Everyone knows how good it feels to see the “Delivered” message in your FedEx tracking info, which is why finding out later that your package is missing is so crushing. Thankfully, with the millions and millions of packages FedEx handles on a day-to-day basis, this situation is incredibly rare – and getting rarer all the time.
At the same time, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that you yourself might be dealing with FedEx telling you your package has been delivered only to discover that there is no package at your home. Sometimes this is simply a matter of “wires getting crossed”, but sometimes it’s something a little more complex than that – something that you have to navigate (ideally with the help of the folks at FedEx customer service). But that’s why we’ve put together this detailed guide. By the time you finish you’ll have a better idea of why FedEx might have told you your package was delivered when it wasn’t actually there, what to do about these situations right away, and how to make sure that these kinds of problems happen a lot less often – if ever again – in the future.
Let’s jump right in, shall we?
FedEx Says Delivered But No Package – Now What?
FedEx handles hundreds of millions of packages on a day-to-day basis, with the overwhelming majority of them – more than 99%, in fact – getting to their destination on time when they say they are delivered. Every now and again, though, something go sideways somewhere along the line and a package is reported delivered when that may not be the case. Let’s run through why that might happen and what you need to do to track down your package ASAP.
How Accurate is FedEx Tracking?
For starters, you should know that FedEx has some of the most accurate tracking in the shipping industry today. In fact, FedEx really helped to pioneer the idea of providing shipping information to shipping customers. They didn’t necessarily “invent the wheel” when it came to this technology, but they definitely made it a priority to share with customers and to make sure that their shipping times were as transparent as possible. Because of this focus FedEx has a near legendary reputation for having tracking info that is right (almost) all the time. You can usually trust FedEx tracking info to be far more accurate than what you get from the folks at UPS and certainly from the folks over at the United States Postal Service. If FedEx is telling you that your package has been delivered already the chances are very good that it has been.
Sometimes, though, things are going to happen where FedEx information isn’t quite as accurate as you (or they) would hope. For one thing, inadvertent or accidental package scans can cause packages to be marked as delivered when they are still on the way. Internally, FedEx has a number of systems in place to cut down on this kind of accidental tracking update. It used to happen a lot more in the past, but nowadays this is one of the less common reasons you’ll see FedEx marking your package as dropped off when it wasn’t. Another reason you might see this kind of update in your tracking info is when you’re dealing with a new FedEx driver or delivery individual, or someone that has only recently been brought on for seasonal purposes (or something similar). These employees may not fully be aware of when (or how) to update your package as delivered. They are a lot more likely to “jump the gun” than people that have been working at FedEx for quite a while.
Inclement weather can delay deliveries, causing them to be marked as delivered – especially if the driver likes to “batch update” packages that are going to be delivered along their route. Not all drivers take a batch approach to their deliveries, though, instead choosing to mark each individual delivery when it is actually dropped off.
Lastly, you may be dealing with a dreaded “porch pirate” kind of situation. For a variety of different reasons these kinds of crimes – people stealing other people’s packages right off of their porch, driveway, or entryway almost immediately after they’ve been delivered – are on the rise. It’s never fun to think that your package (something that you spent your hard-earned money on) was stolen by some, but it happens every now and again.
Check the Delivery Area Again
Before jumping to any conclusions, it is important to actually confirm that your package is in fact missing and not just mismarked, incorrectly updated, or mismanaged. The very first thing you’ll want to do is have a look at the delivery area at your home or property, double checking that the package wasn’t delivered somewhere you weren’t necessarily expecting it.
If you are used to your regular deliveries showing up directly on your front doorstep all the time you might not be looking for a package left on the back steps or over by the garage. New drivers, filling drivers, or temporary drivers (or even drivers that shake things up every now and again) could leave your packages somewhere on your property that you weren’t expecting. That’s something to consider for sure and something you want to rule out completely before moving forward.
Talk to Your Neighbors
Another thing you’ll want to do is speak to your neighbors about your package to see if they saw it get delivered or if they picked it up for you. Depending on the kind of neighbors that you have it may or may not be all that unusual for your neighbors to try and help out, scooping up your packages for you when you aren’t home so that someone else (the aforementioned porch pirates, for example) doesn’t come by and grab it for themselves. Every now and again you might even have a FedEx package delivered to the wrong address – a FedEx delivery stacked on top of another FedEx delivery dropped off at one of your neighbor’s homes. A quick call or text to the neighborhood or a few knocks on neighborhood doors might help you get a whole lot more information about what happened to your package, or it may even help you track your package down much faster than the folks at FedEx would have been able to.
Is the Package Actually with the USPS Now?
You’ll also want to see if FedEx actually dropped your package off with the USPS, especially if your package was sent via the Smart Post system. More and more frequently now FedEx is actually taking advantage of the USPS infrastructure to have packages delivered – particularly when it comes to the “last mile”. In more rural areas (and even in more suburban areas) Smart Post deliveries are actually handled by the USPS, even though they were handled by FedEx for 90% of the travel time.
Have a look at your tracking information one more time. You want to look specifically to see if Smart Post has been taken advantage of and if the “Delivered” message relates to the package being dropped off with the USPS versus actually being dropped off at your doorstep. This can help save you a world of headache and hassle. It can also help you avoid having to call FedEx customer service directly first only to be rerouted to the USPS customer service hotline to try and track down a package that they themselves were (at the end of the day) responsible for getting to you.
Give FedEx Customer Service a Call
If you have squared away all of the things that we highlighted a moment ago and you still can’t find your package it’s probably time to give FedEx customer service a phone call. Available on a 24/7 basis (every single day of the year), all you have to do is call 1-800-463-3339 and you’ll be immediately connected to someone from FedEx that can help. Be prepared to give them your name, the delivery address, the tracking information, and the last reported tracking update that you have.
FedEx customer support will use their own internal systems to try and figure out exactly what happened to your package. Most of the time they’ll be able to sort things out pretty quickly, but every now and again it may take a little longer than this first initial phone call. In those situations, though, FedEx will almost always collect your contact information and keep you updated with their progress.
If you don’t have any more information within a couple of days after contacting FedEx customer support it’s time to call them back directly. Let them know where you stand, ask for an update, and see if you can get any more insight into your missing package. Should your package be deemed “missing” by the folks at FedEx the odds are pretty good you’ll have to go through the claims process. This is a really simple and straightforward kind of process without a lot of headache and without a lot of hassle, but it does take a couple of weeks to complete from start to finish. By the time you’re done, though, you should be fully refunded for any of the merchandise that went missing as well as the cost of shipping, too.
How to Avoid This Problem Going Forward
It’s obviously a good idea to do everything you can to avoid these kinds of situations going forward. You may not be able to guarantee that your FedEx packages never go missing again in the future. Almost all of the responsibility for getting your package to you lies on the shoulders of FedEx, after all. But there are some simple things you can do to sort of streamline the delivery process on your end and (hopefully) insulate yourself from having to deal with these missing package problems any longer.
Double Confirm Your Delivery Info
The first thing you’ll want to do is double confirm your delivery information, especially when it comes to your shipping address. You want to be sure that this information is 100% accurate, 100% complete, and is fully in line with the address information that the folks at FedEx themselves have. Any gaps, any inconsistencies, or any hiccups with this address info can cause delays or even missing package problems. Sort this out ahead of time and you’ll have a lot less to worry about.
Schedule Specific Delivery Windows
Another approach you might want to take is choosing to use FedEx delivery services that guaranteed delivery times when you are going to be home. Home Evening Delivery and weekend delivery options give you a much better chance of being there when the FedEx delivery person rolls around to drop off your package. If you see the information update letting you know the package is there but the driver hasn’t come yet or has come and left without dropping anything off you’ll know that you need to contact customer support right away. Not everyone is going to have a schedule that works with these specific delivery options, but if you do have the chance to go in this direction it can help dramatically increase overall delivery rates for sure.
Request a Signature Upon Delivery
Finally, you might want to request a signature upon delivery for every one of your FedEx packages from here on out. Sure, this is a lot less convenient than just having your packages dropped off and left for you when you aren’t home – especially since it requires you to be there to sign for your deliveries – but it also guarantees that delivery problems are eliminated almost entirely. If it works for you (and is something you can swing, getting home for every delivery) it’s a great fix for sure.
Upgrade to a Virtual Mailbox from US Global Mail
Of course, another alternative is to invest in a Virtual Mailbox account from the people at US Global Mail – the industry leader for more than 20 plus years. Not only will you get a permanent physical address you can use for all of your packages, but you’ll also never have to worry about packages from third-party shipping services like FedEx, UPS, and DHL being denied the way you would have with a USPS PO Box.
There are a whole host of other benefits you’ll enjoy as a Virtual Mailbox customer – including up to 80% off of traditional mail forwarding rates to almost any address on the planet – from the moment that you create your new account. To learn more about US Global Mail check out their website today or contact customer service directly!
