How Does Tracking Work?
I know this sub is rightly focused on CUPW negotiations, strike, and lockout issues right now, but I'm wondering if someone here could explain something to me about mail tracking.
I applied for a new passport awhile back and I received notice on Nov 8 that my passport is in the mail. I also received a CP tracking# with the format of LPxxxxxxxxxCA. I've been checking the tracking# all week, but it doesn't give a lot of info - notably it says that the Sender is 'Unavailable' and that there is no delivery date available. All I get is a link to Delivery Estimates for various classes of mail. Also, the Latest Update only says Nov 8 the mail was accepted for processing at Mississauga - nothing about leaving Mississauga.
I have a couple of questions:
- Does LP on the tracking# mean that the mail has been sent as a Regular Parcel - hence no guaranteed delivery date?
- On Nov 8 the status was that my mail was in Mississauga for processing. After that date, the status has simply been 'In transit'. Does that mean it has left Mississauga and is in a truck somewhere? For clarity, I live just down the 401 in London.
Many thanks...
EDIT: Words...
UPDATE: A few redditors asked for updates, so I thought I would put it here. I had a busy day yesterday talking to various people at CP and Passport Canada. Here's what I got:
Step 01. Canada Post Call
I got in touch with CP to see what they had to say. Getting someone there on the phone is almost impossible since their automated system is designed to prevent that. I did connect with a human via the Chat service on the CP website. The upshot: CP told me their info says the mail is at Mississauga, and due to short staffing and mail volumes, my items (my passport and mu spouse's passport) had not yet been processed. They confirmed that the only 'true' status is "Item accepted Mississauga, ON" on Nov 8 at 11:17pm. My spouse has the same status for Nov 8 at 7:05pm. The 'In transit' status shown on the CP website is kind of bogus in that the system simply shows that after a set period of time (so ignore that in this case).
The CP person assured me, with apologies, that the mail would get processed at some point. I pressed on the issue re: XpressPort 'guaranteed delivery date' and the like. My tracking status has no delivery date nor does it have sender info - very odd for XpressPost, I think. I simply got more apologies. I requested that they open Service Tickets for my mail and my spouse's so that someone could actively investigate. This was done and I got reference#'s for both tickets. I did not come away very assured (understanding a strike was looming and the CP person probably was not in the best frame of mind...).
Step 02. Informal Investigation
A very kind redditor who works for CP did me a solid and used their ability to do an internal scan of my tracking#'s. Their informal investigation suggests that perhaps my mail is not actually at Mississauga. One theory is that Passport Canada had created shipping labels but no passports had been received at Mississauga yet. That was pretty alarming, and clearly I needed to speak to Passport Canada for their perspective.
Step 03. Passport Canada
Ii was remarkably easy to get someone on the phone at Passport Canada, and I will say that the person I talked to was genuinely interested in helping me. I explained the situation and then she took my passport application refernce#'s to investigate. From her perspective, if the passports have assigned CP tracking#'s then they have been mailed out. I told her I was frustrated and worried since there was a looming strike, my mail seemed to be in limbo, the holiday season is coming, and I need to travel outside of Canada on Jan 10.
She gave me the following advice: Wait 1 week to see what happens - i.e. does my mail status change, does the strike actually happen, etc. Phone back after that week and see what next steps with Passport Canada make sense. She did mention there could be the opportunity to issue an 'urgent passport request' for a passport that could be picked up at a Passport Office. She also mentioned that Passport Canada is only closed on Dec 25, Dec 26, and Jan 1, so there was still time lots of time to react before my Jan 10 travel date. I came away feeling a bit better, but still a bit stressed out over the fact that my passport mail is in limbo somewhere.
Going Forward
I'm going to wait the week and then see where things stand (and I will stress the whole time). I'm weirdly encouraged that a few other people here have highlighted they are in the same boat with their passport mail. I hope the strike settles and everyone at CP gets a fair deal, and I hope my passport emerges from the ether. But I will bug Passport Canada again to see if they can re-issue a passport that I can pickup at a passport office. I'm even prepared to pay for that - better than the alternative of changing travel plans. And I definitely would love to hear if anyone in the same boat has any updates on their own situations.
Also... I just discovered there this r/passportcabnada exists and this issue is being discussed there, too. This thread is very relevant: https://www.reddit.com/r/passportcanada/comments/1grw0h7/urgent/