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NZ Post tracking status

NZ Post “Undeliverable”: what it means

The short answer

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NZ Post could not deliver your parcel, usually because of a wrong address or because the driver could not get in. Tracking should offer collection or redirection options. Act quickly, because parcels it cannot deliver go back to the sender.

When to act: If tracking still shows no collection or redirect option after 2 working days, file a complaint and we send it to NZ Post.

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Tell me what happened. I write your complaint with you and we send it to NZ Post.

Also shown as: “Unable to Deliver”

What to do now

  1. Enter your tracking number in NZ Post's tracking tool, open the parcel's options and choose 'Redirect my parcel' to give the right address or a pickup point.

  2. Check the address on your order against your real address: unit, floor, business name and postcode.

  3. If a Missed my parcel card was left, collect the parcel the next day from the place on the card, with the card or tracking number and photo ID.

  4. If the driver cannot get in, choose an address they can reach or a pickup point.

  5. Screenshot the tracking page and note the date the line appeared.

  6. Still not sorted? File your complaint here. We write it with you and send it to NZ Post, so you do not have to chase it yourself.

    Start my complaint

Going back to the sender with another courier

What does “Undeliverable” mean?

NZ Post says the tracking tool shows 'Undeliverable' when the address was incorrect or a driver could not access the property. Its status table words the same stop as 'Unable to Deliver', and says to use the tracking number to view collection or redirection options. An address problem can be a missing unit or apartment number, business name, floor or postcode, or details that conflict. The parcel has not been reported lost.

NZ Post's terms say a parcel it cannot deliver within New Zealand goes back to the sender if it shows a sender's address. One with no sender's address goes to NZ Post's Returned Letter Office, where it is dealt with under the Postal Services Act. A parcel from overseas under 2kg goes back to the country it came from, and an insured or heavier one follows the instructions on its customs form.

Why does NZ Post show it?

  • A wrong or incomplete address
  • A missing unit, apartment, floor, business name or postcode
  • Conflicting details in the address
  • The driver could not access the property or building
  • Access NZ Post judges unsafe, for example a road with potholes or overgrown vegetation

How long does it last?

If you choose a new address or pickup point, tracking moves to 'Redirected' and the parcel goes back out. If a card was left, you can collect the parcel from the location on the card from the following day. NZ Post publishes no time limit before it returns an undeliverable parcel, so do this the same day.

Other NZ Post statuses

All NZ Post statuses →

Who is responsible for a late or missing parcel from NZ Post?

If you bought online from a business that arranged the delivery, the seller is responsible. Under the Consumer Guarantees Act (section 5A), a supplier who delivers or arranges delivery guarantees that you will receive the goods at the agreed time or, if no time was agreed, within a reasonable time. Your rights are against the seller, and on delivery the Act gives two. If the failure is substantial, you can reject the goods and choose a refund or, if the seller has one in stock, a replacement. The courier losing the parcel does not take that right away, because the Act treats the carrier as the seller's agent on this point. In any case, the seller owes damages for loss that could reasonably be foreseen. NZ Post's contract is with the sender, and it usually pays any compensation to the sender. The Act sets no number of days, and it does not say whether a parcel left at your address counts as received. It covers sellers in trade and goods normally bought for personal or household use, not a private person selling something second hand.

If you sent the parcel yourself, your contract is with NZ Post, under its Public Contract and Postal Users' Guide, and you are the one who has to raise a problem with it. It promises reasonable care and skill. Its delivery times are targets and its terms say it pays no compensation for delay. If it is liable for a parcel lost or damaged within New Zealand, cover is up to $250 for Economy or $2,000 for Courier, including Courier Economy, plus the postage, depending on its conditions. Its terms set a limit of 21 days from sending for a parcel that never arrived, and 10 days from delivery for damage (7 for a business). NZ Post says Consumer Guarantees Act rights apply alongside these terms, but subject to the Postal Services Act and the carriage rules in the Contract and Commercial Law Act. Those rules limit a carrier's liability for loss or damage to the contract and the rules themselves, unless it caused the loss on purpose (section 244). Government guidance says the same for a carrier you hire yourself, and that the Act can still cover unreasonable delay. A business that sends parcels agrees, as far as the law allows, that the Act does not apply.

Questions about “Undeliverable”

What does 'Undeliverable' mean on NZ Post?

The address was wrong or the driver could not access the property. NZ Post says you can view collection or redirection options with your tracking number. It is not the same as lost.

How do I fix an undeliverable NZ Post parcel?

Use the tracking tool and choose 'Redirect my parcel' to give the right address or a pickup point. NZ Post charges a small fee to redirect a courier parcel, up to 75km from the original address.

What happens to an undeliverable parcel if I do nothing?

A parcel NZ Post cannot deliver goes back to the sender if it shows a sender's address. If it has none, it goes to NZ Post's Returned Letter Office. NZ Post publishes no waiting period, so act the same day.

The address on my parcel is correct. Why is it undeliverable?

The other reason NZ Post gives is that the driver could not access the property, for example a building they could not get into or access it judged unsafe. If tracking shows no option after 2 working days, file a complaint on Complain.biz and we send it to NZ Post.

Based on

  • NZ Post: My item shows Undeliverable
  • NZ Post: What does my tracking status mean? (Unable to Deliver)
  • NZ Post: Redirecting your parcels using the NZ Post Tracking tool (small fee, 75km)
  • NZ Post: Postal Users' Guide (undeliverable items, unsafe access)
  • NZ Post: My item shows Delivery attempted - rearrange delivery (access to the building)
  • Consumer Guarantees Act, section 5A (guarantee as to delivery), sections 18, 20, 21 and 23 (rejecting goods, substantial failure, damages, refund or replacement), section 2 (who is a supplier and a consumer)
  • Contract and Commercial Law Act, section 243 (carriage of letters by a postal operator is excluded) and section 244 (a carrier's liability for loss or damage)
  • New Zealand government consumer guidance: Delivery issues (the shop is responsible for delivery until the goods reach you; a carrier you hire yourself; delay)
  • NZ Post: Cover for loss or damage (cover limits, who raises a problem, time limits, no compensation for delay)
  • NZ Post: Public Contract (reasonable care and skill, liability caps, Consumer Guarantees Act rights)
  • NZ Post: Postal Users' Guide (delivery targets, cover limits, Courier includes Courier Economy, time limits, consumer rights subject to other Acts, claim payments usually go to the sender)
  • NZ Post: Collect my parcel Terms and Conditions (NZ Post's contract to deliver your parcel is with the sender)
  • NZ Post: Delivering together (CourierPost became Courier and Courier Economy, Pace became Express)

Parcel still not here?
File a complaint about NZ Post.

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