Online shipping is increasing at an extreme rate in recent years and, unfortunately, that means that shipping mistakes are increasing at the same rate. If you get a package that’s returned to the sender, did you do anything wrong? If so, what can you do to rectify the matter with FedEx?
There are several reasons that FedEx might mark your package, as “Return to Sender” and deliver it back to you, such as an incorrect address, an error on FedEx’s end, bad weather, restricted items, wrong documentation, and refusing to sign.
Some of these errors are things that you can control, while others are not. So what do you do if you get an email saying that your package, whether it was mailed to you or mailed from you, is being returned to the sender?
Reasons That FedEx Returns Mail to Sender
There are many reasons, listed above, that FedEx may return mail to the sender and there are some solutions, although you will often have to wait until the package is either returned to the sender or try and intercept it before it reaches the next carrier office, if possible.
Incorrect Address
This is the most common reason that mail gets returned. It’s so easy to mess up a single digit on a street number or on the zip code.
Most local mail carriers know their routes very well and will send the package on, even if the zip code is wrong.
Some will simply return it to FedEx. If you are the one who filled the address in wrong, you will have to contact FedEx the moment you received a notification about the item and update the address.
FedEx will send the package on, but you’re going to pay a hefty fine for the effort.
Improper Documentation
This one isn’t always your fault or the person sending the package to you, whichever way it’s going.
Shipping labels and packing list details have to be correct, or the package may end up being returned to the sender.
FedEx is pretty good at notifying customers when things like this happen, and they will hold the package at the closest distribution sender if you catch it in time, until such time that you can get the issue corrected.
Bad Weather
This one isn’t your fault either, and we’re not talking about regular, everyday thunderstorms that seem to roll in every day throughout the summer.
We’re referring to hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, earthquakes, and large-scale natural disasters that can cause a serious delay or a return to sender.
The worst part is, that the shipper is not entitled to any of the incentives that FedEx offers, such as the Money-Back Guarantee.
Processing Errors
Processing errors are due to FedEx employee errors, nothing that you have done. Unfortunately, the package will be sent back to the sender.
On the bright side, if you don’t want the package or don’t want to bother sending it again, you don’t have to, and you will get your money back.
Restricted Items
FedEx has a list of extensive items that they will not carry through their mail service.
If it somehow got slipped in on its way to you or the other way around, it can easily get caught as it’s processed at the various centers on the way to its destination.
FedEx has a rather extensive list of restricted items, including, fine gemstones, mobile phones and computer chips, microprocessors, irreplaceable artwork, pharmaceuticals, precious metals, and tobacco materials.
Now, that doesn’t mean that you can’t ever send these restricted items through FedEx, however, you’re going to have to jump through some additional hoops to do so.
What You Can Do as a Customer
The number one thing that you can do is cover all of your bases before you send a package through FedEx.
Ensure that you check over the details of the items you are sending and check them against FedEx’s prohibited items.
Also, be sure that you are filling out the address, both the address you’re shipping to and your own, accurately and completely. Don’t leave anything out, including the extra four digits that are now a part of zip codes.
Make sure that you sign up for updates as your package is en route. If you are the recipient, many of the things that go on will simply be out of your hands, especially if the fault is on FedEx’s end or the shipper’s end.
However, you can always contact FedEx customer service if you receive an error notification.
Related Post: What Does “Refused By Recipient” Mean With FedEx?
Final Thoughts
FedEx isn’t liable to return a package to the sender if they can help it, so the most important two things that you can do are ensure that your information is correct and that you have
Martha had a chance to work for such major companies as USPS and FedEx, where she gained a lot of experience and learned quite a few nuances when it comes to handling mail and packages. Now she is a freelance writer who specializes in the logistics industry.
