UPS, the parcel and logistics company, has claimed in the Commercial Court that it is owed more than €37 million by one of its customers for European deliveries from Chinese online marketplace Temu.
United Parcel Service (UPS) of Ireland Ltd has brought proceedings against Whaleco Technology Ltd for payments it says are due for small package transport services in Europe. Dublin-registered Whaleco carries on the business of a global online marketplace for Temu.
The case was admitted to the commercial list on Monday by Judge Mark Sanfey on the application of Paul Gardiner, barrister for UPS, with consent from Declan McGrath, counsel for Whaleco.
McGrath said his client had suggested mediation, and it was hoped that can be progressed by the time the case returns in May.
The judge said it was a case that would be very amenable to mediation and if the parties required any assistance from the court in that respect, they had liberty to apply.
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In an affidavit seeking entry of the case to the Commercial Court, Séamus Smith, senior manager for collections for UPSC CSTC Ireland Ltd, an Irish-incorporated affiliate within the UPS group, said in 2024 the parties were engaged in discussions for the provision of small package transport services within Europe.
Those discussions became protracted and an interim arrangement was devised whereby UPS provided the service between September 2024 and September 2025 at a significant discount from its standard rate.
Smith said that up to September 2025, the defendant was persistently late or failed to pay significant sums under the interim agreement. By August 2025, it had built up arrears of nearly €13 million, he said.
The interim arrangement was terminated and UPS said it would only do deliveries at its standard rate, the discounted rate no longer applying. However, Smith said while a discount of 30 per cent was still offered to Whaleco, this proposal was never accepted.
Whaleco continued to place orders but failed to make any meaningful payments, he said. As a consequence, its accounts were suspended by UPS.
By January 13th last, the amount owed to UPS was more than €37 million.
Whaleco, Smith said, disputed the validity of the termination of the interim arrangement and that any disputes arose from administrative errors and inconsistencies in UPS’ billing data as well as service failures. UPS rejected these claims.