Parcelforce tracking
Parcelforce tracking statuses explained
Parcelforce Worldwide is the express parcels arm of Royal Mail Group. It carries parcels for online shops, businesses and people sending from Post Office branches, through 54 depots and sorting centres in Coventry, Hatfield and the north west of England. It now runs on a single network with Royal Mail, so its tracking is on Royal Mail's Track your item page and app, and the old Parcelforce tracking page redirects there. Its sites show in the tracking as PFW, such as Coventry PFW National Hub, and parcels sold as Royal Mail Tracked 48 can pass through them too.
Every Parcelforce tracking status explained
| Status | What it means | Should you worry? |
|---|---|---|
| Held as Customs fee to pay | A customs charge is due on your parcel from abroad, and Parcelforce is holding it until you pay. | Take action |
| Item Received | Your parcel is inside the Parcelforce network, scanned at a sorting site on its way to your delivery depot. | Normal |
| Due to be delivered today | Your parcel has reached your delivery depot and is planned for delivery. | Normal |
| Delivery Attempted | A Parcelforce driver tried to deliver but could not leave your parcel, and it normally tries again the next working day. | Take action |
| Available for Redelivery or Collection | Parcelforce is keeping your parcel at a depot, usually after a missed delivery. | Take action |
| Item Retention | Your parcel is staying at a depot today, and the message gives a request not to deliver as the reason. | Keep an eye on it |
| Tracking not updating or parcel late | No new scan has come in, which can be a quiet stretch between sites or a parcel that has gone astray. | Keep an eye on it |
| Returned to sender | Parcelforce could not deliver your parcel or nobody collected it, so it is going back to the sender. | Take action |
| We're expecting it | The sender has told Parcelforce about the parcel, but it has not been scanned into the network yet. | Keep an eye on it |
| Delivered but not received | Parcelforce recorded your parcel as delivered, perhaps to a neighbour or a Safeplace, but you do not have it. | Take action |
Parcelforce delays
Parcelforce says traffic and bad weather can cause slight delays, and it does not usually deliver on bank, public and local holidays. Remote areas such as the Highlands and Islands of Scotland have longer delivery times, and parcels from abroad wait for customs and any charges. Its service updates page lists known problems by country and says some international delivery guarantees are suspended. In accounts people share, parcels from abroad can wait days or weeks at Coventry, and some parcels pass between Royal Mail and Parcelforce sites on the way.
Is your parcel from Parcelforce late or missing?
Who is responsible for a late or missing parcel from Parcelforce?
Buy online from a business and the seller usually has to sort it out until the parcel reaches you. Under UK consumer law (the Consumer Rights Act, section 29) the goods stay at the seller's risk until they are in your hands, or with someone you named to take them, unless you booked the courier yourself and the seller did not offer it as an option. Parcelforce's own help also says the retailer has a legal responsibility to make sure you get what you paid for.
If you sent the parcel yourself, your contract is under the joint Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide terms for the service you bought. UK express services include cover of up to £150 per item for loss or damage, and you can add more, up to £2,500 per item. A refund for late delivery depends on the service: 100% of the delivery cost for express10 and expressAM, 50% for express24 and nothing for express48 or express48large.
Questions about Parcelforce tracking
What does Held as Customs fee to pay mean?
Import VAT, duty or both are due on your parcel. Parcelforce pays them up front and asks you to repay them, plus a handling fee of £12, or £25 for goods worth more than £900, before it delivers. Your card or letter shows the exact amount.
What does Item Received mean on Parcelforce tracking?
The parcel was scanned at the place shown under the line. It does not mean it has reached you or your delivery depot. It often appears several times on one journey.
What time does Parcelforce stop delivering?
Parcelforce aims to deliver by 6pm on working days in UK zones 1 to 3, with exceptions for remote areas. Traffic or bad weather can make it later. Timed services are earlier: express10 by 10am and expressAM by the afternoon.
How many times will Parcelforce try to deliver?
Two, by its own rule. The second attempt is automatic on the next working day, and after that the parcel waits at your local depot. People also share histories with more attempt lines than that.
How long will Parcelforce hold my parcel?
18 days at the depot for UK services and 21 days for international and customs charge parcels. A parcel sent to a Post Office is held for 10 days, and a Parcel Locker holds it for 3 days before it goes to the depot for a further 18.
Based on
- legislation.gov.uk: Consumer Rights Act, section 29 (goods stay at the seller's risk until they reach you)
- Parcelforce: Buying items online, who you should contact
- Parcelforce: Enhanced and inclusive compensation
- Parcelforce: Refunds for late delivery
- Royal Mail: Terms and conditions (Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide)