Guangdong Postal Administration has launched a crackdown on illegal delivery services in Huaqiangbei, a commercial area in Shenzhen.
The move comes after dozens of businesspeople in the area reported goods worth about 1 million yuan (US$150,400) had failed to reach their destination last week after being collected by a man claiming to work for China Post, the Shenzhen Economic Daily reported Thursday.
A mobile phone businesswoman, named Luo, said the "collector," who identified himself as Zhou, had been collecting express delivery goods in Huaqiangbei for almost two years.
"Each time he wore a uniform and carried a China Post ID card, saying he was an employee of China Post's Hongli branch. Nobody questioned him," Luo said.
However, the Hongli branch denied employing the man and said it knew nothing of the missing goods.
Zhou could not be reached by phone after collecting the goods, Luo said.
Zhu Zhiming, business director of Shenzhen Post's logistics bureau, said the bureau would step up management of express collectors and has introduced a verification hotline, 11185.
The paper said it was common practice for small express delivery agents to claim to have been authorized by the Shenzhen Post, but most did not hold authorization certificates.
Chen Guoying, director of the Shenzhen office of the Guangdong Postal Administration, urged people to use only authorized branches of the China Post to send their goods, or call 11185 to book a door-to-door collection service.
(Martin Li)
