Please inspect the goods for visible damage BEFORE you sign for them. Only sign after you have noted any potential damage on the waybill!
Please also forward this guide to the incoming goods department.
Docket (sample)
1 ALUCA goods acceptance guide
1.1 General
ALUCA takes a variety of measures to ensure that your orders are delivered to you in perfect condition. Despite the greatest of care, it is not possible to rule out damage to delivered goods or missing items.
With the following guide, ALUCA would like to outline the correct process for accepting goods in the event of possible damage, missing items and incorrect deliveries.
1.2 Goods acceptance
- Is the correct address stated on the packaging items and their accompanying paperwork?
- Does the number of packaging items (e.g. disposable pallet, cardboard box) match the details on the paperwork?
- Carry out a visual inspection of the packaging items for visible damage to the outer packaging in the presence of the carrier.
When accepting goods, please inspect them for OUTER damage BEFORE signing.
1.3 What to do in the event of clear transport damage
Please document clear transport damage immediately on the freight paperwork/mobile electronic device, as well as by means of a damage note on the delivery note. Please describe the damage as precisely as possible, e.g. ‘pallet dented at the side’, ‘box torn open’, ‘goods displaced on pallet’. Never call it ‘Concealed damage’ or ‘Defective packaging’, as damage declared in this way will not be recognised by the haulage company’s insurer(s).
Without a damage note, subsequent loss adjustment cannot be carried out.
- If damage has been sustained to the racking system, but the packaging above it is undamaged, this is not classed as concealed damage. Genuine concealed damage would, for example, be a situation in which the vehicle racking system appears to have no outer damage when unpacked, but the drawer rails are defective, possibly because the pallet had fallen over.
- PLEASE NOTE: it is possible to make a note on the haulage company’s mobile electronic devices. Before signing for the goods, please ensure that your note has been documented and saved.
- If the delivery driver does not permit you to accept the goods with a note of damage (if, for example, they insist on a signature without a note), please refuse acceptance of the goods and notify us immediately.
If it is apparent that the equipment is damaged beyond repair, please refuse acceptance of the goods and notify us immediately via [email protected]
1.4 Incoming goods inspection
Unpack the goods in full within two working days and compare the goods received against your order confirmation and delivery note. Inspect the goods for damage and completeness.
The blue adhesive tape, which serves solely to hold the goods in place, must be removed within two working days in order to avoid residual adhesive and colour differences in the material.
If you identify any defects during incoming goods inspection, please notify us immediately using the complaint report via [email protected] (pursuant to our General Terms and Conditions of Sale and Sect. 377 of the German Commercial Code [HGB]).
1.5 Informing the ALUCA team within two working days
You must provide the ALUCA team with detailed information about the damage or any missing goods within two working days. To do so, please complete the complaint report and send it to [email protected]. In the event of transport damage, please refer to the damage note made with the haulage company. If you have noted the following information on your delivery note, please also send us a copy: number plate of the haulage company’s HGV, driver’s signature on the delivery note, date of delivery. If possible, please also send us supplementary digital photos.
ALUCA GmbH will consult with you in respect of the next steps (return, replacement, repair, scheduling appointments).
1.6 Subsequent complaints
Neither we nor the haulage company will accept any subsequent complaints on the grounds of damage or missing items.
As such, any subsequent deliveries required will be charged to the recipient. We invoke Sect. 425/438 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) in conjunction with Sect. 25/28 of the German Freight Forwarders’ Standard Terms and Conditions (ADSp).