Parcel Refunds: Why Speed and Accuracy Matter More Than You Think

If you're shipping thousands of parcels each month, you already know the importance of contract negotiations, volume incentives, and carrier relationships. But here's the hard truth: even well-run logistics operations leave money on the table every single week.

At RCS Audit, we specialize in digging into the granular details of your shipping activity—identifying refunds, late deliveries, and service failures that slip past internal teams and even other audit providers. The key difference? Speed and accuracy.

The 7-Day Window That Costs You Thousands

FedEx and UPS both have strict rules about refund eligibility. Most service failures must be claimed within 15 days—but by the time monthly or quarterly audits happen, it’s often too late. You're locked out of the refund window.

That’s why weekly auditing isn’t just a “nice to have”—it’s the only way to consistently capture refunds before they expire.

We’ve seen firsthand how fast some of these windows close. That’s why RCS flags and disputes eligible refunds within hours of the scan, not weeks after the fact.

The Hidden Failures Even Logistics Teams Miss

You might assume your team—or your current audit provider—is already catching late deliveries. But the truth is:

• Not all delays are created equal. Some service guarantees don’t apply during inclement weather, holidays, or when carrier waivers are in effect. Knowing which ones can still be disputed takes precision.
• Zone-based delays get buried. If a package to Zone 5 arrives late but misses the SLA by just a few minutes, most providers won't even check it. We do.
• No system catches it all—unless it’s built for it. That’s why we designed our audit engine to adapt in real-time, pulling updated SLA logic directly from carrier changes.

Real Results: How RCS Helped Terrace and Others Save Big

One of our domestic clients, a national e-commerce brand (let’s call them Terrace Co.), believed they had already optimized their logistics with a large 3PL and negotiated carrier contracts. They were using another audit provider and had an in-house logistics analyst reviewing performance.

We still found $11,600 in weekly recoverable charges they weren’t seeing.

These were refunds for:

• Late Next Day Air deliveries missed by more than 61 seconds
• Duplicate residential surcharges
• Incorrect dimensional weight upcharges on recurring SKUs
• Weekend delivery charges triggered erroneously by the carrier

Once they switched to RCS, they saw refund credits hit their account within the first 10 days.

What Makes RCS Different

• Weekly Audits: No waiting until next month to dispute something that happened today.
• Carrier-Backed Logic: We stay current with the ever-changing FedEx and UPS terms so you don’t miss refunds due to technicalities.
• No Operational Lift: Our team handles everything—setup takes minutes, and we do the rest behind the scenes.
• Zero Risk: You only pay when we recover refunds. If we don’t find savings, you don’t pay a dime.

Are You Leaving Refunds on the Table?

If you ship over $50K/year in express or air services, odds are we’ll find something—even if you think you're covered.

Our most successful clients are the ones who thought they had it all figured out—until they let us take a look.

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