You received an update from the sender that they have delivered your package to Royal Mail.
The tracking page works perfectly showing every step of the way.
However, a couple of days later you face the daunting Royal Mail tracking not updating problem.
You aren’t alone. As someone who uses Royal Mail frequently and who interacts with others who do, this is a common mishap.
What are the reasons why Royal Mail suddenly stopped tracking packages? What best can you do to sort out this problem? Cozy in as we look into it.
Why Is My Royal Mail Tracking Number Not Updating?
Tracking System Outage
System outages are part of network-powered systems and Royal Mail isn’t any exception.
There might be issues such as tracking device malfunctions, the network being down, or in rare occurrences, power interruptions.
Depending on the cause of the outage, it might take a couple of hours or days to get it sorted out.
In one of the instances where I had the tracking page not updating, it took a whole week before there suddenly appeared a bunch of tracking events showing the tracking data for the entire week. I could see where the parcel was on the days I had no update.
When there is an outage, Royal Mail does a somewhat fair job of updating users on what’s happening and how long they can expect the issue to be resolved.
A tracking system outage is one of the leading reasons explaining why the Royal Mail tracking isn’t working perfectly.
Ongoing Customs Process
Tracking is mostly the weakest when a package is going through the customs process. This is especially common during the peak holiday seasons where there are heaps of packages to be sorted out.
When the last scan was made in the customs office and takes several days without the tracking page getting updated, know that the package is still undergoing clearance.
The reason why there is no update at this point is that the clearance is still in process, and once it’s over, you will get notified.
The Package Was Lost
While Royal Mail doesn’t have many issues to do with losing packages completely, package losses still happen.
In case your package was lost in transit, the tracking page won’t update just yet as it’s not there to get the relevant scan.
They will try to look for and retrieve it to complete the delivery to you. When the package gets lost completely and the sender reaches out to Royal Mail, they will then reimburse them. In turn, the sender will have to send you a replacement parcel or a refund.
Another scenario that can be described as a partial loss is when the package’s tracking label gets damaged and unreadable. Royal Mail will try their level best to retrieve it and create another label for it. Until that gets done, the tracking page won’t show any update for your package.
Operational Delays
While expecting package deliveries, operational delays are bound to happen.
For instance, during peak holiday times, there are backlogs due to understaffing. The high volumes of packages to be delivered to the number of Royal Mail staff ratio is unproportionate, making it hard to scan the packages as faster.
Again, when there is inclement weather, packages can’t move as flawlessly, as it first has to be safe for the delivery team to continue.
In any instance where there are operational delays, it can take several hours or days before you can see any update.
Lack Of Scanning
It happens sometimes that packages don’t get scanned as expected either due to forgetfulness or when the Royal Mail staff intentionally opt not to scan.
Whenever a package has not been scanned for whatever reason, the tracking page won’t get updated as there are no latest details.
We have found that in some instances where packages haven’t been scanned as expected, they sometimes still show up when the tracking page still shows a stuck status on where the package was last seen.
What Do I Do When Facing My Royal Mail Tracking Not Updating?
Let Royal Mail Know
When your tracking page doesn’t work, it’s crucial for you to let Royal Mail know what you are going through.
Since they have screens they may check further details, unlike the Standard users, they will check it for you and let you aware of where your package might be sitting.
Contact The Shipper
Of course, some Royal Mail staff may fail to help you as you are just the recipient and not the client.
Since you are the sender’s client, they are responsible for ensuring that you will receive your package in the most hassle-free manner.
Contacting them will have them file an investigation with Royal Mail and ensure that you receive the much-needed response.
If there’s anything uncertain about the delivery, the sender can initiate a reimbursement from Royal Mail and send you a replacement package or issue a refund to you.
Re-track Your Item
While the default Royal Mail tracking might not be updating as you expect it to, you can consider re-tracking your item using free Third-party sites such as 17Track and Parcelsapp.
These provide a better overview of where the packages are stuck at, and help you guess how many more hours or days you expect the item to get to you.
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