1. Object
The following conditions shall define the execution procedures for the documents and packages transport services carried by DPD PORTUGAL, S.A. hereby designated as DPD.
DPD undertakes to send the packages to the destination agreed with the sender and/or the receiver, from the moment they are received and according to the route, procedures and transport it deems more appropriate to a good service supply. When the packages are collected, they shall be conferred, either through a reading or a counting process, and they shall be registered in a separate document for that purpose.
DPD may carry out the transport itself, by its staff and means or by a subsidiary company directly or indirectly controlled by it as well as by companies or individuals from which the transport is partially of fully sub-contracted. In all cases the present general conditions are applied.
As mentioned in the declaration signed by the shipper (see back of transport document field 12), the issue of the dispatch note by the shipper implies acceptance without reservations the mentioned conditions.
No agent or subcontractor of the DPD is allowed to modify or rescind the present conditions.
The present general conditions of transport rule the contractual relation established between DPD and the shipper and they may eventually be subjected to the application of the international conventions or any other legal provision.
2. Transportation Restrictions
Goods which by its nature or package may constitute a danger to the human environment or may damage other carried goods are forbidden.
Other forbidden items include jewelry, metals and stones, coins, currency, banknotes, credit notes (credit cards, cheques, bearer bonds…), live or dead animals, firearms, drugs, works of art, audiovisual publications or supports forbidden by law, plants and alcohol with the exception of spirits. Therefore DPD may not handle dangerous or valuable products stated in the ICAO and IATA lists, in the ADR regulation, in the RPE regulation and in any other national or international regulation.
The shipper compromises to inform DPD of all details of the package whenever they can cause impact in the carriage process.
If shipper trusts objects to the DPD, which are identified in the above mentioned exclusion lists, without previous knowledge, it shall be fully responsible for eventual damages the carriage of such products may cause to DPD or third parties.
In case of incident, the shipper authorizes DPD to treat the package in a way it decides to be convenient including to abandon the transport of the mentioned package.
3. Obligations of the Shipper
Content
The shipper shall be responsible for the instructions on the dispatch note and, namely, for all the mandatory instructions, such as, its full data and also the data of the receiver.
When a post office box is not sufficient, the shipper shall provide the full address and/or practical information about the country of destination in order to allow a delivery in normal conditions according to the present general conditions of transport.
As DPD ignores the content and value of the package, the shipper assumes the responsibility of assuring the package is according the legal provisions and regulations.
DPD shall only collect the packages indicated on the request of its Client. Any alteration to the collection/delivery shall be communicated to DPD in time to make the collection.
Package
The goods are packed by the shipper in a closed/sealed package, which is resistant and adequate to the content and according to the carriage requirements. Otherwise the package shall transit at the shipper’s own expense and risk relieving DPD from responsibility on any incident.
The shipper is responsible for all damages caused in third parties packages or DPD material resulting from defective goods or packages shipped by him.
Customs formalities
The shipper is responsible for all documents required to the customs formalities according to the legislation applicable in the country of origin, as well as in the country of destination of its packages. It shall provide DPD all invoices and other documents required by customs. The shipper shall be responsible for the conformity of the mentioned documents.
The shipper shall be also responsible for any charges resulting from the failure to fulfill the above mentioned article.
According to the previous articles, the shipper shall declare that DPD may not be held responsible by facts or omissions which are the responsibility of the shipper or of the customs (for example, due to the lack of information concerning the documents required or the products forbidden in the country of destination).
Weight
DPD reserves the right to amend the weight or volume of the packages. If amendments are carried out, the shipper allows DPD to adjust the paid amounts according to the corrections.
Right of return
If the Decree Law 147/2003 of 11 of July regarding the packages and respective documents is not fulfilled, the shipper shall be responsible for all penalties and fines imposed to DPD and resulting damages.
If compensations are imposed to DPD by third parties due to the shipper’s package or goods defects, DPD shall have the right of return.
4. Right to Inspect
The shipper expressly declares that DPD or any other governmental authority, including customs, have the right to open and check the packages without the prejudice of the shipper being the only responsible for authenticity of its declarations.
5. Delivery
The delivery proof shall be done through the signature of the receiver in the respective delivery document produced by the DPD driver.
If the receiver is a legal person, the delivery proof shall be done upon the signature of an employee of the receiver, duly authorised and at the address indicated on the transport document.
The above mentioned signatures may be replaced by the shipper’s electronic signature as well as its reproduction which constitutes a package delivery proof. DPD and the shipper recognize this electronic signature as valid as the traditional signature in paper.
If the undelivered packages and goods stored in the DPD facilities are not claimed or withdrawn by the shipper in a maximum of one year, these packages and goods shall become property of DPD which may give the desired end to them and shall have the right to be compensated by the storage.
6. Responsability
Without prejudice to the below mentioned and unless stated in legal provision as well as without prejudice to the fulfillment of the procedure regarding complaints mentioned in article 7 of the present conditions, DPD shall only be responsible for loss or damage of the carried package in case the receiver registers anomalies in the respective delivery document.
National Transport
DPD shall be responsible for the full or partial loss or damage of goods produced between the collection and the delivery. DPD shall be responsible for the actions of its employees, representatives and subcontracted people.
DPD’s responsibility shall be activated by the value of the merchandise the moment it was trusted to the company for the repair or the direct costs of document reconstruction.
The loss and damage compensation shall not surpass €10 (ten Euros) per kg of gross weight of the missing or damaged good to a maximum of €300 (three hundred) per package. This compensation amount limit by Kg is only applied in case the commercial value is superior. In the other cases it shall always be the commercial value to settle the compensation.
The compensation for the delivery delay may not be superior to the cost of the transport and it shall only be due when the entity concerned proves that any loss or damage has been suffered. For the purposes of delay in the delivery, the transport service begins on the moment of the collection and not when the collection is requested to DPD.
DPD shall not be responsible if the loss, damage or delay is caused by the goods nature or characteristic, by the shipper or receiver fault, by unforeseeable circumstances or force majeure.
DPD shall not be responsible when the loss or damage result from the risks of one of these facts: a) absence or defect packaging regarding goods which may be lost or damaged when not duly packaged; b) goods maintenance, loading, storing, unloading by the shipper or the receiver or by third parties acting in their behalf, c) insufficient or irregular volumes signals and symbols.
International Transport
However to international deliveries, if the goods are handled by air, the responsibility limitative criteria are applied according to the Warsaw Convention. DPD’s responsibility limit is set in 16,5837 DTS per Kg equivalent to €20 per Kg.
If the goods are handled by land, the responsibility limit complies with the provisions of the Warsaw Convention. It shall be 8,33 DTS per kg equivalent to €10 per Kg.
If by any chance the above mentioned conventions may not be applied, the responsibility limit shall be 16,5837 DTS per kg equivalent to €20 per kg.
Delays
DPD compromises to make all efforts to handle the supply of service within the agreed period.
In case of delay in the national or international transport delivery, DPD responsibility shall be limited to the transport cost according to the legal provisions and regulations.
Compensatory losses
DPD shall not be responsible for intangible or indirect losses independently of the causes.
7. Complaint
On the moment of delivery, the receiver shall object to the damages or losses and that objection shall be precise, complete, dated and duly signed on the delivery document. However, the employees of DPD may submit any information they deem relevant to justify the damages or losses.
If the receiver receives the goods without describing the damages or losses mentioned in the present article, it is assumed the goods were in good conditions and no complaints shall be made regarding losses or damages after that.
The description made by the receiver in the delivery document shall be referred to in any complaint request for full or partial damage or loss. Otherwise the complainant shall produce proofs that the damage occurred during the carriage.
Complaints shall be produced by written and sent to DPD in a maximum of 30 (thirty) days after the effective or scheduled delivery date.
The complaint shall have solid grounds and shall be accompanied by documents (transport document, invoice…) proving the extent of the caused damages.
The complaint shall be accepted if the carriage costs have been paid.
8. Cash on Delivery – COD
The non-payment of the cash on delivery cancels the delivery of goods to the receiver and it may be returned or a second delivery attempt may be made.
The shipper has 30 (thirty) days from the shipment to present a complaint regarding the cash on delivery service agreed with DPD.
Cash on delivery
Payment: By cheque
In the delivery, the receiver shall produce a cheque in the shipper’s behalf with the respective refund amount. This amount shall be specified by the shipper in the respective field in the transport document as well as in the package volumes to which the cash on deliver corresponds.
DPD shall not be responsible for any mistakes in the issued cheques from the cash on delivery service, namely, date stated on the cheques, international cheques not accepted in Portugal, false cheques, errors in the issuer identification, mandatory signatures of the cheques, deletions, previous cancellation by the issuer, cheques endorsement and/or lack of provisions.
The shipper shall accept that the payment of cash on delivery is made through more than one cheque.
After receiving the cheques, the shipper shall have a period of 48 hours to lodge a complaint concerning the amounts stated in the Return of Values Statement (cheques).
If DPD loses a cheque, it shall be responsible for the cheque cancellation request to the issuer as well as the issuing of a new cheque with the same amount and DPD shall bear the potential banking costs arising out of such cancellation.
DPD shall never be deemed responsible for the cheque amount.
Payment: In cash
DPD shall make a weekly bank transfer to the BAN indicated by the shipper at the beginning of their commercial relation.
In case the BAN is altered, the Client shall be responsible for informing DPD of such alteration. In case there are any banking costs due to the fact that the BAN is not valid, DPD reserves the right to invoice such costs to the shipper.
After receiving the amount on its bank account, the shipper shall a period of 48 hours to lodge a complaint concerning the amounts transferred.
Dispatch note duly signed
In case of a failure in the refund service of the dispatch note, DPD shall only be responsible for the carriage service cost.
9. Supply of Services Cost
Weight
The chargeable weight shall be the stated in the sealed and approved electronic scales which are in DPD facilities.
DPD reserves the right to apply the volumetric weight which is a relation weight/volume appropriate to the hired service (land or/and air carriage) and which may be used when the weight/volume is higher than the package weight.
Billing
The prices do not include rights, rates, rentals and taxes related to the regulations application namely related to tax and customs with the exception of the airport taxes which are included in the price.
Payment
The payment shall be made according the conditions agreed and mentioned in the respective invoices/debit notes and only upon delivery of the package. In the case of advanced payment, the customer shall not receive any discount. Delays and lack of payments shall imply the request of an immediate reimbursement without any previous notice as well as administrative fines according to the ruling legal rate. DPD reserves the right to claim other damages or expenses. All amounts owed will accumulate administrative fines from the payment deadline until the actual payment.
Complaints
Complaints about the invoices content shall be made in a maximum of 30 days from the issue date otherwise may not be accepted by DPD without any prejudice on the mentioned in the article 7.
10. Right of Lieu
DPD reserves the right to lieu packages and, in case of cash on delivery (COD), the received amounts as a warranty of the matured credit payments related to supply carriage services.
11. Collection Period and Good Faith
The right to collection for damages of DPD responsibility finishes in 1 (one) year. The mentioned period of time starts on the date of the package delivery or its return to the shipper. In the case of total loss it starts on the 30th day after the reception of the package by DPD.
The parties shall compromise to execute the general conditions of transport respecting the general principle of good faith and contractual cooperation.
12. Applicable Law, Jurisdiction and Court
To the resolution of disputes resulting from the present general conditions, the parties agree to answer exclusively to the Portuguese jurisdiction which is the law of the domicile of DPD and it shall be applied as well as the international conventions which the Portuguese State is part of.
All disputes regarding the execution, interpretation or rescission of the present contract shall be handled exclusively by the Lisbon District Courts.