You ship a parcel on Monday. By the next Monday, tracking still says "in transit" and your customer is emailing you. Is it lost, or just stuck? Here's how to tell the difference, when to act, and what a claim actually involves.
Why Tracking Goes Quiet in the First Place
A parcel with no tracking updates is not always a lost parcel. Think of tracking scans like stamps on a passport. Every time the box moves through a sort building, a driver scans it. If it sits in the wrong pile, or moves by truck between cities without a mid-route scan, the tracking page looks frozen even though the box is fine.
Common reasons for a silent parcel:
- It's on a long truck leg between provinces with no scan planned in the middle.
- It missed a scan at a busy sort hub (human error, mostly).
- The label was damaged and someone has to relabel it by hand.
- Weather, strikes, or a backed-up terminal slowed the whole lane.
- Customs is holding it (for cross-border moves).
Most silent parcels are not lost. They are late or under-scanned. But some really are gone, and you need a way to tell.
The Rough Timeline: Delayed vs. Lost
Every carrier has its own rule for when a parcel is officially "lost." But the pattern across major Canadian carriers is similar. Here is the shape of it in plain terms:
| Days with no movement | What it usually means | What you should do |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 business days | Normal gap between scans | Wait. Don't contact the carrier yet. |
| 4–7 business days | Real delay | Open a trace or investigation ticket. |
| 8+ business days | Possibly lost | Push for a formal search; prepare claim info. |
| Past the carrier's "lost" threshold | Officially lost | File the claim. |
The "lost" threshold depends on the service. Ground within Canada is usually longer before it's called lost than an express next-day service. Always check the carrier's own service guide for the exact number, because it changes.
What a "trace" actually is
A trace, sometimes called an investigation, is when the carrier asks the sort hubs on the route to physically look for your parcel. Someone walks the floor, checks the pile of unscanned boxes, and looks for your label. It is not automatic. You have to ask for it.
Traces usually take a few business days. If the trace finds the parcel, tracking wakes up again. If it doesn't, the carrier moves the file toward a lost declaration.
How to Read the Tracking Page Like an Ops Person
Before you panic or file anything, look at three things:
- Last scan location. Is it near the pickup city, or near the destination? A parcel stuck near the origin is often a missed truck. A parcel stuck near the destination is usually out for delivery soon.
- Last scan type. "Departed facility" with no "arrived" scan after it often just means the next scan was skipped. "Exception" or "address issue" is different — that one needs your attention now.
- Service level. A ground parcel from Toronto to Quebec City is not the same as an express one. Ground can quietly move for days with no scan. Express should scan often.
If the last scan is old, the location makes no sense, and there is no exception note, that is when you open a ticket.
What You Need Before You File a Claim
Carriers will not pay a claim on a phone call. They want paperwork. Get this together before you start:
- The tracking number and the shipping label.
- The commercial invoice or order details (what was inside, and the value).
- Proof of the item's cost to you (supplier invoice, not the retail price).
- Proof of what you charged the customer (the order receipt).
- Photos of the product, if you have them.
- The date you shipped and the date you first reported it missing.
The value you can claim is usually your cost, not your sale price. Think of it like insurance on a bike: they pay what the bike cost, not what you could have sold it for. If you paid for extra coverage at ship time, that changes the number.
The Claim Process, Step by Step
Every carrier's form looks a little different, but the steps are the same:
- Open a trace first. Most carriers will not accept a lost-parcel claim until a trace has been done and closed.
- Wait for the trace result. This is the annoying part. It takes days.
- File the claim within the window. Carriers have a deadline (often a few months from ship date). Miss it and you get nothing.
- Upload your proof. Invoice, label, value, photos.
- Wait for the review. This can take weeks. Don't ship the replacement expecting the claim money to arrive first.
- Get paid, or appeal. If they deny, you can usually push back once with more proof.
One thing many shippers miss: if you refund the customer or ship a replacement, keep the record. It shows you took the loss. That helps the claim.
How to Talk to a Worried Customer While You Wait
You don't need to tell a customer "it's lost" on day 5. You do need to tell them something. A short honest message works best:
"Your parcel hasn't scanned in a few days. We've asked the carrier to search for it. If it doesn't move by [date], we'll ship a replacement right away."
This buys you time to do the trace without eating the cost of a duplicate order on day 4.
Practical Takeaway
- Give a silent parcel three business days before you worry.
- Open a trace between day 4 and day 7. Don't wait longer.
- Know your carrier's lost threshold for that service. It varies.
- Gather your invoice, label, and cost proof before you start the claim.
- File before the deadline, even if the trace is still open in your head.
- Keep records of any refund or replacement you gave the customer.
Most silent parcels come back. The ones that don't are a paperwork job, not a mystery. Knowing the difference saves you hours of panic and, usually, a real refund from the carrier.
At Shipply, this is part of what our TMS does for Canadian shippers: watching for silent parcels, opening traces, and handling claims so your team isn't the one chasing them. But even if you do it yourself, the steps above are the ones that work.