales, a photo of the parcel packaging on which the weight will be visible, and a photo of the notice on which the weight is also indicated.

You can open a dispute immediately by describing the situation and attaching a scan of Act 51 and a video of the opening of the parcel.

Have a question? Write it in the comments or chat