HIVE Box, which gives temporary storage of packages, has drawn public concern for its controversial overtime charging standard, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

The company announced recently that beginning in May, it will charge for delivery packages that remain stored in its express lockers for more than 12 hours.

Many citizens complained that the time limit is short for them, if a package is put into a Hive Box in the morning, it is very likely to exceed 12 hours when they pick up the parcel at night after work.

As many deliverymen put the package in the box without receiving approval from the recipients, the recipients cannot arrange the storage time in a way to avoid charges.

Xu Zebing, a lawyer from Zhuojian Law Firm based in Shenzhen, said that according to the national regulations on delivering packages, the courier has to deliver the package directly to the assigned location or receiver and the receiver has a right to check the package face to face.

Regarding Hive Box’s charge, Shen Yufeng, another lawyer from Shenzhen, said that the company has no right to charge the residents since they have no legal relation to Hive Box. Customers have paid the express fee included in the prices when purchasing the products on Taobao, JD.com or other platforms. The seller has entrusted the courier to do the delivery work, and they take the charge to send the products directly to the receivers.

The only side that has a legal relationship with Hive Box is the courier. The courier uses Hive Box to significantly increase their work efficiency as they can save time by putting the packages in the centralized package locker in the housing estates instead of delivering each package to each door.

The residents actually do more work to go to the locker to retrieve their packages.

At present, many residential compounds in Hangzhou, Shanghai and Chengdu have suspended the use of Hive Box to resist its charging system.

Hive Box responded that a housing estate in Hangzhou suspending the use of Hive Box has violated their contract. Hive Box paid the rent following the contract and provides service to the residents. The operating model of Hive Box and the restriction of its charging system are not included in the contract.

However, Xu said when a resident picks up an overdue package from the Hive Box, the charge reminder from the locker is an offer to their agreement to the supplementary terms. And only when the agreement was reached can the supplementary terms become effective. Therefore, Hive Box cannot charge residents if they refuse the terms.

Xu suggested that Hive Box could solve the issue by signing a contract, which regulates diverse charges based on time lapsed, to each courier company.

In response to Southcn.com, Guangdong Postal Administration Bureau stated that courier companies should strictly follow the contract upon delivery services to ensure quality. Usage of Hive Box should respect the recipients’ freedom of choice, otherwise the recipients could claim compensation by lawsuit if an unwilling payment is made.  (Chen Siqi)