An Post tracking status
An Post “Parcel delayed”: what it means
The short answer
Keep an eye on itAn Post has no tracking line called delayed: a late parcel simply stops getting new scans or shows the wrong office. Standard post normally takes one to two days. An Post's guide for querying late post is 5 working days from posting, or 15 days for international post.
When to act: If standard post has not arrived 5 working days after posting, or international post after 15 days, file a complaint and we send it to An Post.
Also shown as: “Your post has been sent to the wrong delivery office. We will still get it to you. It is now in [place]” · “Sent to the wrong delivery office in error”
What to do now
- 1
Find the posting date and count from there: 5 working days within Ireland, 15 days from abroad. The first scan in the history is a good guide.
- 2
Check the address on your order confirmation, including your Eircode. An Post says address problems are the most common cause.
- 3
Look through the item history for a wrong delivery office line and a later scan at the right office.
- 4
If the parcel came from outside the EU, check for a customs charge by post, text or email, as An Post cannot deliver until it is paid.
- 5
Keep screenshots of the tracking, your order date and the delivery date the seller gave you.
- 6
Still not sorted? File your complaint here. We write it with you and send it to An Post, so you do not have to chase it yourself.
Running late with another courier
- FedEx: Clearance delay
- UPS: Delay
- USPS: In transit, arriving late
- Amazon: Delayed, not yet shipped
- OnTrac: Delayed. Delivery date updated
- SpeedX: Delay in transit
- Veho: Package delayed
- GLS: Delivery Rescheduled
- Cainiao: Import customs clearance delay
- Royal Mail: Delayed
- Evri: Delayed
- DPD: Delayed due to an unexpected issue in your area
- Yodel: Your parcel has been delayed
- APC Overnight: Your parcel won't be delivered today
- DX: Not arrived or delayed
- ArrowXL: Couldn't deliver
- Canada Post: Item delayed, stay tuned for updates
- Purolator: Delayed in transit due to disruption
- Canpar: Delayed at facility
- Intelcom: Delivery postponed
- Australia Post: Possible delay
- StarTrack: Possible delay
- Aramex: Parcel delayed
- CouriersPlease: Delivery rescheduled
- Team Global Express: Held up in transit
- NZ Post: Parcel delayed
What does “Parcel delayed” mean?
An Post says standard post normally arrives one to two days after posting, and that most delays come from incomplete, illegible or incorrect addresses. It also lists items posted after the last collection of the day, difficulty accessing the property, international post passing through several postal services and customs agents, and prohibited items. In busy seasons it asks you to allow up to 5 working days for processing once a parcel is scanned at its hub.
One delay does have its own line: 'Your post has been sent to the wrong delivery office. We will still get it to you.' In tracking histories people share, the parcel then goes back through a mail centre or hub to the right office, which often costs a day or more and can happen twice. Parcels from outside the EU can be delayed in a different way: An Post says that if the sender's electronic customs data is missing or poor, the item can sit or be sent back.
Why does An Post show it?
- An incomplete, illegible or incorrect address
- Posted after the last collection of the day
- Difficulty accessing the property
- International post passing through several postal services and customs agents
- Seasonal volumes at the parcel hub
- The parcel went to the wrong delivery office
- Missing or poor customs data from the sender
How long does it last?
A late parcel usually shows no warning. The next thing you should see is a new scan, then 'Your item is out for delivery'. After a wrong office line, expect a sorting scan at a mail centre or hub and then a scan at the correct D.S.U.
Other An Post statuses
- A customs charge has been appliedTake action
- Customs charges have been paidKeep an eye on it
- Your item is being sorted for deliveryKeep an eye on it
- Tracking not updatingKeep an eye on it
- Delivered but not receivedTake action
- We tried to deliver your itemKeep an eye on it
- Your delivery is in D.S.U.Take action
- We could not deliver your itemTake action
- We have received information about your incoming item from the senderNormal
Who is responsible for a late or missing parcel from An Post?
A parcel bought online from a business is usually the seller's to sort out until it reaches you. The Consumer Rights Act (section 35) leaves goods at the seller's risk until you, or a person you nominated, physically have them. The exception is a carrier you booked yourself and the seller did not propose. Section 36 requires delivery without undue delay and no later than 30 days after the contract was made, unless you and the seller agreed otherwise. Customs charges are different: An Post's customs terms make the person receiving the parcel liable for them.
When you sent the parcel yourself, you are An Post's customer and the terms of the service you bought apply. For Standard Post, compensation generally covers no more than postage and directly associated costs, often in stamps. For Express it may equal the postage, and Express with Signature is limited to the lower of the item's proven cost and €350. Registered Post is limited to the value you declared (€25 if you declared none), up to €350 plus charges within Ireland and less for places abroad.
Questions about “Parcel delayed”
Are there An Post delays at the moment?
An Post's service update page lists suspended routes abroad, but its weather notices there are years old, so it may not show a local problem. A delay often shows only as a gap in your tracking, so check the date of your last scan first.
How long does An Post take to deliver?
Standard post normally arrives one to two days after posting, and An Post's customer charter sets a target of 94% next-day delivery of domestic mail. For parcels from abroad it gives no time, only 'as quickly as possible' once scanned into its network.
Does An Post slow down at Christmas?
An Post says seasonal volumes mean parcels can take longer and asks you to allow up to 5 working days for processing after a hub scan. In histories people share from the weeks after Christmas, waits reached 8 to 10 days.
What does 'sent to the wrong delivery office' mean on An Post?
The parcel reached a delivery office that does not cover your address. An Post says it will still get it to you. In shared histories it travels back through a mail centre or hub to the right office, within a day or a few days in some cases. One person says they were told 7 working days.
Who is responsible for a late An Post parcel?
If you bought online from a business, usually the seller. Under the Consumer Rights Act it must deliver without undue delay and no later than 30 days after the contract, unless you agreed otherwise, and the goods stay at its risk until you have them.
Based on
- An Post: Receiving post (why post is late, 5 working days and 15 days)
- An Post: Track and Trace help (seasonal volumes, up to 5 working days)
- An Post: Customer charter (next-day delivery target)
- An Post: Service update (old weather notices, suspended routes)
- An Post: Customs information (customs data from the sender)
- Irish Statute Book: Consumer Rights Act, section 36 (delivery of goods, 30 days)
- boards.ie: history with the wrong delivery office line twice
- boards.ie: history with the wrong delivery office line and a D.S.U.
- boards.ie: An Post thread, 'sent to the wrong delivery office in error'
- boards.ie: H&M Delivery thread, wrong delivery office in error
- boards.ie: newer history with the full wrong delivery office line
- Trustpilot review: wrong delivery office, told 7 working days
- Irish Statute Book: Consumer Rights Act, section 35 (passing of risk)
- An Post: Terms and Conditions for all services (Standard and Registered Post compensation)
- An Post: Express Terms and Conditions, single piece mail
- An Post: Customs Terms and Conditions (who is liable for customs charges)