The package that never arrived: CTT Express and its fake 'delivered' status

When the package says delivered in Lérida and nobody has seen it

Fourteen days waiting for a car part. Tracking went from DHL to CTT Express and, one fine day, the order appeared as delivered. In Lérida. The buyer lives in Madrid. The part, obviously, never arrived. It's not an isolated case: the practice of marking as delivered a shipment that hasn't crossed the door has become the great black hole of e-commerce.

The brand dance: DHL, CTT Express and the vanishing package

The mechanics are common in international purchases: the German seller sends it with DHL and, upon crossing the border, the final delivery is taken over by CTT Express. The problem is that the consumer sees two different tracking numbers and neither company responds. In the case at hand, the seller's website redirected to DHL tracking, and DHL claimed the part was delivered in Lérida. The destination was Madrid. Just like that.

A quality that depends on the postal code

Here there is no consensus, and that is precisely the point. While some buyers accumulate disastrous experiences, others have not had a single failure in four or five shipments with the same agency. Everything points to the quality of service being decided at the local branch, not at the head office. Not surprising: other companies like Nacex reproduce the same scheme of leaving a notice of attempted delivery when they haven't even touched the doorbell. The last mile has become a geographical Russian roulette.

The solution: give up and ask them to leave it at a pickup point

The most repeated recommendation among those affected is to abandon home delivery and request pickup at a delivery point. Yes, it's hard to give up having them ring the doorbell, but it's the only way to ensure the package doesn't end up in Lérida or limbo. For sellers, the complaint has a real cost: returns, replacements and customers who switch to the competition.

So then?

When a courier returns the package to origin, the wait can stretch almost a month. The startling fact of this whole mess is that the service works reasonably well in some areas and fails spectacularly in others. There is no corporate explanation for that, only branches with more or less pressure. Meanwhile, the recommendation from those who receive the most shipments is clear: don't let them leave it at your door, have them leave it at a pickup point. And if CTT Express is the one transporting it, better cross your fingers.