After waiting for your Amazon package for days, having it lost can be a nightmare.
In some cases, it can be lost in transit, while other times, it could be stolen, especially with the number of mail thieves increasing.
While Amazon is constantly working to ensure your package arrives, some things are simply out of their control. So what happens when your Amazon package is lost?
Here’s How Long It Takes To Consider A Package Lost:
When you place an order on Amazon, you will receive a confirmation email with the expected delivery date and a tracking number. You can consider a package lost if 3 to 5 days have passed from the expected delivery date and the package has not arrived, or the tracking system isn’t showing changes.
How Long Before Amazon Considers a Package Lost?
As a business aiming to keep customers happy, Amazon does what it can to ensure that orders are delivered on time and to the correct address.
Amazon has an “A-to-Z Guarantee” that covers up to $2,500 of the purchase price on all eligible purchases. Eligible purchases refer to goods ordered from Amazon or Amazon third-party sellers.
This guarantee covers packages that are considered lost or stolen.
Amazon would consider a package lost if it still has not been delivered within 36 hours after the expected date of delivery and the customer reported it as lost or missing.
This also applies to packages that are possibly stolen. For example, the online tracking shows that the package has been delivered, but you didn’t get it. It could be stolen if left on your porch, so you must report it to file a claim.
When Can You Report A Package Missing With Amazon?
If you suspect your package is missing, you need to report it to Amazon so that they can do something about it.
Most people would advise that you wait at least five days before reporting your package missing since there could be some delays in the shipping.
In general, you can report that a package is missing if more than 36 hours have passed after the expected delivery date and it still hasn’t arrived.
Even if the online tracking shows that the package has been delivered, you can report it missing if you have not received it.
Here’s the step-by-step process for reporting a package missing with Amazon:
Contact the Seller
When reporting a package missing, the first step is always to get in touch with the seller.
You can only file a claim once the seller has been contacted and you’ve reported the problem to them.
To contact the seller, you have to do it by logging in to your Amazon Payments account.
There would be a link that says Transaction Details, and when you click on that, you will see an option that says Contact Seller.
Wait for the Seller to Respond
Amazon sellers typically respond in one calendar day.
On their end, sellers can investigate to find out what happened to your package. They can provide a resolution by issuing you a refund or sending a replacement product.
If the seller is not responding to your message or is unwilling to assist you, you can submit a claim with Amazon through their A-to-Z Guarantee.
Submit a Claim
You may file a claim with Amazon if the seller is not responsive or refuses to work with you. You should file the claim between 15 and 90 days from the order’s date.
To submit a claim:
- Go to your Orders List.
- Go to the order you want to file a claim for and click View/File Claim.
- Follow the prompts and enter all the information as requested.
Select the appropriate reason for filing the claim, and in this case, it was because the item was not received. You will also be asked to provide documentation to support your request.
Suppose the seller was able to provide a resolution before a claim decision has been given. In that case, you can withdraw the claim by simply replying to the confirmation email sent by Amazon.
In addition, you may also file a claim if the seller already provided a resolution, but you were not satisfied with it.
Wait for the Claim Decision
Once you have filed your claim, you can view it and track its status on your Amazon Payments account. The next thing to do is to wait for the claim decision.
If your claim has been approved, you will be given a refund with an amount corresponding to the product’s purchase price plus any applicable shipping fees. If your claim has been denied, you can appeal.
How Does Amazon Recover A Lost Package?
Through Amazon’s tracking system, you can check the status of your package in real time and see when it is on the move.
Most Amazon packages arrive on time, but sometimes you may not receive them even if the tracking system shows it has been delivered. If this happens, then your package could be lost or missing. It could even be stolen.
If your package is reported lost, the seller will investigate it, but, likely, it will not be recovered. Amazon will issue a refund if there is no resolution from the seller.
Before you get any resolution, you have to contact the seller first. If the seller is unresponsive, you may file a claim with Amazon.
However, before you even contact the seller, you must first verify if the Amazon package is indeed lost or missing.
Here are the things you can do to verify if your package is lost:
- Check your inbox for any notification that there was an attempt to deliver your package. Some carriers would leave a notice if the delivery attempt were not successful. Some carriers would even take photos if they left the package on your porch.
- Call Amazon’s 1-800 phone number to get the status of your package.
- Check if the package was received by someone else on your behalf. It could be any of your household members or your neighbor.
- Contact the carrier. When you receive order confirmation, you will know which shipping company will deliver your package. You can call them and ask if any deliveries were made to your address and if someone received your package on your behalf.
Once you have verified that your Amazon package is missing, it’s time to contact the seller, as discussed above, so that you may get a resolution.
How Long Does It Take To Recover A Lost Package?
When a package is reported lost or missing to Amazon, it is very unlikely that they will be able to recover it.
Here are the only possible outcomes:
- Seller issues a refund or sends you a replacement of the item that you ordered.
- Seller is unwilling to work with you, so you file a claim, and it gets approved.
- Seller is unwilling to work with you, so you file a claim, but it gets denied, and you file an appeal.
If the seller issues you a refund or sends a replacement for your missing order, then Amazon will no longer do something on their end as it is already resolved.
If you end up filing a claim, the turnaround time may vary. In some cases, you can get a decision on your claim within 48 to 72 hours. In other cases, Amazon may take up to 2 weeks to review the claim you submitted.
The turnaround time for claims depends on a lot of things. It can depend on the purchase price of the order and the refund amount that Amazon has to issue.
Amazon may also contact the seller regarding your lost package to get more information, which means the turnaround time could be longer.
Can An Amazon Package Be Tracked If It Is Lost?
If an Amazon order is missing, we’d usually want to take the necessary steps to track it so it can be recovered. After all, we’ve spent days waiting for our order, and it would be a waste if they were lost.
However, most Amazon packages are highly unlikely to be tracked if it is lost. There are rare cases where it can still be tracked if the order has not yet been delivered.
For example, the online tracking shows that the Amazon package has not been delivered yet. If that’s the case, the package is still within the supply chain. It could be misrouted or misplaced during sortation, which is why it hasn’t been delivered yet.
If this happens, Amazon can still track and recover it so that it will be rerouted to you.
However, if the online tracking shows that the package was delivered, it could have been stolen. It may also have been delivered to the wrong address; in this case, you must contact the carrier.
If it was delivered to the correct address, but you still didn’t get it or no one you know received it on your behalf, then you or Amazon may not be able to track the package since it is no longer in the system.
It can be very frustrating to find out that your Amazon package is lost after you’ve waited days for it. If it happens, check everything you can on your end to verify that it is lost or missing before taking the next steps.
Sources:
Find A Missing Package That Shows As Delivered
Amazon A-To-Z Guarantee Lost & Stolen Package Fact Sheet