OT: When is a Tracking Number not a Tracking Number?

[Davey]

Answer: When the Post Office/Royal Mail/Parcel Force has a package to deliver that is 'Signature Required'.

A package was sent to me from Germany on Dec. 17. The Tracking Number used on the German Post Office website confirms that it was accepted by Great Britain on 27 Dec. Ok, it's the holiday season. The UK system can tell me nothing about its whereabouts. Apparently, the Tracking Number will only be of use when (if) it is signed for. It cannot be used for tracking the package, despite being a Tracking Number.

I called Parcel Force, and they said that it was not one of theirs, probably because it was to small (correct, it is, it's a record player cartridge). Royal Mail said that it was probably one of theirs, but they couldn't track it, and recommended that I go to my local Post Office and ask there. I did, and they said that there was no way that they could track it, to tell me where it was, and they could not tell me whom to ask. 'Wait a few more days'. And then what?

What a way to start the year!

[Jethro_uk]

Not for nothing are they known as ParcelFarce.

[Brian Gaff]

I think to start claiming and to get them motivated they told me it had to be missing 14 working days, Saturday is only a part day, by the way,, and nobody seems to know if its counted or not. Any package they cannot deliver cos the address is a mess ends up in Northern ireland apparently in true royal mail logic.

Brian

[Brian Gaff]

If you can get out of them where your local delivery office is, you might have more luck there.

Assuming here its Royal Mail. What normally happens is that its received either at a port or ann airport, then goes to the nearest mail centre. These are hubs in local areas, They are then sorted so they can go out to the mail centre nearest the delivery office where its going to be delivered from, then finally, it is sorted and delivered, but of course things that need signatures are kept seperate and seem to get lost a lot, or that has been my experience. Normally bog standard small packages are both faster and more reliable!

Brian

[Andrew Gabriel]

If you use a national carrier such as Royal Mail or its equivalents, there's not much guarantee what type of service it will feed into at the transit and destination countries. If you want international tracabililty, you need to use an international courier, such as DHL, UPS, Fedex, etc.

[alan]

But other carriers have the same type of delivery route AND you can find out where it is and at what time it reached those points simply by going on line OR them sending a few emails.

Example Chelmsford, United Kingdom 30/12/2013 9:37 Delivered

30/12/2013 5:03 Destination Scan Chelmsford, United Kingdom 28/12/2013 3:51 Arrival Scan

Tamworth, United Kingdom 28/12/2013 1:04 Departure Scan Tamworth, United Kingdom 27/12/2013 16:36 Arrival Scan

Chilly Mazarin, France 27/12/2013 6:05 Departure Scan

27/12/2013 2:38 Origin Scan

France 26/12/2013 8:35 Order Processed: Ready for UPS

I've had the same with the Post Office the tracking only works AFTER the package has been delivered and is of no use if a package letter has gone missing in the system. I've also been told at the local sorting office that it may take a week+ after delivery for the number to be entered into the system.

[alan]

Royal Mail cannot track packages UK source to UK destination and only using their service.

[Davey]

That's where I went and asked, and they had no idea.

That's my point. Why call it a Tracking Number when it can't be used for Tracking? Grrr.

(In the oddities of the Internet, I don't see Brian's message, but I see your, Alan's, reply to it).

[Dave Liquorice]

All you have is a *German* number for the package that tracks within Germany, as it did, to the airport. After that it's only use is the confirmation that a siganture was collected. This is the service that you (or sender) have paid for, failure to read/comprehend the T&C's of the service is not a carrier problem in either country. This is quite normal with most coutries national carrier "signed for services", either into or out of the country.

If you want a fully tracked service use one that provides it, UPS, FedEx etc.

[Davey]

So why call it a 'Tracking Number', which means that it can be Tracked. Call it a 'Delivery Confirmation Number', then its function would be clear. The PO website could easily distinguish that from the number given to it, if it was so programmed. I have just ordered something from Amazon, and it clearly sets out the differences between Tracking and Signed-for deliveries.

[Dave Liquorice]

within

It can, as you found, within Germany.

[Davey]

But it appears that the same misleading name is used for an intra-Britain job.

[Davey]

Oh that's good. In the German style, the sender put the Post Code followed by the Post Town. Easy to interpret, by a human. Now I may never see it.

[Nightjar]

Tracking a package after it has left the country of origin often requires the sender to have used a premium service. In the UK that would mean using Royal Mail Airsure, rather than the cheaper Royal Mail International Signed For, which only provides tracking while it is within the UK.

Blame the sender for not using a service that provides international tracking.

Colin Bignell

[Davey]

Ah, but it doesn't provide Tracking, it only provides Confirmation of Delivery, which is why it is a misleading title.

[Nightjar]

Royal Mail International Signed For provides tracking within the UK, just as the service your sender used provides tracking within Germany. It is a tracking number. It just isn't an international tracking number.

Colin Bignell

[Davey]

That is the best explanation I have seen so far.

[tim......]

Because it can be

The problem is that the particular carried has no customer interface for tracking packages at all. And what has happened here is that a remote carrier, that does have a tracking system, has handed over your parcel to a carrier who doesn't

tim

[Davey]

Yes, that matches what Colin said. Oh well, I can do no more until it arrives, assuming it does. If it hasn't arrived after 14 working days or so in the UK, then what can I do?

[Gazz]

Then they need to change the name of the number then, i guess Myhermes is one of those fully tracked services then, as i was able to track that parcel along every step of it's journey... it made more journeys in england due to being taken back to the depot 'due to bad weather'