When you ship, additional costs may occur after you have shipped your package. Don't understand why these additional charges were incurred? In this article we explain what rebilling is.
What is rebilling?
This is an additional invoice that is added to the initial cost of your shipment after it has been sent.
These additional invoices are issued by the carrier when it encounters an anomaly on a shipment.
Why did I receive an additional invoice?
There can be several reasons for a rebilling, the most common reasons for rebilling are differences in weight and dimensions between what was declared at the time of purchase and what was found by the carrier. However, there are other reasons for an additional invoice :
Incorrect weight
When you place an order on our site, you are asked to declare the weight of your shipment. When the package is picked up by the carrier, the carrier will weigh it once it arrives at the shipping agency to ensure that your weight declarations are correct.
The measurements taken by the carrier are automated to ensure an accurate audit of your shipment. Your parcels are subjected to a passage on an automated chain, equipped with a "DWS" machine specially designed to measure the weight and dimensions of the parcel (the machine is audited once or twice a year by a specialized company to ensure that it is working properly).
This operation is systematically performed as soon as a parcel arrives at the departure agency. If the declared weight does not correspond to the weight recorded by the carrier, you will be billed for the difference.
When you declare the weight of your package, we strongly recommend that you weigh it once it is packed.
Incorrect dimensions
Just as for the weight of your shipment, the packages are also measured by the carrier once they arrive at the agency. This means, as mentioned above, that if there is a difference between the dimensions declared at the time of your order and the dimensions found by the carrier, then your package may be subject to a charge.
When measuring your shipment, we strongly recommend that you measure it once it is packed, and therefore take into account only the outside dimensions.
Unusual package shape
Cylindrical or conical shaped packages are forbidden in our network according to our general sales conditions. Indeed, the carriers use an industrial routing, not very adapted for packages with irregular shapes.
If however, you send a parcel of atypical shape, this one will have to be routed in a manual way, and this manual routing will thus be invoiced to you by the conveyor.
Non-machinable parcels
Packages considered non-machinable are packages that cannot be processed automatically, and will therefore benefit from manual processing. Factors that may cause a package to be considered non-machinable are:
- Exceeding the maximum dimensions supported by the carrier
- Parcels under the minimum dimensions taken in charge by the carrier
- Parcels with unstable or irregular shapes (spheres, cylinders, rolls)
- Poorly or partially packed parcels,
- Packages with an overhang (example: a box with handles that exceed the advertised dimensions)
Shipping return
Some returns may be subject to additional billing in the following cases:
- Parcel delivered to a pick-up site and not picked up by the addressee
- Parcel returned following a fault involving the sender or the recipient: error of address, refusal of the recipient, parcel being part of our list of prohibited goods, etc...
Non-conveyable parcel
This refers to parcels that do not respect the limits (minimum and maximum) of acceptance by the carrier. This concerns the maximum weight overrun taken in charge by the carriers, or the overrun of dimensions taken in charge by the carriers. When ordering, we advise you to weigh and measure your packages before entering the delivery information in our comparator so that the offers best suited to your needs are highlighted.
Extra handling
There are many reasons for extra handling by a carrier and they depend on their terms and conditions of sale. Additional handling can be applied for the following situations:
- Any item packaged in a metal or wooden container
- Any atypical shaped item, such as cylindrical, rounded, domed, etc. (e.g. drum, barrel, pail or tire) that is not completely packaged in a corrugated container
- Any package that exceeds the maximum dimensions of the carrier's acceptance
- Any parcel whose weight recorded by the carrier exceeds the maximum weight of taking in charge by this same carrier.
In addition to extra billing, parcels subject to additional handling may impact their delivery time and therefore have a delay in delivery. Our partner carriers do not offer a refund guarantee for these cases.
Delivery in restricted areas
This does not apply to all carriers, but in a few cases, for shipments collected or delivered in a remote or difficult to access area, an out of area pickup (OPA) or out of area delivery (ODA) surcharge may be applied. A surcharge per kilogram may be applied to these hard-to-reach shipments.
Examples :
- Islands
- Mountains
Overweight parcels
Any parcel that exceeds the maximum weight of the carrier.
Out of size parcel overload / Back to out of size parcel overload - size limit
Any parcel whose weight recorded by the carrier exceeds the maximum weight of assumption of responsibility by this one.
Notified absent status / SMS notification
For certain offers, notably DPD Predict, following the appointment made by the customer, that the latter has been notified by SMS and that he is absent on the chosen day or that missing information prevents the delivery (code, intercom, etc.). In this case, a rebilling procedure may be initiated.
Label/address correction
The address correction surcharge will apply if the consignee's address on the waybill or other shipping documents is incomplete or inaccurate. If the carrier is unable to determine the correct address or contact the consignee, the carrier may attempt to contact the shipper for delivery address information or return instructions. If they are unable to make the delivery, they will not be responsible for failure to meet their delivery commitment.
Non-Compliant Label Surcharge
The sender undertakes to hand over to the carrier labeled packages. These labels must be affixed on the flat surface of the package, the bar code must be visible and well printed.
Packages that are poorly labeled or whose label is poorly positioned, illegible, partially hidden, soiled, or does not allow the bar code to be read, will be subject to a flat-rate surcharge, called "non-compliant label", according to the carrier's current rate schedule.
Missing or incomplete export documents / Export declaration
The exporter and/or importer is required to present all documents necessary for the execution of customs formalities in accordance with the applicable regulations. The exporter and/or importer shall be liable for the payment of the costs incurred by the carrier in case of a non-sincere declaration and those incurred by the consignee in the absence of payment by the latter. No package can be shipped under the temporary export regime. The carrier shall not be held responsible for any facts or omissions attributable to the exporter and/or importer or to the Customs service.
The exporter and/or importer alone shall bear all financial consequences resulting from erroneous, incomplete, inapplicable or late declarations or documents, or from any failure to comply with the provisions of the General Tax Code, which may result in the carrier being liable for the payment of duties, additional taxes or fines by the administration concerned. In certain cases, the parcels giving place to a complementary SAV treatment to allow the export or the import, can be the subject of a supplemental invoicing according to the tariffing in force of this one.
Residential delivery
Declaration on the professional status of the recipient erroneous or not considered as commercial premises by our carriers. The address must be "professional" and not the status of the addressee, this means that there must be a commercial window or a reception service on the first floor in order to receive the shipments. The address of a professional who works from home, and who has declared part of his home as "workplace", is not considered as "business address".
Examples of additional billings:
- The weight and dimensions of the pallet were not taken into account when weighing the shipment.
- An element protruded from the packaging (example : wheels, handles, straps, ...).
- The cardboard is overloaded or crushed: the walls may be slightly convex and thus take up more space, which distorts the declared dimensions.
- The packaging used, or the item transported is curved, and the measurements were taken based on the width of the packaging and not on the actual size of the package.
What are your obligations and remedies?
You are legally obliged to pay this charge.
The scanners, very sophisticated, are the property of an independent organization and are checked twice a year, in accordance with the law in force. An approval number is issued following these checks. In addition, a functional test is carried out every day.
In rare cases, however, errors may occur. If you have any evidence to show that the weight and dimensions of your shipment are true to the declaration made on our site, we invite you to send them to us via the dedicated contact form, in "Contact us", "My account" and "Billing" as soon as possible, so that we can open a claim file with the carrier.
Need help with your billing?
Do not hesitate to contact our customer service who will provide you with the answers to all your questions as soon as possible.