Why Do Recipients Sometimes Refuse to Accept Parcels?

While postal and courier companies do their best to deliver all parcels in a timely manner, some parcels get returned to senders for a variety of reasons. One of these reasons is “refused delivery”. But why do recipients sometimes refuse to accept parcels?

The simple answer to this question is, “Because they can”. Recipients are within their rights to refuse any parcels they don’t want or need, and there is nothing left to do for the delivery company but to return such packages to senders. Most often, people refuse commercial parcels, but non-commercial packages sometimes get returned to senders due to refused delivery as well.

However, if you’re a business owner, you probably want to know the concrete reasons why recipients may refuse delivery (and if you’re not, knowing them won’t hurt anyway because in some cases refused delivery is totally preventable). So let’s take a closer look at the most common reasons why recipients refuse to accept parcels.

The parcel was damaged in transit. Most recipients will reject a visibly damaged parcel; in such a case, it is the sender who should make a claim for a refund with the delivery company. When this happens to commercial parcels, sellers would normally refund the customer or send them another package with their order, and then sort things out with the carrier without involving the customer. To prevent such situations, senders should use sturdy packaging materials, pack the items correctly, and use enough cushioning materials.

The delivery was late. There are situations when the delivery time frame doesn’t matter, and there are situations when it does. In the latter case, recipients usually refuse packages that arrive too late because they don’t need them anymore.

The recipient has changed their mind. Sometimes it is that simple: the recipient wanted something, and then they decided they don’t want it anymore after the goods have already been shipped. It is a very unfortunate situation for sellers, but there is little that could be done about it. The good news is that the package will be returned to the sender without incurring any additional fees.

The recipient does not want to pay extra fees. Normally, it is the sender who pays all the fees associated with delivering a package except for customs duties and taxes. However, sometimes senders use the service called COD (“Collect on Delivery” or “Cash on Delivery”) that allows to collect money from the recipient for goods, postage, handling fees, etc. and have it paid to the sender. If the amount of money to be paid is bigger than the recipient expected (for example, due to additional fees), they may refuse to pay and accept the package.

The address is right, but the addressee is wrong. Sometimes people forget to request mail forwarding upon moving. So if you send a package to the right address but the intended recipient have moved out, the new owner or tenant of the address will probably refuse the package.

The package was unsolicited. This mostly happens to non-commercial packages. Say, you’ve found a bunch of old photos and other childhood memorabilia in the attic and decided to mail some of them to your sibling without warning them first. And it turns out they don’t want the photos because they bring up unpleasant memories, or because they’re not attached to them, or for any other reason, so they refuse to accept the package. Sometimes people refuse to accept a particular package, or packages from a particular recipient, and that’s normal.

So, recipients can refuse to accept parcels for a bunch of reasons, and often there is nothing senders can do to prevent it. However, there are some things that you can do to somewhat lower the probability of refused delivery. They include making sure that your parcel is properly packaged and that the recipient still lives at the address you have and is expecting your package. If you use the COD service, make sure the recipient is aware how much they are expected to pay.