Even though modern shipping solutions, especially those available from FedEx, or more reliable, consistent, and efficient than ever before packages still get lost somewhere along the way. This is always a high stress situation and one that companies like FedEx try to mitigate as best they can. As long as you commit to staying even keeled, calm, and committed throughout the process you should be able to navigate it from start to finish – and find your missing packages – without too much headache or hassle.
FedEx have a world-class customer service and support team designed to help you every step of the way, and are fully committed to pouring out whatever resources they have to invest to either find your missing package or replace it completely. Throughout the rest of this guide we highlight the specific things you’ll need to do to find missing packages through FedEx. While the tips and tricks we outline are specific to working with FedEx themselves many of them can be applied across the board when a package goes missing. You can use these as guidelines to help you find missing packages from UPS, DHL, and from the USPS as well.
Let’s get right into it.
What Do I Do If FedEx Loses My Package?
There are a couple of things you’ll need to do when you’ve noticed a FedEx package is missing, something you’ll usually notice a day or two after your package was supposed to arrive. The most important thing, however, is to remain cool and calm and to be as proactive as possible. You’re going to need to take the bull by the horns in these situations, and that means reaching out to the folks at FedEx, providing a lot of information and data they can use to help track your missing package, and really drive all of the communications from start to finish.
Remember, FedEx handles millions of packages every single day. Your package is going to be a priority for sure – but it’s not exactly going to be the biggest priority, especially since the odds are there are other packages lost along the way at the same. As long as you commit to sliding into the driver seat, reaching out a regular basis and following up, and providing all the necessary information in as complete a form as possible you dramatically increase your odds of getting FedEx track your package down.
Double Check Your Tracking Info
As far as actually moving through the missing FedEx package process, the first thing you need to do is to double check and reconfirm your tracking information. Plenty of people have discovered that their packages they believed to be missing weren’t missing at all, but instead were being looked up with errors in the tracking information. Tracking codes are always very long, involved a bunch of different numbers, and are pretty easy to mess up even if you are trying hard not to. This is why it’s so important for you to punch in your tracking information one number at a time, inserting it only after double checking the code and confirming that it is 100% accurate.
If the tracking information continues to show that your package hasn’t reached its ultimate destination or was delivered but actually hasn’t arrived that it’s time to reach out to the folks at FedEx and see what they can do on their end. It definitely doesn’t happen very often but there are a number of situations where people discover that the tracking information that’s been provided to them wasn’t 100% accurate. Through absolutely no fault of your own the tracking information you’ve been given simply doesn’t match up with your package, something that FedEx should be able to suss out pretty quickly – and something that they should be able to clear up for you with nothing but a quick phone call. Confirming your tracking information with FedEx is always a good idea no matter what, though. This helps you move the process along while being proactive.
Contact Your Local FedEx Office
The next thing you’ll want to do is reach out directly to your local FedEx office, the location that your FedEx package is going to be rerouted through. A lot of people call corporate FedEx customer support straight out of the gate only to find that they aren’t all that helpful in the early stages of the missing package process. Avoid that headache completely by reaching out to your local FedEx office first to see how they can assist. They may be able to look around the warehouse to see if the package simply didn’t make it onto a truck, they may be able to see if it has fallen off of a conveyor about, or they may be able to check and see if it simply was overlooked inside of a delivery vehicle and can be picked up or sent out ASAP.
Another reason to call your local FedEx office is that they’ll be able to track your package to its last known location using internal tools. This allows them to figure out where your package “disappeared” and where it is most likely to be found. This is the kind of inside information regarding your package that you simply wouldn’t have had access to otherwise, and it’s information that is a lot more complete than the information you’ll be able to get from tracking data alone.
Of course, another benefit of making this phone call is that these local FedEx individuals are going to be a lot more sympathetic to your situation. The people working here live in your community, understand how frustrated you likely are, and are going to have a lot more sympathy for a fellow neighbor than outsourced customer service that could be across the state, across the country, or even overseas. You may still inevitably have to get in touch with corporate FedEx to get a better handle on where your missing package, but everything needs to start with a quick call to your local FedEx location. They’ll be able to help you hit the ground running and maybe able to find your missing package for you a lot faster than anyone else can.
File a Claim with FedEx
If your local FedEx office isn’t able to help you the way you hoped they might, it’s time to begin filing a claim with corporate FedEx directly. Thankfully this is a pretty straightforward and simplified process, one you should be able to navigate without a lot of hassle and without a lot of headache. Below we breakdown the step-by-step details you’ll need to follow to get the ball rolling. Just remember that it’s important to keep in constant contact with corporate FedEx, referencing your case number and your claim at least once a week, to make sure that they are staying on top of things.
Visit the FedEx Claim Site
The very first thing you’ll need to do is visit the actual claim section of the FedEx website, a page that you can find right here at this link. From there you are going to be asked about whether or not your FedEx shipment was originating from within the United States, whether it was being sent from the United States to another nation, or whether it is been sent in from Canada to addresses in the United States. If you’re package is not 100% domestic (sent from a US-based address to a US-based address) you’re going to need to contact international customer service. This can be done by calling 1-800-463-3339. As long as your package is from a US-based address to a US-based address you’ll be able to go through the online claims process. This process begins by you entering your tracking information or the PRO number that you were provided when you sent your package or when you received your tracking details from the sender. You’ll also need to pick the type of claim that you are processing (missing package) and then fill out the rest of the relevant information that is requested throughout the form.
Add Supporting Documentation
The next piece of the puzzle is to add supporting documentation to your claim through the online web form. This information is not going to be requested of you if your claim has a declared value that is less than $100. All claims of $100 or more, though, are going to require a bit of extra documentation – including the documents that we highlight below. For starters, you’ll need a scan of your FedEx receipt or your FedEx pickup record that you can “drag and drop” into the online form itself. If you have a scanner you can get that document to your computer quite easily, but you may have to take a picture with a smart phone and upload it to your computer before moving it to the form itself.
Secondly, you’re going to need to include any photos of the package and the contents within (especially if you have them available). If your package is missing and you weren’t the sender you can skip this documentation. Any information regarding the missing items is requested as well. Photographs of the items (including them outside of the packaging), serial numbers of any items, and anything else you can use to identify the things that are missing in your package. You also want to include a copy of your original invoice from the place that you have purchased your missing items if you aren’t the sender, and a copy of your online order with proof of payment if at all possible.
Submit Your Claim
Finally you’ll be asked to review the information that you have submitted as well as all of your documentation and then process the actual claim itself. Make sure that you write down or screenshot the claim case number, and it might not even be a bad idea to email yourself a PDF printout of the claim confirmation, either. You are going to need that information every time you contact FedEx customer service and support to get help with your claim and to check its progress.
Use Tracking Tools to Keep Up to Date
Finally, FedEx will provide you with a couple of tools you can use to track the process of your claim right inside of your FedEx customer portal. They will also provide customer service contact information (phone and email support) that you can get a hold of anytime you need answers or clarification about questions you might have. As we recommended earlier, it’s not a bad idea to check in every week or so with the folks at FedEx to see how things are progressing. You’ll want to make sure that you keep on top of your claim as it might otherwise get “lost in the shuffle” without you getting the recourse you are looking for.
US Global Mail Offers a Streamlined (And Secure) Package Acceptance Process
If a big part of your FedEx packages going missing have to do with your physical street address or your traditional PO Box services from the USPS it might not be a bad idea to look at a more modern alternative. US Global Mail offers a streamlined and secure package acceptance process with all of their virtual mailbox services.
You’ll be able to have your FedEx packages (as well as packages from other shipping organizations) sent directly to your US Global Mail address, have those packages and parcels digitally scanned with live notifications about their arrival, and can then have them forwarded to any address – in the United States or abroad – without headache or hassle.
More information about the US Global Mail services they make available can be found directly on their website. You can also contact customer service at your earliest convenience to have any of your specific questions regarding these solutions answered live, too. Just don’t be surprised if you find yourself signing up for one of the most reputable and reliable PO Box alternatives on the market today!
