PARCELS BY RAIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19832, 30 December 1927, Page 8

PARCELS BY RAIL.

CASH ON DELIVERY SYSTEM. DEPARTMENT COLLECTS VALUE. In the institution of a cash on delivery system the Railways Department claims to have filled a long-felt want. The procedure is a simple one. The parcel which it is intended to forward may be banded in at any officered station with a consignment note and a statement of accounts in duplicate, showing the name, occupation and address of the consignee and a general description of the goods and the price to be paid. The department undertakes to collect the price or value of parcels, but has fixed a maximum oi £25 for any one consignment. Delivery is given at any officered station, or, if a parcels delivery system is in force, the parcel is delivered to the premises of the consignee. The department collects the value of the parcel and the railage charges, if not already paid, and forwards the price of the goods to the vendor, less a commission for the performance of tho service. The commission is at the rate of one shilling for the first £1 of the parcel's value, and sixpence for each additional pound. The system applies also to parcels booked through from the North Island to the South Island, or vice versa, under the through booking system of parcels which has been in operation for some years. The commission is based solely on the value of the parcel, irrespective of the distance. This system, it is claimed, relieves business firms of the risk of bad debts, as delivery is not given until the goods have been paid for. •