I have created this page to help customers in Germany prepare to receive their DIY Packraft kits because usually parcels are delivered without any problems, but more than one parcel has been returned to me from Germany for no good reason.
Here is the situation, as explained to me by a German customer who had a terrible experience trying to receive their parcel (by the time they figured it out it was too late – the parcel was returning to Canada):
“DHL” and “DHL Express” are two separate entities. They share the same tracking page online, but aside from that, everything else is different, including phone numbers, delivery personnel, and company policies and procedures.
DHL is the local postal delivery service, and if they try to deliver a parcel when you are not home, they will deposit it at a local post office where you can pick it up. The tracking information online might show that the parcel has been delivered when it is actually at the post office, waiting for you to pick it up there.
DHL Express will try to deliver the parcel, and if they are unsuccessful they will hold it in a warehouse and wait for you to pick it up. The tracking information will stop updating.
Both DHL and DHL Express are required to notify you when they attempt to make a delivery, but often this does not happen (or perhaps the notifications go missing), so it is important for you to
- Monitor the tracking information daily so you know when to expect the parcel. An email with the tracking number is automatically sent to you when your order ships – if you did not see it, please look for it in your junk mail/spam folder.
- Answer phone calls from unusual phone numbers prior to delivery, because it could be DHL or DHL Express calling to notify you where to pick up the parcel, or it could be Customs calling to tell you how to pay an import tax.
- Act quickly. If you do not retrieve your parcel within one week, it will be returned to me. This will happen regardless of whether or not you were properly notified, so do not wait around hoping that the parcel will eventually be delivered – it will not! If the tracking information indicates that the parcel has been delivered but you have not received it, or if the tracking information indicates the parcel is in Germany but the tracking has not updated in several days, phone both DHL and DHL Express to inquire about it.
- If you are not 100% sure which DHL has the parcel, phone both DHL and DHL Express to inquire about it.
- When you talk to them on the phone, do not believe everything they tell you – they are not trying to mislead you, but sometimes they have incorrect information. They may tell you that they will deliver your parcel soon, when really it is the other DHL entity that has the parcel and they are waiting for you to retrieve it, so even if they say they have it, phone the other one to be sure.
- Be aware that if the parcel is returned to DIY Packraft, it will take 1-2 months to arrive here because they return it by ground and sea, not by air. They will not refund the shipping cost, so if you want it shipped again you will have to pay the shipping cost again. (Remember the Terms & Conditions you agreed to before purchasing, particularly numbers 4 and 6 in the Shipping section.)
To summarize the above information, DHL and DHL Express cannot be trusted to deliver your parcel to your door, so please actively monitor the tracking information and make inquiries quickly, because DHL/DHL Express prefer to send the parcels back to Canada instead of storing them for more than one week. It is very frustrating when this happens, but there is nothing I can do to stop it.
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