Purolator tracking status
Purolator “Item being returned to sender”: what it means
The short answer
Take actionPurolator has decided it cannot deliver your parcel and is sending it back to the sender. Common reasons are an address error, a refused parcel or nobody collecting it in 5 business days. For an online order, the seller then decides on a refund or new delivery.
When to act: If this line appears and your address was correct, or you were never told where to collect it, file a complaint and we send it to Purolator.
What to do now
- 1
Read the lines just before it for the reason: an address correction, an attempted delivery or a hold that ran out.
- 2
Check the address on your order against your real one, down to the unit number and postal code.
- 3
Check the seller's refund rules and note any time limit for your order.
- 4
Correct the address in your account with the seller before you order again.
- 5
Keep screenshots of the full history, any notice left at your door and your order number.
- 6
Still not sorted? File your complaint here. We write it with you and send it to Purolator, so you do not have to chase it yourself.
Going back to the sender with another courier
- USPS: Insufficient address
- Amazon: Undeliverable
- DHL: Returned to Shipper
- OnTrac: Returning package to the shipper
- GOFO: Delivery Failed
- UniUni: Undeliverable
- SpeedX: Return to Shipper
- Cainiao: Return
- Royal Mail: Returned to sender
- Evri: Returned to sender
- DPD: On its way back to the sender
- Parcelforce: Returned to sender
- Canada Post: Item being returned to sender
- Canpar: Returned to sender
- Intelcom: Sorry, your package was undeliverable
- Australia Post: Returning to sender
- Aramex: Return to sender
- CouriersPlease: Return to Sender In Progress
- Sendle: Returned
- NZ Post: Undeliverable
- An Post: We could not deliver your item
What does “Item being returned to sender, determined as undeliverable” mean?
Purolator's terms say a shipment can go back for any reason it cannot be delivered, naming errors on the label, refusal by the receiver, an inaccessible delivery location, missing proof of age, and a parcel not collected from a hold. The sender is invoiced for the original delivery and for the return. In tracking histories people share, the line can come with no reason beside it, so the reason is usually in the lines before it.
The line does not mean the parcel is lost. It is on its way back through sort facilities, and one poster saw a new tracking number for the way back, then a delivery scan in the sender's city. Some people report it arriving with no card or notice, and one reports it going back despite repeated requests to send it to a pickup point. If a parcel cannot be delivered or returned at all, the terms let Purolator dispose of general articles after 120 days in its possession and perishable ones after 30.
Why does Purolator show it?
- A wrong or incomplete address, such as a missing unit number
- Nobody collected it during the 5 business day hold
- The parcel was refused
- The driver could not reach the delivery location
- Proof of age was missing for an age-restricted parcel
How long does it last?
The parcel travels back through sort facilities to the sender, so it can take about as long as the trip out. Purolator gives no time for the return. The sender is billed, and for an online order the seller then decides on a refund or a new shipment under its own rules. One poster reports having to pay shipping again.
Other Purolator statuses
- Delayed in transit due to disruptionKeep an eye on it
- Delayed in transit due to rail delayKeep an eye on it
- Delayed in transit due to missed connectionKeep an eye on it
- Weather delay - service will resume weather permittingKeep an eye on it
- Mechanical delayKeep an eye on it
- Tracking not updatingKeep an eye on it
- Shipper created a labelKeep an eye on it
- Attempted delivery - receiver unavailableTake action
- Delivered but not receivedTake action
- Shipment available for pickupTake action
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 “Item being returned to sender, determined as undeliverable”
What does 'determined as undeliverable' mean on Purolator?
Purolator has decided it cannot complete the delivery and is returning the parcel to the sender. Its terms name address errors, refusal, an inaccessible location and a parcel not collected from a hold.
Why is Purolator returning my package?
Look at the lines before this one for the reason. If you see 'Address correction required' or 'Attempted delivery', that is usually it. If nothing explains it and your address was correct, file a complaint here and we send it to Purolator.
Can I stop Purolator returning my package?
We found no published way for a recipient to stop a return once it has started. One person in a shared history saw a parcel go back despite repeated requests. Keep your screenshots and check the seller's refund rules.
Who pays when Purolator returns a package?
Its terms say the sender is invoiced for the original delivery and for the return. What you get back for an online order depends on the seller's own rules.
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: FAQs for receiving shipments (tracking updates, missed delivery line, 5 business day hold, ID, proof of delivery)
- RedFlagDeals forum, Purolator Shipping Support Thread, page 20 (shared tracking history: 'Item being returned to sender, determined as undeliverable')
- RedFlagDeals forum, Purolator Shipping Support Thread, page 24 (shared tracking history: returned to sender line in a shared history)
- Reddit r/purolator (shared tracking history): returned with no notice, despite requests
- Reddit r/purolator (shared tracking history): returned to sender after an address problem, with a new tracking number
- Reddit r/purolator (shared tracking history): returned the day after it reached the counter, and paying shipping again
- Purolator: Terms and Conditions of Service page (current terms and amendments in force)