As you expect Royal Mail to deliver your package, you expect everything to move seamlessly.
But what do they mean when they tell you, “Unable to attempt delivery?”
Well, this is a common tracking status, and based on our findings, we’ll look into it right away.
What Does Royal Mail’s Unable To Attempt Delivery Mean?
When Royal Mail says they are “unable to attempt delivery,” it means that there is a hindrance preventing them from accessing the delivery address.
Under most circumstances, this tracking status doesn’t linger for long, and the package ends up getting delivered a few days afterward.
Why Does Royal Mail Say That They Were Unable To Attempt Delivery?
The Driver Ran Out Of Time
Since Royal Mail drivers work on timelines, they sometimes don’t achieve their targets, especially when there are high volumes of packages in the queue before they get to yours.
Again, a delivery vehicle might develop a mechanical problem. In case it takes longer to fix it and get back to the delivery work, darkness might easily find the affected driver with several packages that weren’t delivered.
If such a package had come earlier and delivering it the following day wouldn’t make it delayed, drivers who ran out of time use “Unable to attempt delivery.”
Inaccessible Address
If there is a roaming dog around your compound, posties can’t enter and deliver your package.
Again, if you stay in a gated community where there is a community mailbox and vehicles are obscuring it, Royal Mail classifies this as an inaccessible address.
Anything hindering Royal Mail from placing the package in the provided delivery address will always trigger the “unable to attempt delivery” status.
If you feel that there might be an issue with your address, we always recommend that you change your delivery option to a better place.
The Package Arrived Late After The Drivers Left
Packages coming from different facilities to the depot that will route yours might end up getting there way after your postie left.
In such a scenario, Royal Mail will use “Unable to attempt delivery” to indicate that the package couldn’t be loaded into the delivery vehicle coming to your address due to a delay in getting to the depot.
Missing Package
While your Royal Mail package is in transit, it can go missing such as when it’s wrongly delivered to the wrong address.
In another scenario, if yours is a smaller-sized package, it can end up getting bundled along with a bigger one. Again, if a smaller-sized package falls into the conveyor unit, it might be hard to notice.
As Royal Mail works on retrieving it, they will tell you that they are unable to attempt delivery since they don’t have such a package in the first place.
The package status in such a scenario will only change after they retrieve it.
Inclement Weather Conditions
As expected, deliveries can’t happen amid bad weather.
When it’s heavily snowing, there are regional floods, or it’s extremely icy, posties can’t safely handle packages, which means patience has to be upheld before the weather becomes clearer.
In such a circumstance, it’s impossible to achieve any delivery, making Royal Mail use the scan, “unable to attempt delivery.”
What Do I Do When My Package Status Is Stuck On “Unable To Attempt Delivery” For Days?
Go And Pick It Up From The Delivery Office
If you live near the Delivery Office, you can go and pick up your package instead of relying on the chance that Royal Mail will attempt delivery.
We have had incidences where Royal Mail kept on saying “unable to attempt delivery” for up to two weeks, and recipients had to go to the depot to pick them up.
You must know that your depot has to allow for self-picking in the first place as other offices claim packages to have been in the delivery system.
Contact The Sender
If your package is stuck on this status for days and it’s past the delivery date, we recommend that you contact the sender.
Since the sender is contracted to Royal Mail, they can pick it up with them to see to it that your package comes faster. If not, you can ask for a replacement package or a refund.
