DPD tracking status

DPD “Hub 1 - Bham”: where it is and what it means

The short answer

Normal

Your parcel is being sorted at DPD Hub 1, one of DPD's two hubs in Smethwick, on the edge of Birmingham. Hubs sort overnight, so the next scan is often your local depot the following morning.

When to act: If 'Hub 1 - Bham' is still the latest update after 2 working days, file a complaint and we send it to DPD.

What to do now

Open the full tracking history on the DPD website or app and read the text next to 'Hub 1 - Bham': it usually names the depot your parcel is heading to.
Note the time of the Hub 1 scan. A scan in the evening or at night is normally followed by a depot scan the next morning, so wait for that first.
If a delay message appears, or the next morning brings no new scan, check whether your postcode is listed on DPD's Service Disruption page.
If you will be out on the delivery day, choose a safe place, a neighbour or a DPD Pickup shop in the DPD app.
Screenshot the tracking history with the date and time of the Hub 1 scan, and keep your parcel number and order number with it.
Still not sorted? File your complaint here. We write it with you and send it to DPD, so you do not have to chase it yourself.

Start my complaint

What does “Hub 1 - Bham” mean?

Hub 1 is one of DPD's two sorting hubs in Smethwick, West Midlands, close to its head office on Roebuck Lane. Hub 2 is the other, and DPD's own job adverts name the pair 'Hub 1/2 - Smethwick'. The tracking calls it 'Bham', for the Birmingham area. The hubs work through the night: parcels come in from the depots that collected them, are sorted by postcode and leave by lorry for the depot that delivers to you.

The text next to the scan usually already names that depot. In one history people share, the Hub 1 scan just after midnight read 'We have your parcel, and it's on its way to our Southall depot', and the parcel was at the Southall depot in west London about six hours later. A Hub 1 scan says nothing about where you live: the hubs send parcels to depots all over the country, and some parcels pass through a second hub on the way.

Why does DPD show it?

Normal overnight sorting on the way to your local depot
The depot that collected your parcel sends its lorries to the Smethwick hubs
The parcel is waiting for the next lorry to your area
A transfer to another DPD hub on the way
Peak weeks such as Black Friday and the run-up to Christmas
A missed scan or a mis-sort that has to be sorted again

How long does it last?

Usually 'Your parcel is at our [depot name] depot' by the next morning, then out for delivery that day or the next working day. If the next morning brings a delay message instead, the parcel normally moves on the following night.

Other DPD statuses

At a DPD hubNormal
Delayed due to an unexpected issue in your areaKeep an eye on it
Your parcel has been delayedKeep an eye on it
Out for delivery, but not arrivedKeep an eye on it
Sorry we missed youTake action
Being held at the depotTake action
Your parcel was refusedTake action
Delivered, but you do not have itTake action
On its way back to the senderTake action
Tracking not updatingKeep an eye on it
Hub 2 - BhamNormal
Hub 3 - BhamNormal
Hub 4 - HinckleyNormal
Hub 5 - HinckleyNormal

All DPD statuses →

Who is responsible for a late or missing parcel from DPD?

If you bought online from a business, the seller is usually responsible until the parcel reaches you. Under UK consumer law (the Consumer Rights Act), the goods stay at the seller's risk until you or someone you named has them, unless you chose and booked the courier yourself. DPD's contract is with the seller, so a lost, damaged or very late parcel is the seller's to put right.

If you sent the parcel yourself, your contract is with DPD, under its terms. DPD postage bought at a Post Office branch includes cover up to the lower of the item's value or £50, and DPD's standard conditions for business senders cover the lower of the item's value or £100 per parcel, unless extra cover was bought.

Questions about “Hub 1 - Bham”

Where is DPD Hub 1?

In Smethwick, West Midlands, close to DPD's head office on Roebuck Lane. Hub 1 and Hub 2 are both in Smethwick, and the tracking labels both of them 'Bham'.

What does Hub 1 - Bham mean on DPD tracking?

Your parcel was scanned at DPD Hub 1 in Smethwick, near Birmingham, during the sort between the depot that collected it and the depot that delivers it. The text next to the scan usually names that second depot.

How long does a parcel stay at DPD Hub 1?

DPD does not publish a time. Its hubs work overnight, and in one tracking history people share, a parcel scanned at Hub 1 just after midnight was at its London depot about six hours later.

Can I collect my parcel from DPD Hub 1?

No. Hub 1 is a sorting site, not a collection point. If you would rather collect, choose a DPD Pickup shop in the DPD app or on the website, and DPD says it will be ready the next day.

Based on

DPD UK job advert: Logistics Shift Manager (location 'Hub 1/2 - Smethwick')
DPD UK job advert: Yard Technician ('Hub 1/2 - Workshop', Roebuck Lane, Smethwick)
DPD UK job advert: Amazon Administrator (Smethwick head office, Roebuck Lane; work at Hub 2)
DPD UK job advert: General Manager - Hubs ('Hub 3 - Oldbury', Broadwell Road; night working)
Post & Parcel: DPD opens extension at UK parcel sorting superhub (Oldbury and Smethwick)
Framework Community: shared DPD tracking history with 'Hub 1 - Bham' and the next depot scan
DPD UK: Service Disruption (list of postcodes with known delivery problems)
DPD UK: How can we help? (missed deliveries, Pickup shops, delivery slot)
DPD job advert for a Hub Manager at Hub 5, reposted on Built In London ('5 Hub Operations based across Smethwick, Oldbury and Hinckley')
legislation.gov.uk: Consumer Rights Act, section 29 (goods stay at the seller's risk until they reach you)
DPD UK: Standard Terms and Conditions of Carriage (PDF)
DPD standard terms for delivery services bought at a Post Office branch