Will USPS Refund for Late Delivery?

Due to COVID-19 surges and unprecedented holiday shipping volume, more and more packages keep facing delays in the USPS network. As a result, lots of shippers wonder if USPS will refund them for late delivery of their packages. However, this won’t happen unless you paid for a specific money-back guaranteed service.

USPS Won’t Offer Refunds for Late Delivery Unless You Shipped Priority Mail Express

There is one instance where USPS will refund for late delivery: if you paid to ship Priority Mail Express. Priority Mail Express is the only money-back guaranteed service that USPS offers. It’s the most expensive service…but if your package arrives later than the timeframe USPS gives you, you’ll be eligible for a full refund for the cost of postage.

That said, none of the other USPS services offer money-back guarantees for late delivery. Even if it says “2-Day Delivery” on your label, it doesn’t matter. These delivery timeframes are estimates, not guarantees. So, USPS won’t refund for late delivery in those normal cases.

What Can I Do About a Late or Missing Package?

If it’s been 15 days since you shipped the package, you may be eligible to file an insurance claim with USPS. However, keep in mind that you only have USPS insurance if you paid for Priority Mail. Other popular services like First Class Package and Parcel Select Ground (aka Retail Ground at the Post Office) don’t come with insurance. So, if you shipped either of those two services, you may be out of luck.

Alternatively, if you purchased third-party shipping insurance, you can file a claim with the insurance provider you went with. If all else fails, you can also try to file a missing mail search with USPS. These searches don’t normally turn up much, but every so often, it might kick a package’s tracking updates into gear on the USPS website!