What's causing holiday package delays?

HOUSTON – It's 19 days before Christmas and some of you are already experiencing big shipping delays on items you purchased online. Consumer expert Amy Davis is looking into your rights when your packages are delivered late. 
  
UPS stumbled into the holiday shipping season with some delays right out of the gate. One customer sent Davis his tracking details from UPS on packages that were supposed to arrive on November 29th. 

Even though his orders arrived in Houston that day, they were delayed on the 29th, the 30th, December 1st and 2nd. He finally received his packages on December 4th, each 5 days late. 
   
When Davis asked UPS about his and other customers' delays, a spokesperson emailed this statement:

"You are hearing about some isolated occurrences in a couple of markets as a result of unprecedented shipping volume experienced during Cyber Week. We have added additional employees in your area to address the higher than anticipated delivery volume and expect to have any delivery delays resolved later this week, well in advance of Christmas gift-giving.

The vast majority of the 750 million packages UPS ships during this holiday season will be delivered in accordance with the service commitments for the specified time-in-transit. Any reported delays do not reflect the overall performance of the UPS delivery network." 
 
If you ordered a product from a retailer and paid them for shipping, your contract is with the retailer, not the shipper. If they gave you a guaranteed delivery date and missed it, you can request a refund of your shipping charges. 
If shipping was free, that will be more difficult. 

If you're an Amazon Prime customer and a prime-eligible order is late, you can usually get a one month extension of your prime subscription just by asking. Click here to learn how to do that. 

Federal law requires retailers to notify you if they are shipping your order later than promised, but once the order leaves the retailer's business, they don't have to contact you about delays.


About the Author:

Passionate consumer advocate, mom of 3, addicted to coffee, hairspray and pastries.