CouriersPlease tracking status
CouriersPlease “Return to Sender In Progress”: what it means
The short answer
Take actionYour parcel is on its way back to the sender and will not come to you on this journey. It can follow a refusal, an uncollected parcel or a redelivery that failed. A new delivery is for the seller to arrange.
When to act: If the parcel has not reached the sender after 10 business days, file a complaint and we send it to CouriersPlease.
Also shown as: “Collection period expired - Return to sender in progress” · “Delivery attempted - Delivery refused by receiver”
What to do now
- 1
Read the line before this one, as it usually shows what went wrong.
- 2
Look for a separate return consignment number and track the return with that one.
- 3
Check your messages for any collection notice you may have missed.
- 4
Check the address on your order, including the unit number.
- 5
Keep screenshots of the tracking and your order confirmation, with the dates.
- 6
Still not sorted? File your complaint here. We write it with you and send it to CouriersPlease, 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
- Sendle: Returned
- NZ Post: Undeliverable
- An Post: We could not deliver your item
What does “Return to Sender In Progress” mean?
'Return to Sender In Progress' means the parcel is travelling back through the network. 'Collection period expired - Return to sender in progress' says why: nobody picked it up from the collection point in time. 'Delivery attempted - Delivery refused by receiver' means it was refused at the door. CouriersPlease does not always give the reason on the line itself.
The tracking may also change number. CouriersPlease says that where a separate return consignment number has been provided, you should track the return with that one, so the old number can look as if it has stopped.
Why does CouriersPlease show it?
- Nobody collected it from the collection point in time
- It was refused at the delivery address
- A redelivery failed and no instructions came during the depot hold, generally up to 6 business days
How long does it last?
It goes back through the network to the sender. CouriersPlease gives no time for this. Its terms say a freight handling fee and freight charges apply on a return, for the person who booked.
Other CouriersPlease statuses
- Shipment information receivedKeep an eye on it
- Delivery rescheduledKeep an eye on it
- Tracking not updatingKeep an eye on it
- Delivery attemptedTake action
- Ready for collectionTake action
- Delivered but not receivedTake action
Who is responsible for a late or missing parcel from CouriersPlease?
If you bought online from a business, the seller booked CouriersPlease and is its customer, so a late or missing order is in most cases for the seller to put right with a new delivery or a refund. The Australian Consumer Law (section 36) requires a business that has been paid to supply the goods in the time it stated, or in a reasonable time if it stated none, unless the cause lay with someone else or outside its control and it took reasonable precautions, which leaves a seller room to argue when the courier is at fault. It is silent on who carries the risk while a parcel is in transit. Western Australian government guidance puts the job of resolving courier problems on the seller, and says the consumer is entitled to a refund if the goods still do not arrive.
If you sent the parcel yourself, your contract is with Couriers Please Pty Limited, under its Terms and Conditions of Carriage. They say goods travel at the customer's risk and exclude its liability for loss, damage or delay. For a consumer, that exclusion does not cover gross negligence or unlawful or wilful acts, and any liability is limited to the lesser of the actual loss or the value of the goods. The terms do not override the Australian Consumer Law, and they ask for written notice of a claim within 14 days of delivery or of the due date. If you booked through an agent or shipping platform, the terms say claims go to that agent, not to CouriersPlease.
Questions about “Return to Sender In Progress”
Why is my Couriers Please parcel going back to the sender?
Usually because the collection period ran out, the parcel was refused, or a redelivery failed and no instructions followed. The line before this one in tracking often shows which.
Why did my Couriers Please tracking stop after 'Return to Sender'?
Where a separate return consignment number has been provided, CouriersPlease says to track the return with that number. The old number may then show nothing new.
Can I still get my Couriers Please parcel once it is going back?
CouriersPlease's status page offers no way to turn it around. A new delivery is for the sender to arrange, as it is the sender's booking.
Will I get a refund if Couriers Please returns my parcel?
The seller handles that. If you bought from an Australian business and the goods still do not reach you, government guidance in Western Australia says you are entitled to a refund.
Based on
- CouriersPlease help: What do the tracking statuses on my parcel mean?
- CouriersPlease help: How many times can I arrange a redelivery? (depot hold, return)
- CouriersPlease: Terms and Conditions of Carriage (return charges, clause 5.4)
- Government of Western Australia: Missing or damaged products (refund if the seller fails to deliver)
- Australian Consumer Law (Competition and Consumer Act, Schedule 2), section 36: supply within the stated period or a reasonable time
- Government of Western Australia: Missing or damaged products (the seller resolves issues with the courier, refund)
- CouriersPlease: Terms and Conditions of Carriage, clauses 7, 8.3, 9.1 and 14 (risk, liability, third party agencies, notice, consumers)