Amazon recycles tracking numbers - grrr!

cookie365

Placed an order yesterday evening (Friday) for delivery tomorrow (Sunday).

Panicked a bit when I saw it had already been delivered and signed for. Annoyed a bit when I saw somebody else had signed for it. Bemused a bit when I saw it had been delivered 6 months ago.

Given the tracking codes are 10 digits long, I'm sure they probably thought that was enough when they set up the company. Maybe they need to add more digits!

A call to CS seems to have sorted it, lets hope the stuff actually shows up

Collabora

thats happened to me also on Amazon, given an old tracking number.

when i contacted them on live chat i started by congratulating them for their speedy delivery, when she thanked me for saying that i told her you even managed to deliver 9 months before i even ordered it. she then said OOPS what do you mean so i gave her the tracking number and she went off the check and then she come back and apologised and gave me the correct tracking number

im-lost

the op will have a heart attack when they find out they 'recycle' mobile phone numbers

Sqem

Amazon are doge anyway, just don't use them.

Nilrem

IIRC all the couriers and delivery companies recycle delivery numbers, it's something to do with their being a finite number of combinations in the codes they use for the numbers, and the number of packages.
For example they have an 8-12 digit code, of which say 4 digits identify the courier and postage type (IE RM First class, or RM international).
Then you've got between 8-10 digits for the actual parcel ID, which can be used up very quickly (especially as it'll likely have one of those 8-10 remaining digits as a check sum).
So out of a 12 digit code they might only have 100 million possible combinations (at the upper end) or less (assuming 12 digits with 2 as service ID, one as service type and one as a checksum).

So rather than having an ever increasing parcel ID they re-use them after a few months.

Nothing to do with the retailer, as the tracking systems are dependent on the couriers, and the numbers are often assigned to the retailer in advance, but don't show the new details on the couriers tracking sites until the package has been picked up and their system is now aware of the tracking number having been reissued.

keyser666

Sqem wrote: »

Amazon are doge anyway, just don't use them.

Not as dodge as KFC though