Missing mail (2 months)

[aishatanvir]

I had someone post mail(large letter) to me from England(Bristol) to Doha, Qatar on 17th March, I still havent received it. Is there ABSOLUTELY nothing that can be done to track standard mail?

I was an international student in the UK, the mail had my original degree certificate in it and was posted by the solicitor who got it legalized, I can not think of a single reason why he thought posting an original certificate using standard mail was a sane thing to do. Anyway, I am very stressed out, I have a pending job offer that is waiting for that degree and my uni is closed and not reissuing any certificates currently, I literally have no idea what to do.

2 months have passed since he posted it, is this enough time to think it has definitely been lost? The other scenario is that he wrote the wrong address and it was returned to the sender, again if this was the case shouldnt he have already received it by now?

I would be so grateful if someone could answer any of my questions.

[Snaggletooth]

Is there ABSOLUTELY nothing that can be done to track standard mail?

I understand that it depends how the solicitor paid for the postage. If they just attached stamps then there is no means of tracking because there is no unique identifier for the item. Some other ways of paying have 2D barcodes, and there might be some limited scanning, but not full tracking.

I can not think of a single reason why he thought posting an original certificate using standard mail was a sane thing to do.

I completely agree with you.

2 months have passed since he posted it, is this enough time to think it has definitely been lost? The other scenario is that he wrote the wrong address and it was returned to the sender, again if this was the case shouldnt he have already received it by now?

In normal times, yes, but maybe not during Covid-19. It won't set off back until the local mail system in Qatar declare that it is undeliverable. Some countries have extended the time for mail to be collected due to Covid-19: Royal Mail, for instance, have extended it to 30 days. This will apply if the address on the item is valid but can't be delivered: an item with an invalid address will come back faster. You will need to check with Qatar post for local rules.

Also, there has been a big reduction in air freight capacity due to Covid-19, and the mail can't always use what capacity there is because priority is being given to medical equipment. So your item may be stuck in a long queue to get on a plane, and this could apply in either / both directions.