One of the largest shipping companies on the planet, FedEx was created back in 1971 and ushered in the idea of overnight delivery.
FedEx was able to carve out a huge chunk of market share in the shipping industry by promising that they were the ones to trust “when it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight” – a promise that catapulted them to tremendous success.
Over the years, though, FedEx has “feathered the edges” a little bit when it comes to the services that they offer.
No longer explicitly an expedited delivery service, FedEx has a diverse range of shipping options for their customers to take advantage of. Today the company handles millions and millions of packages every day, shipping them not only across the country but also around the world.
With this much movement throughout their infrastructure it’s not at all unreasonable for some packages to get lost in the shuffle every now and again – and that’s what is likely to happen when you get a “no scheduled delivery date available at this time” message when tracking your FedEx packages.
Below we dig a little bit deeper into the ins and outs of FedEx tracking, shining a light on the subject so that you know exactly what you need to do to either find, better track, or claim your package if this message pops up.
Let’s get right into it!
Better Understanding FedEx Tracking Information
Unlike packages with the United States Postal Service (USPS) where you might get tracking information and you might not, depending on the service you choose, every single FedEx shipment is going to be tracked 100% of the time through unique identifying numbers.
Regardless of whether or not you are sending FedEx Ground packages, FedEx Freight packages, or FedEx Air packages – or something else entirely – it makes no difference. You’re going to get tracking information that you can use to locate your FedEx package as it moves through the logistical infrastructure of this company.
Your tracking information is going to be provided prominently on your shipping receipt which is why it’s such a good idea to keep track of this information when you drop your FedEx package in the post.
It’s also going to be provided to the recipient of all FedEx packages, so if it’s a FedEx package that you are expecting you can still use the tracking information you’ve been provided from the sender to follow your package as it moves around the country.
This information is updated periodically throughout the journey of your FedEx package, almost always getting updated every single time the barcode on your package is scanned.
Sometimes this happens in real time, but most of the time these updates are a little bit delayed – though everything is time stamped so that you can see when and where your package is at any particular point in time (for the most part).
At the end of the day, if you want to be able to track your package – even if it’s telling you there’s no scheduled delivery date available yet – you’re going to need to keep that tracking information handy.
It’s not a bad idea to take a quick snapshot of your shipping receipt if you are sending a package out. It’s also not a bad idea to screenshot your tracking number (or save your email with the number included) so that you can find it if you want to check online when you’re receiving a package from FedEx.
Why Does FedEx Say There’s No Scheduled Delivery Date Available?
There are a couple of different reasons that FedEx might be telling you that your delivery date is unavailable, but most of the time this boils down to your package simply still being quite new in the logistical backend.
As we mentioned a moment ago, FedEx handles millions upon millions of packages every single day – adding millions of packages to their infrastructure and moving them around the country on a daily basis.
Every single one of those packages are going to get scanned into the system and every single one of those packages are going to get scanned multiple times as they move along their journey.
If your package is brand-new in the system (you only just dropped it off or you’ve only just been told that it is preparing for shipment) your tracking information simply might not have updated yet.
A lot of people get this message simply because the tracking information for their package has been created but the package isn’t yet “on the move”. FedEx has it prepared, has the information ready to go, but since your package hasn’t moved through any logistical steps they aren’t quite sure of when your package is going to arrive.
Depending on the service that you have chosen, though, you can ballpark when your package is going to get to its ultimate destination.
For example, you pretty much know that your package is going to take between one and three business days if you choose to take advantage of FedEx Home Delivery. FedEx Ground can take anywhere between one and five business days, and so on and so forth.
The good news is that even if your tracking information is currently showing “no scheduled delivery date available at this time” that things will be updated in due time. It’s very rare indeed for FedEx to continue displaying this kind of alert as your package starts to move through their system.
FedEx Deliverability Issues
If, on the other hand, you are noticing that your packages being scanned a couple of times as it moves from one FedEx facility to another that the message hasn’t updated – you’re still getting “no scheduled delivery date available at this time” – you may be dealing with deliverability issues.
Sometimes this is a technical glitch on the backend (that happens more frequently than you might expect), but it may be something that you need to bring up with FedEx customer service and support.
It’s not a bad idea to hold off on calling them for a moment, though, and watching to see how your FedEx package moves across the country.
If you see it start to get closer and closer to your home (maybe landing in your city or a major hub near you) you can guess with some certainty that your FedEx package will be there within a business day or two.
Obviously that’s not an ideal way to track your package (and it’s not the way that FedEx has set things up), but just because you’re not getting a specific delivery date doesn’t mean you’re not able to infer information about when you can expect it to arrive.
When Does Tracking Info Update?
Tracking information is going to be updated (usually) every single time your package or parcel arrives at another FedEx facility or location, usually with multiple stops along the way.
Most people are under the impression that their package individually will get scanned every time that it arrives at a new place, but that’s not exactly how things work.
No, packages and parcels are “bulk pack” with similar items that are headed in the same direction and then the entire lot is given a single code that gets scanned as a group.
All of the codes inside of that group are updated at the same time, but if your tracking information (for one reason or another) wasn’t added to that group that you might get the “no scheduled delivery date available at this time” error as well.
This is something that happens with a little frequency, though that’s to be expected considering just how many packages and parcels FedEx is moving at any one particular point in time.
When you have millions and millions of packages zooming all over the country some are bound to get overlooked as far as scanning is concerned – though they are almost always still bundled up and along for the ride just like every other package.
You’ll know that this has likely happened to your package when it reaches its ultimate delivery destination, usually the closest FedEx facility to your home or office. That’s when the individual item itself will be scanned as the group it was traveling in is broken up and prepared for actual delivery.
A lot of people are surprised to find that the “no scheduled delivery date available at this time” code pops up all the way until the very day of delivery, at which point they are notified that their package is going to be arriving later that morning or afternoon.
This kind of situation is almost always responsible for that kind of tracking information behavior.
What Do I Do If My Package Wasn’t Delivered?
Of course, there are certainly going to be situations where you’re getting this specific error code because your FedEx package was accepted into the delivery infrastructure and then simply went missing somewhere along the line.
Sometimes packages fall off of conveyor belts, sometimes they slip off of transportation vehicles, sometimes they are lost in the corner of warehouses somewhere, and sometimes it feels like they just sort of disappear into thin air.
At the end of the day, if your package has not been delivered when you were expecting it – for example, if you were expecting a FedEx Home Delivery package within three business days and it’s been a week or two past the expected delivery day – it’s time to contact FedEx customer service and support directly.
You can do that by reaching out to them over the phone at 1-800-463-3339, a 100% toll-free customer service support line that is available on a 24/7 basis.
You’ll be able to explain to them your situation and ask questions about the whereabouts of your package and parcel. Just be sure that you have your tracking information on hand to help them expedite the search for you.
You can also reach out to customer service and support directly through email or their live chat tools on the FedEx website as well. FedEx customer service has a solid reputation for going above and beyond when it comes time to help customers, particularly when one of their packages has been lost in translation somewhere along the line.
If FedEx customer service and support isn’t able to help you find or locate your missing package, or really nail down your delivery day, you may have to file a missing package claim.
There’s a section on the FedEx website that walks you through this exact process.
Make sure that you follow the instructions to the letter, provide all sourcing information and documents requested, and take the time to double check all of your information before you send it over.
The FedEx missing package claims process can take a little while to resolve. But again, customer service at this company is usually very good and highly responsive and they want to make sure that you are taking care of.
You Deserve a Modern Mailbox Alternative Like US Global Mail
If you feel dissatisfied with traditional mailbox services these days (like PO Box services from the USPS, for example) and would love something a little more modern – something that makes it easy to accept packages from FedEx directly, for example – you’ll want to have a closer look at US Global Mail.
One of the most trustworthy and reliable virtual mailbox services out there right now, this company has built up a legendary reputation in the space over more than 20 years.
Providing digital mail scanning, mail forwarding, and package acceptance – with a legitimate street address to boot – there’s a lot to like when it comes to the US Global Mail suite of services.
They also provide a host of other benefits (including check depositing services) that you’ll get as part of your virtual mailbox membership, a modern reimagining of the way that we accept and handle mail in our modern world.
If you’d like more information about all US Global Mail has to offer, or have any questions you’d like answered directly, don’t hesitate to contact them directly.
