A refused delivery status appearing on a tracking status can be confusing and worrying for the sender and receiver of an item, as there can be many reasons for refused deliveries.

*There are many reasons for refused deliveries*

What is Refused Delivery by Receiver?

Refused delivery by receiver occurs when a business or individual scheduled to have goods sent to them refuses outright to accept the delivery of the items — reasons for refusal of delivery by the receiver include.

Damaged Package

If the package has sustained damage beyond what is considered normal, or if the receiver believes that the item is inoperable, then the receiver can refuse to accept delivery of the item, as the receiver has the right to expect goods to be delivered safely and fully intact.

The Package Is Open

The receiver has a case to refuse delivery if his package is open or appears to have been opened at some stage.

A recipient may dream up certain assumptions when getting an opened package. These can include:

The package has been used
The package has been damaged
The package has been stolen

And if the sender sold the items as being brand new, then an opened package can cast severe doubt on the condition of the items.

The Package Is Wet

Reasons for a wet package include:

The package gets drenched by rain when being moved from a delivery van to a property.
Getting soaked after being left in a pre-approved location, such as a porch, wheelie bin or locker/box, to be picked up later by the recipient.
If a pre-arranged drop-off point is wet through for some reason or becomes wet, a receiver may refuse to accept delivery.

*Deliveries can be refused due to a package being wet*

Package Is a Duplicate Order

A business may by mistake order goods twice, or the sender may post multiple quantities of the same order. A recipient has the right to refuse delivery of items for the above reasons, as they would have only paid for the items once, and duplicates may incur further costs.

The Business the Package Is Addressed to Is No Longer Based There

Suppose a package is sent to the wrong address or to a location no longer home to the receiver of the goods. In that case, the recipient could refuse delivery, especially if the recipient made sure that their address details when making their order was correct and that the fault for the goods being sent to the wrong destination lies squarely with the sender.

Receiving Someone Else's Package

Like the above, if a package is addressed to someone else and is sent to the wrong premises, the recipient can refuse to accept delivery.

Refused Delivery by Sender

There can be several reasons for a sender of a package, refusing to post items. Here are some of the causes for this happening.

Incomplete or Missing Address

If an address is missing vital details such as the house/property number, street/road name or postcode, a consignee can refuse for goods to be sent out, especially if they have tried to procure accurate address details from the consignor without avail.

Payment/Card/Declined Payment Issues

If a bank declines payment and the sender cannot fulfil the charge for the shipment, then the sender may refuse to complete the delivery.

Failure to Pay Fees and Charges, Especially for International Shipments

Occasionally some carriers may levy extra fees for carriage fees, such as customs charges. If the receiver refuses to pay for these costs, then the courier can have the delivery returned to the sender, and delivery will be refused.

Courier Has No Access to The Address

If the courier cannot reach or access the recipient's address when attempting to deliver a package, delivery of a package can be refused. A carrier may leave some form of a note or a tag to notify the recipient that the delivery failed and that the courier needs to be contacted via an app, online, text message or telephone call so that delivery may be re-arranged.

What happens to a parcel when a delivery is refused?

If the courier attempts to redeliver a package, the parcel will be kept in the courier's warehouse or depot.

If delivery has been unsuccessful following additional attempts, the package will be returned to the sender.

Steps to Take After a Refused Delivery

After a delivery has been refused, actions that should be taken with regards to specific delivery refusals include

Package Not Delivered

If a package wasn't delivered to its destination, a courier will either leave some form of a notice, either as a leaflet or a tag, informing the receiver that the courier will attempt to redeliver the items either within the next 24 to 48 hours. This update may also appear in a tracking status. The receiver should make sure that either themselves or someone else will be ready to accept the package when re-delivery occurs.

If there is no note, or if the courier drops a leaflet asking the receiver to call them and arrange a time and place for a re-delivery attempt, then this should be done.

Sender Says Package Was Delivered

If a tracking status displays information that a package was successfully delivered, yet the receiver did not get their order — in this case, it is recommended the receiver contact the sender and either ask for their goods to be sent again or for an issue to be refunded.

*The sender of an item should be contacted if they are problems with tracking statuses*

Summary

With nearly 14 million parcels moving through the UK's delivery networks, it is inevitable for mistakes to happen and for deliveries to fail to reach their destinations. Refused deliveries can, for the most part, be fixed by following certain, easy-to-follow steps.

Refused Delivery