Reporting Shipment and Delivery Issues | Portless Help Center
Reporting Shipment and Delivery Issues
Updated over 2 weeks ago
If a shipment arrives damaged, contains the wrong or missing items, or fails to arrive at all, you can report the issue to Portless for investigation and potential resolution. This article outlines the timeline and documentation. Follow the links in each section to the detailed guides.
Issue types at a glance
| Issue Type | Covered by Portless? | Filing Window | Go to |
| Lost in transit (core countries) | ✅ Yes | 90 days from the shipment date | Handling Lost in Transit Orders for Core Countries |
| Delivered late (core countries) | ✅ Yes. Shipping cost refund only | 90 days from the shipment date | Handling Late in Transit Orders for Core Countries |
| Arrived damaged | ✅ Yes | 90 days from the shipment date | Reporting Damaged Shipments |
| Missing items | ✅ Yes | 90 days from the shipment date | Resolving Reports of Missing Items |
| Wrong item shipped | ✅ Yes (if not a manufacturer labeling error) | 90 days from the shipment date | Handling Incorrect Item Claims |
| Wrong quantity shipped | ✅ Yes | 90 days from the shipment date | Handling Incorrect Item Claims |
| Stuck at customs | ✅ Yes | 90 days from the shipment date | Understanding Shipping Exceptions in the Admin Portal |
| Returned-to-sender | ❌ Not covered (If recipient fault) | N/A | Understanding Return-to-Sender Orders |
| Marked delivered, not received | ❌ Not covered | N/A | Using the Shipment Issues Form |
Qualifying thresholds
Lost in transit (core countries only)
A package is considered lost when both conditions are met:
- Not delivered more than 15 business days after shipment, AND
- Tracking has not updated in the last 5 calendar days
Core countries: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia. For all other destinations, timelines vary by route. Contact the Customer Support Team for guidance.
See: Why Has My Tracking Stopped Updating?
Late delivery (core countries only)
A package is considered late when it is successfully delivered 18 or more business days after the shipment date. Compensation is limited to a full refund of the original shipping costs. Goods credit does not apply.
Required Documentation by Issue Type
Lost in transit
- Order number
- Tracking number
- Shipment date
Late delivery
- Order number
- Tracking number
- Shipment date
- Actual delivery date
Arrived damaged
- Order number
- Photos or short video showing the damage (packaging and item)
- Short description of the issue (Specify if the product or the packaging arrived damaged)
- Specific SKU(s) affected
Missing items
- Order number
- Photos of the items that were received (required)
- Specific SKU(s) missing
- Specify if the package arrived open or intact
Wrong item shipped
- Order number
- SKU of the item in question
- Clear photo of the item(s) received
- Photo of the product barcode on the packaging (this must be the product barcode, not the waybill barcode)
- Short description of the issue
Note: If the product barcode matches Portless records, the issue is likely caused by a manufacturer's labeling error and is not eligible for compensation. See Handling Incorrect Item Claims.
Wrong quantity shipped
- Order number
- Photos of the items received; the team will cross-reference this with our records
Compensation guidelines
| Issue Type | What You Receive |
| Lost in transit | Portless absorbs the cost of goods and shipping |
| Late delivery | Full refund of original shipping costs only |
| Damaged | Credits for cost of goods + shipping applied to next invoice, or reshipment via priority channel |
| Missing/wrong item/wrong quantity | Portless absorbs cost if the investigation shows that it is a case of mis-pick from the Portless team |
Proactive damage: If Portless identifies a damaged shipment before you report it, credits for goods and shipping are applied automatically, and your team is notified via the support ticketing system. No action is needed from your side.
How to report an issue
- Gather your documentation for the relevant issue type (see above).
- Reach out to the Portless Customer Support Team. Visit the Getting Help from the Portless Support Team page for the detailed steps.
- Investigation: The Portless team reviews the case.
- Select your resolution:
- Reshipment: Create a new Shopify order first, then submit the form to receive credit. See Creating a Reshipment Order for Missing/Incorrect/Damaged Items on Shopify.
- Refund/credit: Submit the form only; no new order needed.
- Resolution: Credits are applied to your next invoice, or a reshipment is arranged.
What is not covered? Check the Using the Shipment Issues Form page for the list of issues not compensated by Portless.
Notes and edge cases
Non-core countries: The lost and late policies and their 90-day windows apply only to core countries. For all other destinations, contact the Customer Support Team. Timelines vary by route.
Onward Package Protection: If your store has enabled the Checkout+ protection program through Onward, lost, stolen, and damaged package issues may be handled directly by Onward with a 97% approval rate, typically in under two minutes. This runs in parallel to the Portless process; it does not replace it.