Item sent then sent back to delivery office

[Lthazeder]

Hello! I recently sent an item international tracked and signed for. I sent it on Friday 23rd and in the Royal Mail app I was told the sender was preparing the item and then hadn’t heard anything about it since. I therefore had assumed it had gone missing. However, yesterday I got another update saying it was now at the mail center. This morning, I got a notification saying it had been despatched back to my local delivery office. I’m really confused as to why it would’ve immediately been sent back. The item was under the weight requirement, under the size requirement and the only thing I can think of is there was a debit card inside it for the receiver. However I’m not sure the mail office would’ve been able to know that? I went up to the post office (not the delivery office) where I’d sent the item from and asked the woman if she had any idea why it would’ve been sent back. She looked absolutely baffled and was as confused as I was to see the notification. The address was correct I’m sure of that because I have the proof of postage. The parcel was going to New Zealand. Glad it’s not lost, but just absolutely baffled as to why it would’ve been immediately returned to the delivery office. Also does anyone know if I’ll be able to get my money back for the postage?

Any help would be massively appreciated.

[SpacePhoenix]

Just looked up the restrictions for New Zealand and one of the things that's prohibited is:

Cash; currency or vouchers/ gift cards

My guess is that New Zealand customs must reject any debit or credit cards from entering New Zealand.

Did you put a customs declaration form on the item? Some countries are very strict with customs declarations.

[Lthazeder]

Thank you so much for the reply that’s more helpful than anything I’ve found. Any idea if I’d be able to get my money back for the postage? That’s such a pain

[SpacePhoenix]

Any chance of posting the tracking number?

[Snaggletooth]

Thank you so much for the reply that’s more helpful than anything I’ve found. Any idea if I’d be able to get my money back for the postage? That’s such a pain

That would depend on the circumstances behind what happened. If you sent something that isn’t allowed in the post or by NZ customs, if the address on the package wasn’t valid etc then you won’t get your money back.