I am awaiting a parcel, due for delivery tomorrow, sent today by Special Delivery.

The sender has let me know the reference, I go to the tracking page and find…

“Sorry – we don’t recognise that reference number.
Please check your reference number or try again later – it takes 24 hours for them to appear in our system.”

If a tracking website cannot begin to track an item until after it is due to have arrived, what exactly is it for ?

Proving it was delivered, normally, rather than telling you where your stuff is, what can you do with the information?

If it hasn’t been delivered by the specified time, then I’d be looking to the tracking service

Not sure if something is wrong with the Royal Mail tracking system. Was expecting a next day delivery y’day from CRC. It’s not even registered as being received into their system yet.

Sorry – we don’t recognise that reference number.
Please check your reference number or try again later – it takes 24 hours for them to appear in our system

It does indeed. If it’s been despatched today that means the tracking number has been generated but the parcel hasn’t been physically picked up by the RM.

When the van goes round later this afternoon and the parcel is collected it’ll be scanned and the tracking info will appear this evening – in your case it’ll be on its way to the local delivery depot for delivery tomorrow

I feel Royal Mail aim for deniability. Number not in the system so can’t prove or disprove and just claim the system lost the code. Until it’s actually confirmed delivered then if by magic it’s in the system.

Used to send letters recorded signed for to prove a company received them, but RM would just say they have no record of a signature. Likewise had postie deliver stuff to me requiring signature but tore off the label and dumped on the doorstep. Asked RM for proof of the signature and they said they can’t find it, system must have lost it.

Had an Amazon Now delivery last week, gives me a map showing where the guy is, text updates, he arrives and greets me by first name, sign and he leaves and within a 1 minute I get a text saying it’s been delivered.

Another one (I forget the courier) records with a photo where the parcel was delivered to.

Special Delivery items are tracked right through the network once collected from the Post Office.

Recorded Signed For items get their only tracking scan on the addressee’s doorstep.

Yes the stupidity of a system which can’t track a parcel for 24hrs despite it actually potentially delivered in that time frame is quite striking.

Still is privatised now so the power of the market should rectify it

Special Delivery should show up almost immediately.

Most likely either they have given you an incorrect number or the package has not yet been dropped off at the post office and scanned.

As an aside.

Is “DELIVERED NO SIGNATURE” Royal Mail code for “Stolen”?

Another one (I forget the courier) records with a photo where the parcel was delivered to.

DPD do that. Made it relatively easy to figure out what went wrong when they went to the wrong street and put a card through the wrong door. I was watching the tracking thingy because I was waiting in for the parcel. Saw the van come almost to my road, then got an email saying “you weren’t in”. I walked out to the street but couldn’t see the van. Then I took a look at the photo that they sent, and sure enough – right house number, wrong street. Mistakes happen, no problem. Was a bit of a pain to get through to someone on the phone who could ask the driver to come back though.

Did in the end come back an hour or so later. That’s the only time I’ve had a problem with DPD – generally I think they’re very good.

Royal Mail tracking systems handle a minimum of 2000 tracking scans per second[/i].

In different circumstances scans either come through the TnT either immediately or with a slight delay depending on whether they’re batched or not. Under the hood its a very impressive system.