A parcel goes back when the courier could not deliver it and ran out of attempts. The item is not lost and you have not lost your money — but the next step needs agreeing rather than assuming.
Why it happens
- Nobody was available across the courier's attempts. Nobody was home for the delivery
- The address could not be found — usually a PIN code that does not match the locality, or no reachable phone number.
- It was refused at the door, sometimes by someone else in the household.
- The area is not serviced by that courier, which should have been caught earlier but occasionally is not.
What to do first
Message the seller from the order, with the tracking number, and ask them to confirm it has come back and what they would like to do.
Do that promptly. A seller holding a returned parcel they were not expecting has to decide whether to re-send, refund, or wait — and they will decide faster with you in the conversation.
Who pays for the second attempt
This is the part to settle explicitly, because it is genuinely arguable:
- The address was wrong because of your entry → reasonably you pay the second delivery.
- The seller mis-entered or mis-labelled it → reasonably they do.
- The courier failed despite correct details → worth asking the seller to claim it with the courier, who may cover it.
Agree it in a message. A seller asked politely to re-send at your cost will usually do it the same day; one presented with an expectation often will not.
Your options
Have it re-sent. The usual outcome. Settle the delivery cost first.
Collect it instead, if the seller offers pickup and you can get there. No second delivery charge at all. Can I collect instead of having it posted?
Cancel and be refunded. Reasonable where the address problem cannot be fixed or you no longer want it. A refund goes back the way you paid. How long does a refund take?
If the seller does not respond
Raise it from the order. A paid order whose item is sitting with the seller and is not being re-sent or refunded is exactly what a dispute is for, and Metzee decides within 48 hours of it being opened. How to raise a problem
For an auction win
Worth knowing: cancelling a win does not give you another chance at the item. If you want the thing, re-sending is the route; cancelling is giving it up. How to cancel an order
Preventing it
The three that account for most returned parcels:
- A phone number you answer.
- The correct PIN code — it decides the sorting hub, so it is the one field that must be right.
- Checking the address on the payment screen before you pay, since there is no way to change it afterwards. I entered the wrong address
More: the courier says my address is wrong, why is delivery costing so much, how to find and track an order.