Purolator tracking
Purolator tracking statuses explained
Purolator is one of Canada's large couriers and is mostly owned by Canada Post, though it runs its own network of sort facilities, vehicles and pickup locations. It delivers for businesses and online shops, and in tracking histories people share the orders often come from retailers such as Best Buy, Dell and Walmart. A parcel is picked up, passes through one or more sort facilities and goes out on a delivery vehicle, and tracking adds a line at each step: 'Picked up by Purolator', 'Arrived at sort facility', 'Departed sort facility', 'On vehicle for delivery'. Delays read as 'Delayed in transit due to' plus a reason, and Purolator does not publish what most of those reasons mean.
Every Purolator tracking status explained
| Status | What it means | Should you worry? |
|---|---|---|
| Delayed in transit due to disruption | Purolator has flagged a problem on your parcel's route without saying what it is or where. | Keep an eye on it |
| Delayed in transit due to rail delay | This line blames a late train somewhere on your parcel's route, and it mostly shows on long trips between provinces. | Keep an eye on it |
| Delayed in transit due to missed connection | Your parcel most likely missed the truck, trailer or flight it was meant to leave on and is waiting for the next one. | Keep an eye on it |
| Weather delay - service will resume weather permitting | Purolator says weather has paused or slowed your parcel's route, and the weather may not be where you are. | Keep an eye on it |
| Mechanical delay | Something mechanical on your parcel's route, such as a truck or a conveyor, has most likely held it up. | Keep an eye on it |
| Tracking not updating | Purolator says tracking updates when a parcel passes a facility, so a long leg can show nothing for several days. | Keep an eye on it |
| Shipper created a label | The sender has made a label and passed the details to Purolator, but Purolator may not have your parcel yet. | Keep an eye on it |
| Attempted delivery - receiver unavailable | The driver recorded that nobody could take your parcel, so it usually goes to a pickup location for 5 business days. | Take action |
| Delivered but not received | Tracking says Purolator left your parcel, but you do not have it. | Take action |
| Shipment available for pickup | Your parcel is waiting at a Purolator location or shipping agent, and you have up to 5 business days to collect it. | Take action |
| Item being returned to sender, determined as undeliverable | Purolator has decided it cannot deliver your parcel and is sending it back to the sender. | Take action |
Purolator delays
A Purolator service alert from a December backlog named severe weather and a big jump in volume as the causes of network-wide disruption, and its terms list weather, mechanical delays and disruptions in air or ground transport as beyond its control. In tracking histories people share, delay lines pile up in November and December, on long trips between British Columbia and Ontario or Quebec, around the Etobicoke sort facility, and during Canada Post strikes, when people in those threads say extra parcels move to Purolator. Each winter, from early November to mid-March, 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and noon delivery commitments to Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories run one hour later, while end of day commitments stay the same.
Is your parcel from Purolator late or missing?
Who is responsible for a late or missing parcel from Purolator?
If you bought online from a business, the seller chose Purolator and is its customer, so a late, lost or missing order is in most cases for the seller to put right, with a replacement or a refund. Purolator's terms also say that only the party obliged to pay it for the shipment can file a claim, which for an online order is normally the seller.
If you sent the parcel yourself, your contract is with Purolator, under its Terms and Conditions of Service. Its liability is limited to C$2.00 per pound (C$4.41 per kg) of the shipment's weight unless you declared a higher value and paid the surcharge, up to C$5,000 for a courier shipment. A guaranteed service that arrives late may earn the payer a refund or credit of half the service rate. Standard Ground has no guarantee. No refund applies when the delay comes from events beyond Purolator's control, such as weather or mechanical delays, or when Purolator has suspended the guarantee.
Questions about Purolator tracking
What does 'Delayed in transit due to disruption' mean on Purolator?
Purolator does not define it. It is a general line that says your parcel has fallen behind without naming the cause. Its terms and alerts point to weather, volume, transport and labour problems.
What does 'Delayed in transit due to rail delay' mean?
Purolator does not define it. The plain reading is that a train on your parcel's route ran late, or that a late train caused a backlog further along. It is usually seen on long routes between provinces.
What does 'missed connection' mean on Purolator?
Purolator does not define it. It most likely means your parcel did not make the truck, trailer or flight it was meant to leave on, and it now waits for the next one. People who asked were given different reasons, often a backlog.
What does 'Weather delay - service will resume weather permitting' mean?
Purolator is saying weather has stopped or slowed your parcel's route and no new delivery date is set yet. The weather can be local or anywhere else on the route. Look for the next sort facility scan or a new 'On vehicle for delivery'.
What does mechanical delay mean on Purolator?
Purolator does not define it, but its terms list mechanical delays as beyond its control. Commenters who say they work there describe anything from a truck breakdown to a broken conveyor, anywhere in the network, so the fault may be far from you.
Based on
- Purolator Terms and Conditions of Service
- Amendment #1 to the Purolator Terms and Conditions of Service (guarantee refunds, undeliverable shipments, events beyond its control, who may claim)
- Purolator: Terms and Conditions of Service page (current terms and amendments in force)