USPS is the postal service of the United States that is responsible for handling and delivering domestic and international packages. If you are expecting a package from USPS, their website provides a nifty tracking tool that lets you check the status, package location, and expected delivery date of your packages.
A common frustration that most customers share is when USPS shows the status of packages as “In Transit, Arriving Late”. For some people, their packages get stuck at this stage for several days without any updates and this can be a very frustrating experience. After all, all we want is to get our packages at the earliest.
If you’re reading this article, then chances are that you are facing this issue too and wondering what it means. Well, we’re here to debunk it.
- What does the USPS “In Transit, Arriving Late” mean?
- Does “In Transit, Arriving Late” mean that the package is lost?
- My package is late for delivery, what should I do?
Table of Contents
What does “In Transit, Arriving Late” mean?
The “In Transit, Arriving Late” status shown by USPS is of two parts. The “In Transit” part means that the package has already been picked up by USPS and is on its way to the final destination. As for the “Arriving Late” part, it means that there may be some issues with the delivery and that it would arrive later than the estimated delivery date.
Usually, this message is generated automatically by the system to indicate that a package may be behind schedule and that it may not be delivered on time. This can happen due to various reasons, such as bad weather conditions or unexpected logistical delays.
The amount of time that deliveries remain stuck at the “In Transit Arriving Late” stage is random. For some, it takes a few days until the package finally gets delivered or the status is updated whereas, for others, there won’t be any updates for several weeks. The best you can do is to contact USPS to find out if they can figure out the issue and when it would arrive.
Does “In Transit, Arriving Late” mean that the package is lost?
This status doesn’t necessarily mean that your package has been lost. In most cases, it is automatically generated by the system when delivery is impacted by unforeseen circumstances such as bad weather conditions, a large backlog of packages to be delivered, or logistical delays such as due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In such cases, the USPS system displays this message to indicate that the package may arrive late.
My package is late for delivery, what should I do?
If 7 days have passed since the expected delivery date of your package, you must take action through one or more of the following methods:
1. Contact USPS: get in touch with USPS to inquire about the delivery of your package to find out what is happening and when it would get delivered. You could either email them or call your nearest local post office. Personally, I believe that calling them would result in a faster response as opposed to contacting them via email.
2. Complete a Help Request Form: by completing this form, your local post office will step in and take all efforts to locate the missing package.
3. Submit a Missing Mail request: If your package doesn’t arrive within 7 days of submitting the Help Request Form, you can proceed with submitting a Missing Mail request to locate your missing package.
4. File a claim: if your package is insured, you must file a claim with USPS in order to receive payment for the value of your package. USPS will decide whether it should be paid in full or part, or to deny the claim. Therefore, make sure that you submit all evidence to back your claim, as suggested on their website.
Wrapping Up
Receiving your packages late is a very frustrating experience for everyone. If the tracking status of your package is shown as “In Transit, Arriving Late”, it means that the package is on route to the final destination, but that it may arrive later than expected due to unexpected issues during delivery.
In most cases, packages get delivered within a week after the above status is displayed, but if they don’t, you must contact USPS or file a claim to get it resolved.
