DPD tracking status

DPD “Hub 3 - Bham”: where it is and what it means

The short answer

Normal

Your parcel is being sorted at DPD Hub 3 in Oldbury, just west of Birmingham. It usually leaves overnight for the depot named in the tracking; a delay message means it is held up at the hub.

When to act: If 'Hub 3 - Bham' or a delay at the sortation facility 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 history on the DPD website or app and read the text next to 'Hub 3 - Bham': it usually names the depot your parcel is heading to.
If the latest line is 'There's a delay with your parcel at our sortation facility', wait one more night for the next scan.
If the delay goes on, check whether your postcode is listed on DPD's Service Disruption page.
If you will be out on the delivery day, set a safe place, a neighbour or a Pickup shop in the DPD app.
Keep screenshots of each hub and delay line with its date and time, plus your parcel number and order number.
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 3 - Bham” mean?

Hub 3 is DPD's hub on Broadwell Road in Oldbury, West Midlands. The tracking calls the area 'Bham', so people often look for it in Birmingham itself. Like the two hubs in nearby Smethwick, it works overnight: parcels arrive from collection depots, are sorted by postcode and leave by lorry for the depots that deliver them.

The text next to a Hub 3 scan usually names the next depot, for example 'We have your parcel, and it's on its way to our Morley depot'. In busy weeks the next line can be 'There's a delay with your parcel at our sortation facility'. In one history from the run-up to Christmas, that message came the day after the Hub 3 scan, and the next scan, at Hub 5 in Hinckley, came two days after that.

Why does DPD show it?

Normal overnight sorting between the collection depot and your local depot
The parcel is waiting for the next lorry to your area
A backlog in peak weeks, shown as a delay at the sortation facility
A transfer to another hub, such as Hub 5 in Hinckley
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' the next morning, then out for delivery that day or the next working day. After 'There's a delay with your parcel at our sortation facility', the next scan can take a day or more in busy weeks.

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 1 - BhamNormal
Hub 2 - 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 3 - Bham”

Where is DPD Hub 3?

On Broadwell Road in Oldbury, West Midlands. The tracking shortens the area to 'Bham', but the hub is in Oldbury, not in Birmingham city centre.

Is DPD Hub 3 in Birmingham?

Close to it. Hub 3 is in Oldbury, a West Midlands town on Birmingham's western side, so the tracking labels it 'Bham'. It is a sorting site, not a place to collect parcels.

What does 'There's a delay with your parcel at our sortation facility' mean at Hub 3?

Your parcel is held up at the hub, for example by a backlog in busy weeks. DPD does not give a time. If nothing changes for 2 working days, file a complaint on Complain.biz and we send it to DPD.

How long does a parcel stay at DPD Hub 3?

Usually one night, because the hub sorts overnight. DPD does not publish a time, and in a history people share from a busy week, a parcel waited about three days for its next hub scan.

Based on

DPD UK job advert: General Manager - Hubs ('Hub 3 - Oldbury', Broadwell Road; night working)
DPD job advert for a Hub Manager at Hub 5, reposted on Built In London ('5 Hub Operations based across Smethwick, Oldbury and Hinckley')
Post & Parcel: DPD opens extension at UK parcel sorting superhub (a hub in Oldbury and one in Smethwick)
Overclockers UK Forums: shared DPD history with 'Hub 3 - Bham' and 'Hub 5 - Hinckley' and delays at the sortation facility
DPD UK: Service Disruption (list of postcodes with known delivery problems)
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