Reliable shipping is the backbone of any e-commerce operation. When customers place an order, they expect it to arrive on time, in perfect condition, and without complications. But what happens when a shipment gets delayed, lost, or misdelivered?
Delivery failures are not just inconvenient for the customer, but they directly impact customer trust, operational costs, and the bottom line for your business. In 2021, 73% of customers experienced a delivery failure, while failed first-time deliveries cost businesses an average of $17.20 per package.
So, what now?
For businesses using Purolator, the good news is they have a Money-Back Guarantee (MBG) for Purolator failed delivery. If your shipment doesn’t arrive on time (and it’s not due to something out of their control, like bad weather), you can claim a refund.
But how do you actually get your money back? And how can you prevent these headaches in the first place? Let’s break it all down in this article.
Understanding Purolator's Delivery Process
Purolator’s delivery process is quite simple and straightforward, where the sender is responsible for packing, preparing, and tracking the shipment.
To get started, you must have an account with Purolator from which you can ship, track, and manage your shipments. With services available in over 210 countries, you can choose from a range of services based on any special requirements. Once you package the items, you can print a shipping label and create an online shipment with Purolator within minutes.
You can also visit a Purolator shipping center or drop box, and Purolator will ship it for you. They also have several shipping options, each with different delivery commitments:
- Purolator Express®: Guaranteed next-day or two-day delivery within Canada.
- Purolator Ground®: More affordable, but no strict delivery guarantee.
- Purolator Express® U.S.: Guaranteed next-business-day delivery in most parts of the U.S.
- Purolator International®: Cross-border shipping with delivery commitments based on the destination.
Purolator’s delivery services ensure a fast, safe, and seamless transportation of your packages with flexible pick-up and delivery options for any time-sensitive shipments, along with convenient returns.
Once the package reaches its destination, a delivery attempt is made. If unsuccessful:
- Your customer can request a Hold for Pick Up, and the package will be held at a local Purolator facility or agent, and the customer can pick it up within 5 business days.
- A Delivery Notice is left (telling the recipient to pick it up from a depot), and the package is held for 5 business days before being returned to the sender.
However, if a package is delayed, lost, or marked “delivered” but isn’t received, what can you do?
Luckily, Purolator offers a Money-Back guarantee policy that allows you to claim a refund on shipping charges if there is a delay in delivery to the customer beyond the guaranteed time. This policy is applicable to various Purolator delivery services, such as
- Purolator Express
- Purolator Express Evening
- Purolator Express 9AM
- Purolator Express 10:30AM
- Purolator Express 12PM
- Purolator Ground Evening
- Purolator Ground 9AM
- Purolator Ground 10:30AM
But what leads to Purolator’s failed delivery?
Common Reasons for Failed Deliveries
Before jumping into claims, let’s talk about why deliveries fail in the first place.
Purolator, like all courier companies, experience logistical issues, delays, or mishandling. Other times, the shipper may have provided an incorrect address or insufficient packaging. In some cases, the customer might not be able to receive the package, leading to a missed delivery attempt.
Here are the most common reasons deliveries failures:-
- Purolator missed a guaranteed delivery, and the package didn’t arrive within the promised timeframe.
- The shipment was misrouted or stuck at a facility.
- Purolator marked it delivered, but the package was nowhere to be found
- Unforeseen route obstacles such as traffic, bad weather, or route inaccessibility
- Incomplete or inaccurate delivery address
- Incomplete or inaccurate customer contact details
- Unavailability of the customer at the delivery location
- Delivery refused by the customer
In this context, the First Attempt Delivery Rate (FADR) is a critical metric for your business that determines the deliveries completed on the first attempt. The FADR can help companies monitor the delivery performance to ensure low costs and happy customers.
Steps to Take When a Delivery Fails
So, Purolator failed to meet its delivery promises, and the package was delayed or lost. What next? Here’s what you need to do-
1. Track your shipment
Use the tracking number to monitor delayed packages. If you see that it was an unsuccessful delivery, contact the customer to understand the cause and coordinate with the shipping provider for another delivery attempt.
However, if that’s not the case, reach out to the shipping service with the details of the package.
2. Contact Purolator
If there was no delivery attempt or no notice given to the receiver, contact the shipping service with the package details. This includes the tracking number, proof of delay (screenshot of tracking updates), the shipment invoice, and any other relevant information.
Ask the shipping provider if they can address the delay by rescheduling, redirecting, or holding the package for customer pick-up.
3. Contact the customer
Promptly connect with the customer to let them know the causes of the delays in delivery and their resolution.
4. Submit a refund claim with the shipping provider
With the recipient informed, contact your shipping service for claims on delivery delays. Most shipping providers, including Purolator, offer a refund policy for late deliveries, damaged shipments, lost shipments, and other common service failures.
Visit the shipping provider’s website to submit a claim and upload the necessary documents to initiate the refund process.
5. Follow up
Most shipping carriers typically respond within a few business days. But no need to wait. If you don’t hear back, call the shipping provider or reach out on social media. It is important to follow up aggressively and escalate the issue to get faster refunds.
Preventive Measures for Future Deliveries
The best way to handle delivery failures? Prevent them from happening in the first place to improve customer loyalty and operational efficiency. Follow these best practices to prevent failed deliveries for your e-commerce business-
Real-time order tracking
A post-purchase experience platform like LateShipment can help your business get real-time visibility into the complete delivery process. With smart incident alerts, you can get alerts for critical delivery problems like delays or failed delivery attempts. This way, you can monitor shipments and manage customer expectations with an accurate ETA.
Delivery options
Offering customers multiple delivery options during checkout is an easy way to reduce failed delivery services. This is where you can give them the option for pick-up from the store or the shipping facility, allowing them the convenience of picking up their delivery when they can.
Customer communication
Effective communication is the cornerstone of successful deliveries. It is important to keep the customers informed of the ETA and any changes in the order status, such as delays. For instance, with LateShipment, you can build a custom, branded tracking page to allow your customers to track their packages and send proactive shipping notifications so that they are always on top of their orders.
Ensure accurate customer details
One of the simplest ways to minimize and prevent delivery service failures is to ensure that customer information is accurate. Encourage customers to verify address details at checkout, as small mistakes such as typos or formatting errors can cause unnecessary delivery failures.
Purolator's Response to Delivery Failures
If a guaranteed Courier Shipment by Purolator is delivered after the applicable guaranteed delivery time on the delivery day, you can request a refund for the service rate and taxes paid toward the shipment.
Purolator offers a convenient money-back guarantee policy for service failures such as delayed deliveries, overcharges, billing discrepancies, damaged shipments, duplicate charges, and more. Here’s how you can request a refund for a Purolator failed delivery–
- Contact Purolator at the number on your invoice receipt and share your Bill of Lading number
- Chat with Purolator’s virtual assistant through the website to get through the claim process
- Visit Purolator’s website to fill in the claim form
- Share your claim details via Email
You can do all that, or you can let LateShipment take care of the entire claim process with ease! LateShipment automatically identifies Purolator failed delivery, initiates refund claims, and streamlines refund recovery.
After submitting the claim request with Purolator, you can easily track the status through your account. Depending on the volume of refund requests, complexity, accuracy of package information, and shipping season, Purolator will process the refund within 10-15 business days as a credit on your online invoice.
However, make sure to submit refund claims within 15 calendar days from the original invoice date under eligible services. This will ensure a hassle-free refund process for the business.
Automate the Purolator Refund Process with LateShipment.com
Purolator offers robust shipping services, but like any shipping provider, delivery failures happen. The key to a seamless claims process is knowing when you’re eligible for a refund, how to file a claim properly, and how you can reduce future shipping problems.
However, manually monitoring shipments and filing claims for Purolator failed delivery refunds can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. That’s where LateShipment’s Parcel and Shipping Invoice Audit Software comes in.
It automates shipping invoice audits to detect any service failures (like late deliveries, lost packages, and incorrect surcharges), promptly submit refund claims, and ensure regular follow-up, helping you recover costs with zero manual effort.
The platform seamlessly integrates with top shipping carriers, including Purolator, allowing you to recover your money from eligible claims easily.
