Customers Should Have a Tape Measure on Hand When Receiving Aramex Parcels
Has anyone here experienced Aramex using inaccurate volumetric measurements to raise the shipping cost on a package he or she has received?
Aramex's volumetric measurement follows the following formula: (Length x Width X Height) / 5000. If the resulting number is greater than the actual weight of your parcel, that number will be the new adjusted weight in kilograms and will determine the real shipping cost you pay. This is fine, as far as it goes. Volume takes up space on the carrier and should be paid for, as long as the person measuring the dimensions of the parcel measures accurately, just as shipping cost based on weight relies on accurate measurement of weight. If shipping is based solely on weight, 10.68 kilograms is 10.68 kilograms, and all calibrated scales will show a very similar weight. However, if volumetric measurement is used and the Aramex shipping clerk measuring the parcel adds a couple of centimeters to one dimension of the parcel, you could be charged an extra kilogram, which is easily a 50-rial overcharge for international shipping.
The approximately 50-rial overchage does not concern me as much as the principle at stake. A two-centimeter error was used to charge me for an extra kilogram on an international parcel I picked-up tonight.
I'm curious to know if anyone else in Qatar has experienced this issue with Aramex.
D.
Thanks for the responses. Metric measurements were used. Upon picking up the parcel, I discussed with an Aramex agent the difference between volumetric measurement and actual weight measurement. I had Aramex weigh the parcel, but I did not measure the parcel upon picking it up. I knew on the spot that there was a one-KG difference between the two calculation methods and that I was charged the higher cost, which was fine, assuming measurements were accurate. I measured the box once I had it home, did the volumetric calculations, and realized that the volumetric calculation was nearly identical to the actual weight calculation. From the responses it seems that not too many people have such a problem with Aramex.
It would have been better if you had stayed calm and talk to the Aramex people on the matter before you took the liberty of posting such pictures showing your frustrations on being overcharged. As Mary Catherine has very rightly pointed out there could have been a mistake in calculation or in conversion from imperial system to metric system. I guess you jumped the gun.
Another question, are they using metric measurements or Imperial (inches vs cms) if so, maybe they are rounding the inches up to the next nearest round number (they would never round down and I doubt if they do partial/fractions of the measurement system being used).
BTW, I believe it was an honest mistake - not a malicious one. Why would you believe they were determined to fleece you? Any company can make a mistake once in a while. Has this happened more than once? Did you ask them to re-measure the parcel when you picked it up?
I have been overcharged based solely on weight but I had them weigh the parcel when I went to pick it up and they refunded the difference on the spot. The charges are determined at the shipping end (not here in Doha) which in my case was NY. The people here were more than happy to re-weigh the parcel and quickly refunded my overcharge in cash on the spot.
Honestly do you think people here measure their parcels when collecting or know the measurement rule you are talking about? Of course not, and this is one of the things experts from the Ministry of Commerce need to look at not us normal people. I can spend two hours calculating this thing and I wouldn't to a conclusion.