Shopee probes delays in parcel deliveries as complaints mount

E-commerce giant Shopee on Friday said it was looking into complaints about delays in parcel deliveries following the call from a group of digital right advocates for the government to act on the grievances of disgruntled customers.

A Shopee executive responded to the Inquirer in the affirmative when sought for comment if they are investigating the reports, but did not disclose further details about the progress and the actions that would be taken by the company.

“During this period of peak demand across the industry, we have been working closely with our partners to ensure that orders are delivered at the soonest possible time. Our teams are also assisting buyers and sellers with their claims and refunds. We thank everyone for their patience and continued support,” Shopee said in a separate statement.

Missing parcels

A day earlier, the local advocacy group Digital Pinoys urged the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to look into the complaints. The group’s president, Ronald Gustilo, said many Shopee customers have yet to receive purchases made during the 12/12 (Dec. 12) sale and even much earlier. They also claimed some parcels have been tagged as missing in Shoppee’s sorting hubs.

Based on the platform’s website, delivery lead time is four to six days within Metro Manila and four to eight days within Luzon. If the seller is based abroad, estimated arrival time is nine to 18 days.

“The DTI should look into this as it is causing a great deal of inconvenience for customers, the sellers in their platform and the delivery riders. There are already numerous complaints and it is high time to act on it,” Gustilo said in a statement.

He said sellers have also reportedly complained after their items went missing in Shopee’s custody.

“Many sellers are now disgruntled because they are paying for a platform fee, commission fee, packaging and delivery, among many other fees to use the platform but Shopee can’t even get the sorting done right,” Gustilo said.

“Sellers are losing their earnings and are still being charged despite the platform’s inefficiencies,” he said further, adding that the e-commerce giant should shoulder all the expenses incurred by sellers.

Refunds

According to the advocacy group, Shopee—not the sellers—must refund customers for paid, but undelivered parcels.

“Shopee should pay for all charges incurred by the sellers with undelivered parcels due to its inefficiency. It is unfair to make the sellers shoulder the return delivery fee after Shopee messed up big time. Even the packaging cost should be refunded by Shopee. They should also issue refunds immediately for all affected customers with paid parcels, no ifs and buts and no conditions,” Gustilo said.

In November, a month before the busiest time of the year, one of Shopee’s logistics partner, QuadX, announced it was discontinuing its tie-up with the online shopping platform. QuadX, through its flagship brand Gogo Express said the decision was “mutual.”