1. Match the notice to the shipment
Read the carrier name, attempt date and selected instructions. Compare the shipment reference with the genuine dispatch message. Keep split deliveries separate: one missed parcel does not establish the status of every item in an order.
If you only have a shop order number, find the shipment reference first. This page does not look up a parcel or collect your address.
2. Check the carrier’s next action
Royal Mail, UK: use the notice and the official redelivery page to check delivery or collection options. Service restrictions, identification requirements and collection deadlines matter; read the current instructions for your item before choosing a date or visiting a collection point. Royal Mail redelivery and collection guidance.
UPS, UK: the marked items on an InfoNotice explain a further attempt, a redirected parcel or a delivery requirement. Check the shipment’s current location and collection status before travelling. If collection requires a release code, that is different from the tracking number. UPS UK InfoNotice guidance.
Another carrier or country? use that carrier’s official website and the instructions for your service. The UK examples above are not a universal timetable, fee policy or promise of another attempt.
3. Be careful with “redelivery” messages
A familiar logo or a small requested payment does not make a message genuine. Royal Mail warns about missed-parcel messages, unfamiliar or shortened links, and requests for login or payment details. If a message is suspicious, do not follow its link or attachment; open the carrier’s official site independently. Royal Mail scam advice and reporting instructions.
Do not publish a full reference, collection code, delivery photograph or address in a social post or app review. Share shipment details only through the appropriate private support channel.
4. Ask a specific question if it is unclear
Ask the sender or carrier whether another attempt is arranged, where the item can be collected, and what identification or deadline applies. Keep the notice and latest event together. Repeatedly refreshing a tracker cannot book a redelivery, alter a label or prove where a parcel physically is.
If the event says delivered rather than attempted, use the delivered-but-missing checklist. If the event is old, compare event time with refresh time.