Hive-Box said it will waive the storage fees for users of its package lockers in the eastern Chinese city before March 16, and the storage fees that had been incurred had been reduced
China’s e-locker operator Hive-Box, a subsidiary of logistics giant SF Express, has decided to temporarily waive storage fees for users who fail to pick up their parcels in time due to disruptions by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company made the statement after seven of its staff who worked at a package forwarding station in Yuhang, a district of eastern China’s Hangzhou city, tested positive for Covid-19 on March 13, according to Hangzhou Release, the official WeChat account of the eastern Chinese city, two hours’ drive from Shanghai.
As of 8:00pm on March 13, the Hive-Box pick-up and drop-off package station had reported 49 confirmed cases. In response, SF Express said the station had been fully sterilized and staff placed under quarantine. It also suggested residents who picked up packages from the station in question should undergo nucleic acid testing.
To allay consumers’ concerns about being charged extra fees for not picking up their packages in time due to isolation, Hive-Box said it would waive the storage fees through March 15. Currently, it charges CNY 0.5 (USD 0.08) every 12 hours for overdue packages after the first 18 hours of free storage.
Besides, Many Hangzhou residents are worried they run the risk of becoming infected when removing packages from the lockers. Hive-Box reassured them that the lockers are not contaminated by virus and remain operational.
It will cooperate with the epidemic prevention authorities to disinfect the lockers at the same time.
Meanwhile, Hive-Box said it will remind couriers to sterilize the packages in accordance with the requirements of the epidemic prevention authorities before putting them into lockers.
Notably, Hive-Box also adopted the same approach when the epidemic broke out in Shaoxing and Xi'an last year.
Established in 2015 and headquartered in Shenzhen, the company runs the world’s largest self-service package locker system, comprising 150,000 lockers in China.
Hive-Box charges couriers 0.25, 0.3 and 0.4 yuan, respectively, for each use of different-sized lockers. Due to a public outcry, the company adjusted its rates for consumers from May 20, 2020, extending the free storage time from 12 to 18 hours. Afterward, it charges CNY 0.5 every 12 hours and caps the fee at CNY 3.