Damage claim denied for inadequate packaging: what carriers check, and what to keep

A claim marked "inadequate packaging" is hard to argue with, because the carrier wrote both the rule and the judgement.

I would still not accept it as final. If your own records show that the pack met the carrier's published standard, you have something to argue with.

Here is the short answer for DHL Express. Its terms of carriage call a shipment unacceptable if its packaging is "defective or inadequate to ensure safe transportation with ordinary care in handling", and its packing guide says adequate packaging is always the sender's responsibility. To push back, you need proof made before the courier collected the parcel. That means photos showing a double-wall box, at least 6 cm of fill on every side, the voids filled, and the seams taped in an H. Then you need the receiver's photos of the damage and of all the packaging, all inside the 30-day claim window.

There is a second hard truth. Even a claim DHL accepts is capped by weight unless you declared a value and bought cover.

For a small, valuable item, that cap is often the bigger problem.

The clauses below are from the DHL Express terms and conditions of carriage (global English edition, 2024), its UK claims guide and its essential packing guide (valid from 25 February 2026). I read them in November 2026. We export to 20+ countries, so carrier terms are something we read often, and they do change. DHL publishes its terms country by country, so check the version for the country you ship from.

What the DHL terms actually say

Five clauses matter most for a damage claim on a single valuable item.

1. Section 2, unacceptable shipments. A shipment is unacceptable if "its packaging is defective or inadequate to ensure safe transportation with ordinary care in handling". This is the clause behind an "inadequate packaging" refusal.
2. Section 6, liability. For air shipments, DHL is liable for the lower of the market or declared value and 26 Special Drawing Rights per kilogram, which DHL itself puts at about US$35 per kg. For road-only shipments across borders, the figure is 8.33 SDR per kg, about US$11.
3. Section 7, claims. Every claim must be made in writing within 30 days from the date DHL accepted the shipment. There is one claim per shipment, and its settlement is final.
4. Section 8, insurance. DHL may arrange insurance for the full value, but only if you ask in writing or on the waybill and pay the premium.
5. Section 9, circumstances beyond its control. DHL is not liable for "any defect or characteristic related to the nature of the Shipment", or for any act or omission by the shipper.

I would do this arithmetic first, before arguing about the packing at all.

Say a graded card in a small box weighs half a kilo packed. At about US$35 per kg, the most DHL owes on it without declared value is about US$17.50. A watch packed at 1 kg is capped at about US$35. If the item is worth hundreds, the packing argument may be over very little money unless you declared the value first.

So two decisions belong before dispatch, not after the damage. Pack to the carrier's own standard. And declare the value and buy cover, or carry your own insurance, for anything worth more than the cap.

What "adequate" looks like in the DHL guide

The packing guide is the strongest evidence you have, because DHL wrote it. We would keep a printed copy at the packing table. Its rules, as written:

1. Use good-quality corrugated boxes. For fragile or heavy items it recommends double-wall or tri-wall construction.
2. Avoid reusing old boxes, because they may have lost some of their rigidity.
3. Place the item in the centre with at least 6 cm of separation from every external wall and corner.
4. Fill all empty space so nothing moves, using fill that will not sink or deflate under the weight.
5. Wrap items individually and separate them with dividers.
6. For more fragile items, use the box-in-box method. The outer box should be at least 14 cm larger in every dimension than the inner box, with about 6 cm of fill under the inner box. The original manufacturer's packaging makes a good inner box.
7. Extra cushioning and protection may be needed for high-value goods.
8. Seal with pressure-sensitive tape at least 48 mm wide, using the H method on top and bottom.
9. Put the shipping label on the top face, on one surface, not over a seam.

Read against that list, a phone in its retail box inside a padded bag fails on several points.

So does a watch box with bubble wrap pushed into a shoebox, and a graded card in an envelope.

How I would pack a single valuable item to that standard

The method is the same for a graded card, a watch or a phone. Only the inner layer changes, and I would not cut any step for a cheaper item of the same kind.

1. Protect the item itself. A slab goes into a soft sleeve or a wrap. A watch stays on its pillow inside its own box. A phone stays in its original box.
2. Make an inner box. If the item has no box of its own, use a small rigid box and fix the item in its centre with cushioning on every side.
3. Choose a new double-wall outer box at least 14 cm larger than the inner box in every dimension.
4. Put about 6 cm of fill in the base, centre the inner box, fill the sides and the top, and press down. Nothing should move when you shake it.
5. Seal with 48 mm tape in an H on the top and the bottom. A printed or tamper-evident tape makes any re-taping easy to spot.
6. Label the top face. If the item is worth more than the per-kilogram cap, declare its value and ask for insurance on the waybill.

Two DHL rules can stop the shipment before packing even matters.

Its terms list loose precious or semi-precious stones as unacceptable. And its guide warns that electronic equipment can count as dangerous goods, which matters for anything with a lithium battery. Ask DHL before you book a phone or a set of loose stones.

The record to make before the courier collects

I would treat this as part of packing, not as extra work. It takes a few minutes.

It is also the only evidence that nobody else can throw away.

1. Photograph the item before packing, with its serial number, grading label or identifying marks visible.
2. Photograph each stage: inner box, the fill in the base of the outer box, the inner box in place.
3. Lay a ruler across the gap between the inner box and the outer wall and photograph it. This one picture answers the 6 cm question.
4. Photograph the maker's stamp printed on the outer box, which states its construction and strength.
5. Photograph the sealed box from all six sides, with the H-taping and the label visible.
6. Weigh the parcel and note its size. Compare them later with the weight on the DHL invoice.
7. Keep the proof of value. The DHL UK claims guide says that if you are the manufacturer or supplier, the proof of value should be your own cost, not your selling price.
8. Keep the waybill and the pickup scan.

Put all of it in one folder named after the waybill number.

If you ever need it, you will need it within 30 days.

At delivery: what the receiver should do

For a damage claim, the DHL UK claims guide asks for pictures of the damage, pictures of all the packaging, proof of value for all the items sent, and proof of shipping. The receiver holds two of those four.

So we suggest telling the receiver before the parcel arrives, in the dispatch message:

1. Photograph the outer box from all sides before opening it.
2. Open it carefully and photograph each layer as it comes out.
3. Keep the box, the inner box and every piece of packing until the claim is settled.
4. Tell you the same day if anything is wrong.

I would send this with every valuable order, even to a buyer who has bought from you ten times.

When the buyer has already thrown the box away

If the buyer has thrown the box away, your own photos from before dispatch become the main evidence of how the item was packed, and the carrier claim may fail anyway. Carriers judge packing from the packing, and once it is in the bin, they cannot see it.

The rules are written that way. The DHL UK claims guide asks for photos of all the packaging. For US mail, USPS DMM 609 says the addressee must keep the mailing container, all packaging and the contents, and make them available for inspection on request, or the claim is denied.

So act quickly, and in this order.

1. Ask the buyer the same day whether the box is still in the recycling bin or the building's waste area. If the waste has not been collected, it may still be there.
2. Ask for photos of whatever is left: the inner box, the wrap, a torn label, the tape.
3. Ask for any photo they took when the parcel arrived, even a quick one on a phone.
4. Send the carrier your own pre-dispatch record with the claim, and ask in writing whether it will assess the claim on photos.
5. If the claim fails, decide your answer to the buyer on your own evidence as well as the carrier's letter.

Seal evidence helps here.

If your photos show the tape pattern at dispatch, and the buyer's photo shows the same tape unbroken on arrival, that is strong evidence the box was not opened on the way.

To make this rarer, print one line on the packing slip and repeat it in the dispatch message. "Please keep the box and all the packing until you have checked the item."

If DHL has already said no

Write back, inside the claims process, and ask which part of the packing fell short. I would keep the tone factual and the reply short. Then answer point by point against the DHL guide.

This does not guarantee a different answer.

But a reply that maps your photos to the carrier's own document is harder to refuse than a reply that only says the packing was fine. If you bought your own transit insurance, claim there as well, and read its packing conditions first.

What we make, and what we do not

We make tape, air cushion film and paper cushioning in Jaipur. We do not make boxes, and we are not a carrier, so the standards here belong to DHL, not to us. I have also not been through DHL's claims process for a graded card or a watch myself. This article is built on DHL's published documents, not on a case of our own.

If you send valuable items every week, make the record a habit for every parcel, including the cheap ones. And if you want help choosing the tape and fill for a box-in-box pack, send us the item size through the contact page.