Canada Post, I Declare Shenanigans

Two purchases from Canada on the same day...one arrived less than a week later, still waiting on the other after nearly a month. I agree that it may be shenanigans.

My parcel reappeared February 8th, first scan and update in eight days...

It is back in Montreal.

It is being forwarded to its country of destination... I am no longer sure what that means. I still don't have it.

This hasn't been an issue with it arriving, but with getting it back to the Netherlands. Once it was returned to sender on Jan 5th it was just a matter of time until it leaves the country "Item has been returned and is enroute to the Sender". Whoever returned it didn't do a thorough job which is probably why it's bouncing around like a pinball.

It does suggest a compromised address label though, and the CPC rep's attempt to capture and get it back to you may be successful, or might prolong the long overdue return process.

Following the parcel has become an amusement for me now, more interesting than its modest contents.

The latest scans are made by PostNL, and seem to indicate they bounced the parcel back to Canada Post. So, maybe it is now relabeled and moving forward in the system.

After the sixth redirect in Canada I had to try something to break the endless loop, even if if meant I get the package later than sooner.

It is an interesting experience though, it has given me insight how parcels are handled. It seems manual inspection is now not very common, and customer service online is ineffective. It also speaks to the need to enter electronic data completely when sending. Clearly CPC had/has insufficient information to fulfill delivery. I provided this to CPC and the sender (now three times!); hopefully the sender has done the same. A single phone call to me could have cleared up the matter a month ago.

Electronic data is only available for domestic products, and unless customs is assessed, none of the international data is carried over to Canada Post except for the postal code. Looping is a nuisance but only happens to maybe 1 in 10,000 items, usually caused by postal code conflicts. In this case, the RTS scan would have permanently embedded the postal code of the Montreal or Toronto exchange office where incoming and outgoing packages are first and last handled.

My guess is that your package may have a torn address label or missing unit #, likely missing a contact phone #, and may have conflicting address info on either side. Possibly it may have received a barcode overlabel from a completely different package in error, resulting in a scanning conflict. Occasionally a barcode from one package will detach and adhere to the wrong package when they come into contact with each other on a conveyor belt.

Sometimes customs or an exchange office accidentally swaps the customs info or reprinted overlabels of 2 packages with similar tracking numbers coming from the same country, or the front side may be crossed out or labelled as returned to sender while the back side has the destination address intact.

Thanks for your insights, all of which are conceivable possibilities.

I'm surprised none of the electronic data is shared. Maybe there are international privacy rules in place acting as a barrier. I can understand an address being private but a phone number too?

I'm a bit concerned that, the more it gets handled, the more conflicting information will be added to the parcel. It might be best if the sender receives it back and tries again.

If she ever arrives, and the story on the parcel is worth telling, I'll post an image.

A friend who lives 247 kms away posted a Christmas card to me on 12 Dec 2023. It arrived yesterday. Thank God CP didn't charge me storage fees!!

And while we relate anecdotes about the 0.1% of the mail which glitches, there is never a peep about the 99.9% delivered in a timely and accurate manner.
None of my junk mail ever gets lost, delayed or damaged. LOL

I started the thread to record the journey of an exceptionally badly-handled parcel, perhaps of interest to collectors like myself. I hope to receive an interesting parcel piece out of this! Many have provided plausible reasons why mail may be delayed, and offered insights into how simple mistakes can cause non-delivery. Thanks for that.

I realize by starting the thread that others may vent a few complaints of their own.

I use parcel services on a regular basis; most of my mail arrives promptly and intact. Plus volumes of unsolicited mail...

I got an update after a month. I believe my parcel landed in the Netherlands yesterday.

Mar. 5
8:05 am
International item has arrived in a foreign country
Nlhagi,Canada

Additional information

Mar. 4
10 am
International shipment has arrived in a foreign country
Nlhagi,

Feb. 8
7:57 am
International item being forwarded to destination country
Montreal,QC

Which I believe is an office in The Hague, Netherlands. The four-week gap suggests it traveled by sea post, then sat in a container a few weeks before processing.

Archeg,
if all the locations were identified by a cancel on the cover, (like they were, when post offices had good processes in place) this would be a nice cover to exhibit.
Good luck!

At long last I received my parcel. The vendor was kind enough to send me a piece of the original mailing.

The sender's deplorable handwriting was 100% to blame. To make things worse he did not record the phone number on the declaration. It got a manual check, as someone wrote "(canno)t read address... postal code wrong for address" by hand. There are so many stickers on it now, including four barcodes (three are duplicates), its history of travel is no longer clear.

I'd post a picture but I don't wish to harm the vendor by publishing it.

On the plus side, to my complete surprise the lot was fantastic!