(Yicai Global) May 11 -- Couriers in China’s Zhejiang, Fujian and other provinces may not leave parcels in self-service lockers without the consent of the addressee, according to new regional rules brought in over the weekend.

Delivery firms in Zhejiang must attempt to deliver packages at least twice for free to the specified address or a designated consignee, the Zhejiang Provincial Postal Administration said online. Those in Fujian should seek consent before leaving parcels in lockers or pay the fees themselves, Xinhua News Agency cited the Fujian Provincial Consumer Council as saying.

Users should fight for their rights if they were charged additional delivery fees because a courier put their package in a locker without notice, according to the Jiangsu Provincial Postal Administration. Jiangsu Broadcasting, China’s third-biggest television network, also said the penalties delivery firms must pay will skyrocket if people stand up for themselves.

Many residents in the two provinces had complained about the charging policy of Hive-Box Technology, a company that operates parcel lockers and is run by courier SF Express. The homeowners association at a community in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, has stopped using the lockers after Hive-box announced it would charge recipients for every hour their package was stored after the first 12 hours.

Hive-Box defended itself on May 9 by saying that it paid money for the space to keep the lockers and there are no contractual restrictions with the community governing its business model or pricing. By powering off the lockers, the association has broken its agreement and caused huge economic losses to the company, it added. The firm recently unveiled plans to acquire another locker firm half-owned by China Post, a transaction that would give it a 69 percent control of the market.

Some 82 percent of property owners at a residential community in Shanghai have voted to demolish the Hive-Box lockers in their compound, according to a public letter published yesterday. Delivery services are a contract between the company and recipient and Hive-Box has no involvement in that relationship, the letter read, saying couriers use the lockers simply because it is more efficient for themselves.

The community’s owner committee and property management firm had agreed to bring in the lockers as their customer manager at Hive-Box said the lockers will “remain free to customers,” according to the letter. Hive-Box does not have the right to prevent customers receiving their deliveries at home while charging both couriers and users, it added.

Editor: James Boynton