The Evidence Checklist for a Weight Dispute

A weight dispute is decided on evidence, and the evidence is produced at the packing bench before the parcel leaves, or not at all. This is the checklist: what to capture, how to capture it so it is usable, how to store it so it is findable, and how to present it so the dispute closes in your favour in one round.

What the dispute needs to prove

Two things, and only two: the sealed parcel’s dead weight at handover, and its outer dimensions at handover. Everything in the kit exists to establish those two numbers in a way an ops person on the courier’s side cannot reasonably question.

The numbers must match what you declared. Evidence that shows the parcel was heavier than you declared is evidence for the courier.

The kit

A platform scale at the packing bench. Rs 1,500 to 3,000 for one accurate to 5 g up to 30 kg. Calibrate it monthly against a known weight (a sealed 1 kg bag of sugar is close enough for the purpose, or a proper calibration weight).

A tape measure fixed to the bench. A steel tape or a printed ruler along the edge of the packing surface, so dimensions can be read in a photo without holding anything.

A camera looking down at the bench. A phone on a clamp is enough. If it records continuously during packing hours, every parcel has a video without anyone pressing a button.

A public folder. A Google Drive folder set to “anyone with the link can view”, organised by date. Disputes on Courier Uncle require a public link; a private link the courier cannot open is the same as no evidence.

The capture, per parcel

For every parcel, or at minimum for every parcel within 100 g or 2 cm of a slab edge:

1. Scale photo. The sealed parcel on the scale, the reading legible, the shipping label with the AWB legible in the same frame. One photo.
2. Dimension photo. The parcel against the tape, showing the longest side; a second showing width and height, AWB visible. Two photos.
3. Packing video. The product going into the pack and the pack being sealed. If the bench camera runs continuously, this exists automatically; note the timestamp.
4. Manifest. The pickup sheet or manifest with the declared weight, signed or scanned by the rider at handover. One per pickup, covering every parcel in it.

Total added time per parcel: about twenty seconds for the photos. The video and the manifest cost nothing extra.

Storage

• One folder per day, named by date.
• Photos named by AWB: CU0000004521-scale.jpg, CU0000004521-dims-1.jpg.
• Video files named by date and time window; a discrepancy notice carries the pickup date, so the right file is easy to find.
• Manifests as PDFs, one per pickup, named by date and courier.

Keep ninety days. Discrepancies arrive within a few weeks of pickup; after ninety days nothing new will be raised on a parcel.

Presenting the dispute

When a discrepancy notice arrives, open it and read both sets of numbers. Compute your own chargeable weight from your evidence. Then:

• If your evidence shows the courier is right, accept. Fix the SKU data.
• If your evidence shows your declaration was right, dispute.

The dispute form wants a public link and a reason. Make the link point at a folder containing only that parcel’s files (copy them into a per-dispute folder) so the reviewer does not have to search. Write the reason as numbers:

Declared 0.48 kg, 28 x 22 x 6 cm, chargeable 0.74 kg. Our scale photo shows 0.48 kg (file 1), dimensions in files 2 and 3, packing at 14:22 in the video, manifest signed by rider. Courier reading of 1.15 kg is not consistent with the parcel.

That is a dispute that closes in one pass.

What does not work

• A photo of the product, not the sealed parcel.
• A scale reading with no label in frame.
• A private Drive link or a link that expires.
• Evidence dated after the pickup.
• “Our parcels are always accurate.” The reviewer needs this parcel.

The payoff

A seller doing 1,000 parcels a month at a 4 percent discrepancy rate sees 40 notices, averaging Rs 30 each: Rs 1,200 a month on hold. With a kit, half of those are disputed and won, and the other half reveal SKU data errors that, once fixed, stop recurring. Within a quarter the rate is under 1 percent and the kit has paid for itself many times over.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to photograph every parcel?

Photograph every parcel within 100 g or 2 cm of a slab edge, and every parcel over 3 kg. For the rest, the continuous bench video and the manifest are usually enough.

Is a phone video good enough?

Yes, if the AWB is legible at some point and the scale reading is visible. 1080p at a fixed angle over the bench is plenty.

What if the courier disputes my scale’s accuracy?

A monthly calibration photo (the scale showing a known weight) in the same folder answers that. Keep it with each month’s evidence.

How long do I have to submit?

Seven days from the discrepancy being raised. Assemble the per-dispute folder the day the notice arrives; do not let it sit.

Does the platform keep the evidence I submit?

The link is stored on the dispute record, and the outcome and reasoning are recorded with it. Keep your own copy in the ninety-day folder as well.

What if I dispute and lose?

The held amount is charged and the record shows the reason. Read it: it will usually point at the SKU data that needs fixing, so the next parcel of that product does not raise a discrepancy at all.

Ship smarter with Courier Uncle

Every discrepancy arrives with the courier’s numbers and evidence, and seven days to answer with yours. Ship with a dispute process you can win.