Parcels missing after arriving "at Heathrow" USPS

Maddie393 · Post by **Maddie393** » 20 Dec 2016, 12:54

Hi everyone,

I really hope someone may be able to shed a little light on my situation.

I placed an order from an american site on the 21st of November. The item was a Christmas present and I have never had any issues with this site and their delivery before so rightly or wrongly assumed it would be here by Christmas. I tracked the item on USPS and on the 29th of November the tracking stated: Your item departed a transfer airport in HEATHROW, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM on November 29, 2016 at 12:26 pm. The item is currently in transit to the destination.

Since then, nothing. I have spoken with both Royal Mail and Parcelforce, both advise that as the item was never scanned into their system they are unable to help me. They directed me back to HM customs and advised that the parcel will be with them. Upon calling Customs, I was told there are no delays at customs and if there were they would still only be between 3-4 days. Essentially, I am being told the parcel is in limbo somewhere, but nobody is quite sure exactly where. As you can see, it has been not far off month since my parcel left the states and I am starting to feel a little upset that it seems to have vanished. The contents are not prohibited and are valued at around £150 so I imagine they would be subject to customs and charges, which I am prepared for. I have no problem in paying to release the package, I just want to know where it is :( I have tried using the generic parcel search engines and none can give me any more info than that on the USPS site.

The sellers have sent me another parcel which is also showing as having arrived at Heathrow, but again customs are advising they have not received anything. I am starting to worry that neither package will ever reach me and I will be severely out of pocket.

Is this common practice? Has anyone had such a long delay and eventually recieved their parcel or should I write it off as lost and buy alternative Christmas gifts?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Post by **Snaggletooth** » 20 Dec 2016, 15:04

It often takes weeks to clear customs at all times of year.

But more than that: you have a number for customs?

Cainshiro · Post by **Cainshiro** » 04 Aug 2020, 19:09

Snaggletooth wrote:It often takes weeks to clear customs at all times of year.

But more than that: you have a number for customs?

I had a very interesting conversation with HRMC agent via chat. They told me Heathrow Customs DO NOT deal with Parcelforce parcels, only Royal Mail letters and packages. Customs in Coventry are in charge of that! That would mean Parcelforce International Hub in Coventry gets parcels from an airport first, and then they store them somewhere for weeks before they are being scanned and then cleared by UK Customs in Coventry. I really don't understand why they hold parcels for weeks before the first scan happens and tell people they can't help them because their parcel hasn't been scanned yet!

Post by **Snaggletooth** » 05 Aug 2020, 07:11

Cainshiro wrote:That would mean Parcelforce International Hub in Coventry gets parcels from an airport first, and then they store them somewhere for weeks before they are being scanned and then cleared by UK Customs in Coventry. I really don't understand why they hold parcels for weeks before the first scan happens and tell people they can't help them because their parcel hasn't been scanned yet!

Storing those parcels costs money, but it doesn't create any revenue. Delaying the mail is against the law. So why do you think PFW are doing that? Why do you think that PFW are responsible for the Heathrow to Coventry leg of the journey?

Alternatively, there are delays in customs which we know about and which explains the above.

Cainshiro · Post by **Cainshiro** » 05 Aug 2020, 22:17

Well, we could say the same about Heathrow. They get tons of Royal Mail letters and parcels they need to worry about. I don't think they would want to store PF parcels anywhere at Heathrow for weeks. Both, PFW and HMRC have confirmed that PF parcels (Global Priority, Priority Mail, Express Mail, Parcel Post) must go to Coventry for clearance so that begs the question what happens to all these parcels with status "Your item departed a transfer airport in HEATHROW, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM". They can't be with UK Customs because they haven't been scanned by PF so officially not in the UK!

I really think this should be reported somewhere because it's really not right and illegal to delay delivery.

Post by **Snaggletooth** » 06 Aug 2020, 06:45

Cainshiro wrote:Well, we could say the same about Heathrow. They get tons of Royal Mail letters and parcels they need to worry about. I don't think they would want to store PF parcels anywhere at Heathrow for weeks. Both, PFW and HMRC have confirmed that PF parcels (Global Priority, Priority Mail, Express Mail, Parcel Post) must go to Coventry for clearance so that begs the question what happens to all these parcels with status "Your item departed a transfer airport in HEATHROW, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM". They can't be with UK Customs because they haven't been scanned by PF so officially not in the UK!

You have that completely back to front. They are with customs. The parcels are not officially in the UK until they have cleared customs. Customs don't care whether they have a PFW sticker on them or not, they process mail that has no barcode sticker on it.

Cainshiro · Post by **Cainshiro** » 06 Aug 2020, 09:51

Snaggletooth wrote:
Cainshiro wrote:Well, we could say the same about Heathrow. They get tons of Royal Mail letters and parcels they need to worry about. I don't think they would want to store PF parcels anywhere at Heathrow for weeks. Both, PFW and HMRC have confirmed that PF parcels (Global Priority, Priority Mail, Express Mail, Parcel Post) must go to Coventry for clearance so that begs the question what happens to all these parcels with status "Your item departed a transfer airport in HEATHROW, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM". They can't be with UK Customs because they haven't been scanned by PF so officially not in the UK!
You have that completely back to front. They are with customs. The parcels are not officially in the UK until they have cleared customs. Customs don't care whether they have a PFW sticker on them or not, they process mail that has no barcode sticker on it.

I got that information from PFW and HMRC.

See their response.

Hi there, the parcel isn't with UK Customs, as all parcels are received by Parcelforce before that point, we give the parcel a GB reference and then forward the item to UK Customs. An item cannot be presented to UK Customs without being given a GB reference by us first. Sadly, as this parcel doesn't have a GB reference, this confirms that it is not in the Parcelforce network yet. The first point we have the item is when it shows on tracking as being in our International Hub in Coventry and the parcel has the corresponding GB reference.

I really don't understand why PFW/HMRC agents tell people this. I also believe UK Customs in Coventry get parcels for inspection/clearance BEFORE they are scanned by PFW. It's really bad that there is no way of knowing if your parcel is in the clearance process or lost. And when you contact PFW and HMRC they say they don't have it because the tracking doesn't show 'Arrived in the UK'.