One of the most common complaints from our UK readers is when Royal Mail says delivered but not.
The disheartening part is that these readers reach out to us when they are already anxious, and now that you are here, you could be in the same predicament.
What are the reasons why Royal Mail says that a package has been delivered when it has not? What can I do to receive my package then? For these and finer details, let’s dig deeper into it.
Why Does My Royal Mail Parcel Say Delivered But Not Arrived?
The Package Was Delivered To The Wrong Address
It happens sometimes especially when there are new staff heading your way to deliver packages to the wrong addresses.
This is especially common where you share the same name with another recipient or where there is another house number in an adjacent building.
One of the incredible ways to know if your package was delivered to the wrong especially after the tracking page shows that it was “delivered” to you is by looking at the “proof of delivery” picture.
If that image is nothing like your house and you are sure that you provided the shipper with the right house address, you can rest assured that your misdelivery is a result of the wrong address.
In some other incidences, some posties end up wrongly delivering the packages through their doors. This is another classic example of packages getting misdelivered.
Misscanning
Nothing is perfect and so applies to Royal Mail.
Due to mis-scanning, a package that had been described as “delivered” might actually be sitting somewhere along the delivery process.
Another emerging trend we have found is that some Posties just mark packages to have been “delivered” when they are behind the delivery schedule to reach a target or quota and then plan the delivery for the first thing in the next business day.
It is undoubtedly unethical and those that do this are always putting their jobs under jeopardy. No need to keep recipients anxious about when they next expect their packages.
Also Read: My Royal Mail Package Is Stuck In Transit
Package Theft
Porch pirates are everywhere and stats show that parcel theft has grown to a whopping 59%.
If the “Photo proof of delivery” on your tracking page shows that your package was indeed delivered to your place and you can’t find it, chances are that a porch pirate stole it.
There have been other reported incidences where some Royal Mail staff stole packages and ended up marking them as “delivered”.
If your parcel is described to have been delivered but you didn’t find it, you might sadly have been a victim of theft by either porch pirates or Royal Mail staff.
What Should I Do When Royal Mail Says Delivered But Not?
Contact The Shipper
Since you are the sender’s client, they are responsible for ensuring that you receive your package in your preferred area.
Whenever a package has been delayed or was misdelivered, we usually recommend that you get in touch with the sender. That way, they might take it up with Royal Mail and see to it that the delivery gets effected.
If after working with Royal Mail they determine that the package was stolen, the shipper is supposed to get a reimbursement, as they work on sending you a replacement package or a refund.
While contacting Royal Mail is another route to follow, we normally don’t recommend it as they do little to nothing to help you – you are just the recipient and realistically not their client.
If the sender doesn’t seem to cooperate with you to ensure that you receive your package, a replacement, or a refund, we recommend that you file a chargeback. Of course, that depends on how valuable the package was to you, and if or if not you can let it go.
