An Post tracking status
An Post “We could not deliver your item”: what it means
The short answer
Take actionAn Post could not deliver your parcel and will try to send it back, often over customs data, a charge or the address. An Post has said a started return cannot be stopped, though one such line proved wrong when the person asked at their local post office.
When to act: If you paid the customs charge on time, or had no delivery attempt or notice before this line, file a complaint and we send it to An Post.
Also shown as: “We could not deliver your item. We will try to return it to the sender.” · “We could not deliver your post. We will try to return it to the sender.” · “The item will be returned to sender” · “Your item has left An Post” · “Your post has left An Post”
What to do now
- 1
Read the whole item history for a reason, a customs charge line or an earlier delivery attempt.
- 2
If you paid a customs charge, find your payment confirmation and the pay by date on your postcard, text or email.
- 3
Check the address on your order, including your Eircode.
- 4
Watch your order page and your inbox, as the seller may resend or refund once the parcel is back.
- 5
Keep screenshots of the history and your order confirmation.
- 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.
Going back to the sender with another courier
- USPS: Insufficient address
- Amazon: Undeliverable
- DHL: Returned to Shipper
- OnTrac: Returning package to the shipper
- GOFO: Delivery Failed
- UniUni: Undeliverable
- SpeedX: Return to Shipper
- Cainiao: Return
- Royal Mail: Returned to sender
- Evri: Returned to sender
- DPD: On its way back to the sender
- Parcelforce: Returned to sender
- Canada Post: Item being returned to sender
- Purolator: Item being returned to sender, determined as undeliverable
- Canpar: Returned to sender
- Intelcom: Sorry, your package was undeliverable
- Australia Post: Returning to sender
- Aramex: Return to sender
- CouriersPlease: Return to Sender In Progress
- Sendle: Returned
- NZ Post: Undeliverable
What does “We could not deliver your item” mean?
An Post lists these reasons on its customs and delivery pages: the customs charge was not paid by the pay by date, the sender's electronic customs declaration was insufficient or invalid, the goods are prohibited or restricted, or a missed parcel was not collected in time. It says it cannot amend a customs declaration, so items with incomplete data must go back. A sticker on the parcel says why it could not be delivered.
'Will try to return' means the return is starting, not finished, and An Post needs a legible return address. In tracking histories people share, this line can appear at a hub with no delivery attempt: one history shows it at the Dublin Parcel Hub a minute after a sort scan on an Amazon order. Returns can be slow: An Post told one person that items going back over documentation errors are not prioritised. The next line may be 'Your item has left An Post'. A delivery attempt line can also end 'The item will be returned to sender': in the one case we found, the line was wrong: staff at the local post office found the parcel with another postman, and it was delivered.
Why does An Post show it?
- The customs charge was not paid by the pay by date
- The item was rejected at payment
- The sender's customs declaration was insufficient or invalid
- Prohibited or restricted goods
- A missed parcel was not collected within the hold period
- An address problem An Post could not solve
- A processing error, as An Post said in one shared case
How long does it last?
The parcel travels back through An Post to the sender, or to the last carrier before An Post, with a sticker saying why. In shared accounts one parcel left An Post after six days, and another took about six weeks. What happens to your order after that depends on why it went back and on the seller.
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
- Parcel delayedKeep 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 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 “We could not deliver your item”
Can An Post stop a parcel being returned?
Expect it to go back. In shared cases An Post said it cannot intercept an item in the returns process, and that the sender would have to send it again. One such line proved wrong: staff at the local post office found the parcel with another postman. So try to collect it there the same day.
Why is An Post returning my parcel when I paid customs?
It should not be. In one older shared case An Post said an electronic error had wrongly marked a paid parcel as unpaid. Keep your payment confirmation and file a complaint here.
Why was my parcel from the UK returned?
Often the customs data. An Post says the sender's electronic customs declaration may have been insufficient or invalid, and it cannot amend one. It also returns parcels when a charge goes unpaid and when goods are prohibited or restricted.
How long does An Post take to return a parcel?
An Post publishes no time. It told one person that items going back over documentation errors are not prioritised. In shared accounts one parcel left An Post after six days, and another took about six weeks.
Will I get my money back if An Post returns my parcel?
It depends on why it went back and on the seller. If you bought from a business and it has not delivered, the Consumer Rights Act lets you give it extra time to deliver and then end the contract. An Post does not deal with refunds for goods.
Based on
- An Post: Customs information (why items are returned to sender)
- An Post: Delivery help (return after the hold period, sticker)
- An Post: Customs Terms and Conditions (refund queries)
- Irish Statute Book: Consumer Rights Act, section 36 (additional period, right to terminate)
- boards.ie: 'We could not deliver your item' at the Dublin Parcel Hub
- boards.ie: 'We could not deliver your post', then 'Your post has left An Post'
- boards.ie: 'items due for return as a result of documentation errors are not prioritised'
- boards.ie: An Post's reply, it cannot intercept an item in the returns process
- boards.ie: support saying a return was a mistake but could not be stopped
- boards.ie: 'The item will be returned to sender', then delivered
- boards.ie: the same parcel, the visit to the local post office
- boards.ie: 'Your item has left An Post', six days after the return line
- Trustpilot review: a return taking about six weeks
- Irish Statute Book: Consumer Rights Act, section 35 (passing of risk)
- Irish Statute Book: Consumer Rights Act, section 36 (delivery of goods, 30 days)
- 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)