What happens if nobody's there to receive the delivery?
Failed deliveries, waiting time, redelivery and returns: exactly what our driver does when the receiver isn't available, and how to make sure it doesn't happen.
Swiftline Courier··3 min read
It's the question every customer thinks about and few couriers answer clearly. Here's exactly what happens.
The driver's steps
- 1.Calls the delivery contact on arrival, then the booking contact.
- 2.Waits. The first 30 minutes are included in the price.
- 3.If you've authorised a safe place or an alternative receiver at booking, delivers there and photographs it.
- 4.If not, dispatch calls you with three options: wait longer (£0.50 a minute), deliver to another address nearby (priced as extra mileage), or return the goods to you (half the job price).
What we never do
Leave goods unattended without written authority, hand them to someone who isn't named, or mark a job delivered without a photo and a name. Medical, legal and high-value items are never left anywhere under any instruction.
How to make sure it doesn't happen
- Give the receiver's mobile, not a switchboard.
- Tell the receiver a delivery is coming and roughly when. Our confirmation email has a tracking link you can forward to them.
- Add a second contact or a safe-place instruction at booking if the receiver might step out.
- For businesses, confirm goods-in hours. A warehouse that closes at 4pm is the commonest failed delivery we see.
Prices quoted are our published rates at the time of writing, with no VAT added. Enter your postcodes for a fixed price today.