Parcel Left the Carrier Facility – Tracking Guide

You’re waiting on a delivery and you have received a “Parcel Left the Carrier Facility” tracking update.

What does this mean exactly? Where is your package when you receive this alert, and what do you do if the tracking becomes stuck?

Let’s take a look…

Parcel Left the Carrier Facility – Guide

Regular readers of Mailbox Master will have heard me talking about living in Croatia.

It is a recent package delivery via my local postal service that prompted me to write this article… Essentially, the “Parcel Left the Carrier Facility” alert was triggered 3 times while I tracked my item.

Looking into the update, I have since seen that many postal services around the world actually use this alert, so it would be worthwhile talking about.

Anyway, I digress slightly. 🙂

As the summary above explains, the update is a standard alert to signify that the package has recently left a carrier sorting facility and is now in transit.

Because a package will pass through more than one facility during its journey to the destination address, (first near the origin location, then through hubs during transportation, and finally a facility close to the recipient), customers will end up seeing this update more than once.

• Related Content: What Does UPS “Departed From Facility” Mean? Tracking Guide

Package Tracking Stuck on This Update

You may have reached this article because your tracking has ended up stuck on this update.

There are a number of reasons this may have happened.

Transit Times

First, it is important to leave the carrier enough time for another update to be triggered.

Bear in mind that the package is now in transit.

Depending on the length of time it takes for the item to reach the next stage in the delivery network, you might be waiting several days to see another alert, (on an international shipment for example).

Balance your expectations with the delivery service used.

If this is an economy shipment from overseas, for example, the cross border transit could be slow, and then tracking upon arrival delayed as the item waits to be processed.

This should all be expected with a low budget carrier and the wait time between updates could even amount to weeks rather than days.

On the other hand, an expedited 48hr delivery service should provide new updates within hours. 

If the tracking is stuck in this example, you will want to contact the carrier much sooner with your concerns.

• Related Content: Departed Operations Facility in Transit – Aramex Tracking

Problems in the Delivery Network

If the tracking is stuck beyond what you would expect for the service used, there has probably been an issue within the delivery network.

Whether it has been caused by weather, technical issues, package volumes or even human error; the end result is likely to be the same – your package will be delayed.

In this instance, the carrier should eventually provide tracking details of the problem that has taken place.

In the meantime, you should contact the carrier to find out more.

• Related Content: Understanding the “Pending Delivery Confirmation” Update on DHgate

Update Triggered More Than Once at Same Facility

This is what happened to me on my latest package delivery.

The “Parcel Left the Carrier Facility” update was triggered more than once at the same location.

So how can an item leave a building more than once?

The simple explanation for this is that the alert is triggered as the item is loaded onto the truck in preparation for being in transit.

However, that truck will not necessarily leave the facility immediately, (it is in the process of being loaded with packages after all).

If the item has to be unloaded from that truck for any reason, (error, altered delivery route etc), the package will be scanned again once it is loaded onto the new vehicle.

This scan will trigger the “Parcel Left the Carrier Facility” once more, meaning the customer will see it again in reference to the location it should have already left.

In other words, seeing the update twice at the same place is not anything to be concerned about, assuming the package isn’t already late.

• Related Content: “Grouped at Landmark Facility” Landmark Global Tracking

Final Words

Overall, this is a standard update used by a number of carrier services to signify that a package has left the facility.

In most cases, the item will be in transit imminently to the next destination in the network.

If delays occur, or the tracking becomes stuck, you should leave a reasonable amount of time in relation to the service used before contacting the carrier.

Allow common sense to prevail and I am sure your package will be with you soon.

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