Parcel lockers: collection codes, time limits and problems

How does a parcel locker delivery work?

Usually you pick the locker when you order. The carrier brings the parcel, puts it in a free compartment and tells you it's ready.

1. You orderChoose a locker at checkout, or later from the carrier's message
2. CarrierTakes the parcel to that locker
3. LockerParcel placed; code by text, email or app
4. YouOpen the door with the code or the app and take it

A parcel can also land in a locker you didn't pick. InPost and Australia Post may leave a parcel they couldn't deliver at home in a nearby locker. USPS, Royal Mail, An Post and Evri let you redirect a parcel to one. Other options: missed delivery.

Which locker networks are there in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada and Australia?

A few things the table can't hold:

• Royal Mail lockers are mainly for sending and returns. A parcel goes there when you book a free redelivery, 48 working hours ahead.
• DPD UK delivers to lockers you pick from its notifications, opened with a one-time PIN or QR code. It doesn't say how long they wait.
• Australia Post lockers need a free MyPost account, which gives you a Parcel Locker address to use at checkout.
• Canada Post lockers, in apartment buildings and community mailboxes, take only Canada Post parcels and open with a key.

Where's my collection code, and what if it never came?

The code that opens the locker is not your tracking number. The tracking number follows the parcel from the shop to you. The collection code (a PIN, a QR code or a barcode) opens one door, once, and comes only after the parcel is in the locker. Before that, there's nothing to find.

The table shows where each network sends it. In the UK, Amazon's Text Trace also sends it by text, and USPS shows the QR code in Informed Delivery.

No code yet? Work through these:

1. Check the tracking. If the parcel isn't in the locker yet, no code exists.
2. Check your spam and the details you gave the shop. InPost texts the phone number the shop passed on, so a typo there means no text.
3. Use the app or your account. InPost's app has Remote Opening, which opens the door with no PIN or QR code. Amazon shows the code under Track Package in Your Orders.
4. Contact the carrier with your tracking number. InPost points you to its Customer Care.

Codes come from the carrier or the shop, and they're free. A text asking for a small fee to release your parcel is almost always a scam: see delivery scam texts.

How long will the locker keep my parcel?

Not long: from 48 hours at An Post to 5 days at USPS and Canada Post, and 3 days at most UK networks (see the table). Outside the US and UK, Amazon puts the deadline in your confirmation email. Asked about an extension, InPost says "Sadly not."

What happens at the deadline depends on the network:

• A counter takes over. USPS moves the parcel to the Post Office retail window, where you show ID. Royal Mail sends it to your Customer Service Point. An Post moves it to the delivery depot: bring photo ID and the removal notice. Australia Post takes it to the nearest Post Office. Canada Post leaves a delivery notice card for the post office.
• It goes back. Amazon returns it and refunds you automatically. InPost sends it back to the seller, and any refund is up to the shop.

What happens next, and how to get your money back: parcel not collected.

The locker was full or out of order: where's my parcel?

Wherever the carrier could put it, and the tracking says where. Follow the tracking, not the locker you picked at checkout.

• Amazon: you can only choose a locker that has room. If yours is full, pick another location. Every locker has a phone number printed on it.
• InPost UK: if the screen won't work, open the door with Remote Opening in the app, or call InPost on 0330 335 0950. A locker that has disappeared from the map is temporarily out of order, usually "back up and running in a day or two".
• Evri: press "help" on the terminal. Partner companies service the lockers.
• An Post: a parcel too big for the locker goes to the delivery depot, and An Post tells you. Not in the locker? Look for a removal notice first.
• Australia Post: if the parcel can't go into the locker, it tries again later. If that fails too, the parcel goes to a nearby Parcel Collect point, where you collect it over the counter.
• Canada Post: a parcel needing a signature or too big for a compartment comes to your door. If you're out, you get a notice card for the post office.

Some parcels never go into a locker. Royal Mail keeps signature items and age or ID checks out of its Parcel Lockers, and Australia Post can keep out parcels that need an ID or age check, or have an amount to pay.

Can someone else collect it, or can I collect without the app?

Sharing the code is fine with some networks and forbidden by others:

• Amazon: forward the delivery confirmation email. For a locker without a screen, the other person needs their own smartphone with the Amazon app.
• InPost UK: share the QR code or the 9-digit collection code.
• Australia Post: no. Its terms say you must keep the access code confidential and not give it to anyone. Once the parcel has moved to a Post Office, you may be able to nominate someone in the app ("let someone collect this parcel") and they bring ID.

Collecting without the app:

• Amazon: a locker with a screen takes the 6-digit code, so writing it down is enough. Some lockers need the barcode scanned or the app.
• InPost UK: the code also comes by email and text. Type your phone number, without the first 0, and the code on the screen.
• USPS, Royal Mail, An Post and Australia Post: the code comes by email or text, so you don't need the app.
• Canada Post: no app and no code, just the key left in your mailbox.

What does the tracking say at each step?

Each carrier words it differently, but the steps are the same:

1. 1On its way to the lockerThe carrier has the parcel and is taking it to the locker. No code yet.
2. 2In the locker, code sentThe parcel is in a compartment. The code, the locker address and the deadline come by text, email or app.
3. 3ReminderSome carriers nudge you: USPS every day, InPost and An Post with 24 hours left.
4. 4Time's upThe deadline passes and the carrier takes the parcel out of the compartment.
5. 5Back to the sender or a counterAmazon and InPost send it back. USPS, Royal Mail, An Post and Australia Post hold it at a counter first.

If the locker was full, an extra step appears: the parcel heads to another locker or a counter. The exact words for each carrier are in tracking statuses. If the tracking says collected and you didn't collect it, see delivered but not received.

Can I send or return a parcel from a locker?

Often, yes, without queuing at a counter:

• InPost UK: returns with a QR code at any locker, no label to print.
• Royal Mail: its Parcel Lockers take Tracked Returns and 1st and 2nd Class parcels, around the clock.
• USPS: drop a return at a Smart Locker with a Label Broker QR code.
• An Post and Australia Post: you can send and return from their lockers. At An Post, you scan the label.

A return is a parcel like any other, with its own tracking number: tracking a return and its refund.

Can I track a locker parcel in Peek?

Yes, with the carrier's tracking number, like any parcel. Paste it into Peek: once the parcel is in the locker, Peek shows the stage "Ready for pickup".

When the carrier names the pickup point, the parcel's page shows it under "Pickup point", with Directions, Show on map and Copy address, then "Picked up at" once you've collected it. Most carriers name the point only while the parcel waits there.

Notifications tell you when a parcel is ready for pickup. There's also an optional email, off until you switch it on: one when a parcel is ready for pickup and one when it's delivered.

Peek doesn't show or store the code that opens the locker. It comes only from the carrier's text, email or app.

An Amazon order delivered by Amazon itself shows its tracking only in your Amazon account: see Amazon orders. An InPost number, for one, can be 24 digits; other shapes are in tracking number formats.