Where is my package?

Having something shipped to your new home in Portugal? It is a continual source of wonder at how difficult it can be to receive deliveries here. We have some tips to make this a bit easier. ​

Here are some basics: First off, anything from outside the European Union will usually get trapped in Portuguese Customs and will remain  there until you provide the paperwork and fees they require to release the package. When we first moved here we learned this the hard way. So if a friend or family member wants to send you a gift from the United States (or elsewhere), tell them to send you money via PayPal instead. It'll just be easier. 

We do have items sent to us from EU vendors – Spain, France, Germany, Italy, and of course, Portugal. Where there are no Customs issues, there often seems to be a problem with the actual delivery. Sometimes the packages just vanish into thin air somewhere between when they were shipped and our front gate. 

When we moved into our first apartment in Porto we were continually having delivery issues as parking around the building was impossible. When we moved to our second apartment we were in a gated community with an guard. Perfect solution, right? Not really. There were two buildings with ouraddress on that street. It being a one-way, the delivery companies would always go to the first building, which was a shuttered business. More than once we had to hoof it up the street to collect a package, providing the delivery driver called us when he found no one would answer the door.

When we moved to Miranda do Corvo, we were on a main street with a street number. Yes! Well, not so much. There are three streets with the same name within the Miranda do Corvo district, and even putting the GPS coordinates in our mailing address didn’t seem to help.

We often receive notices saying that a delivery will arrive on a certain day, only to stay at home all that day and then get a text message late that night that we weren’t home when the driver came by. Even though we had our front gate open and there’s a intercom on that gate. Of course, they will try again. Next day, maybe the same, or maybe a message that they couldn’t find our address and left the package somewhere else. This can be a gas station, a grocery store, or a shop, you name it. 

Then sometimes, miraculously, the package gets delivered but looks like it has bounced around in the back of the truck for a month. It can be a bit of a challenge to figure out when to make an order because you will usually be stuck at home for a couple of days. Such issues are not particular to a specific delivery company. One delivery will be flawless and exactly as scheduled, and the next time it doesn’t happen. The delivery companies also tend to pass the packages between each other. A delivery supposedly coming from PAACK ends up being delivered by MRW, etc.

We are Prime members and do order items from Amazon Spain, but that has its own peril. Since we know there will be several days stuck at home, we usually wait to place a larger order. So the five items from Amazon invariably come in four separate packages from three different shippers, all on different days. Sometimes you just can't win.

They recently put a lock box at the CTT office in Miranda do Corvo, about 10 kilometers from us. The service is called Locky (https://www.locky.pt) and our experience so far has been good.

When we were still in the States, we would have Amazon deliver to their lockers and that was handy, so this looked like a pretty good solution for us here. Parking at the post office is minimal, but the box is open 24 hours a day so we can pop in when the office is closed for lunch or after hours. 

We’ve found that certain vendors give you the option to ship goods directly to the Locky, stores such as Leroy Merlin, Radio Popular, and H&M. We’ve been seeing the Locky option pop up on Amazon ES (Spain) as well. 

This got me wondering if we could just send the package directly to the Locky for those vendors who  didn’t offer that service. It turns out there is!

Like everything here, there is a series of steps, but you can make this happen. The first thing needed is an account with CTT so I downloaded the CTT app to my iPhone and created the account there.

Next, I used my computer to obtain a virtual address. I could have used my phone, but dealing with the location maps on the small screen was a pain, so the computer was a better option for me.
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Go to https://www.locky.pt and then to the section called ComoUtilzar. Search down the page to where it talks about stores who don’t offer the option of sending shipments to Locky. (Compras em lojas sem a opção de entrega Locky)

By pressing the Register button, you are directed to the CTT site where you can set up a virtual address. This takes you to a map where you can view the hundreds of lockers available in Portugal. The easiest way to select your locker is to use your postal code and select your locker from the drop-down list. Find your nearest locker and click on it, selecting Add Locker (adicionar cacifo).

You will then be directed to a login page.

Once logged in, you will be at the page to select your locker location. You can actually have more than one locker, but each will have a different ID. More about that in a minute.
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You will now be given a Locky Virtual Address which will show your information and the location of your very own Locky.

Your virtual address will be a bit of a surprise. Mine is the at CTT regional center in Porto, which is in northern Portugal. That being the case, there is a delay from when the delivery is handed off to CTT and when it arrives in the local locker, but it is usually just a day. The holiday season is a bit slower due to the volume of packages CTT has to process. 

There is a code that you are instructed to add behind your name (I blacked mine out above) when you set up your address for your shipment. Your name and this code will direct your package to the correct locker. In addition, this allows them to correlate the information on your account to direct all the text messages and e-mails with the PIN to use when you pick up your package.

You will receive an email when the package leaves the regional center with an estimated delivery date to the Locky. There is also a new CTT tracking number. The email is in Portuguese, Spanish and English.

When the parcel arrives at the locker you will be sent an e-mail that contains a QR code. You will also receive a text message with a PIN code. When you get to the locker, use your PIN or scan the QR code and the appropriate door pops open so you can claim your package. You will later receive an email that indicates that the package was collected.

It is crucial to use your name and the 6-digit code on your delivery address to ensure they direct the package to the right locker.

One of the things you can see when you search your locker is how popular it is. The one in Miranda do Corvo is low usage, but some of the ones in the larger cities are moderate usage, and around Lisboa and in the Algarve there are some with high usage. This could be a problem if the locker was full and they had to hold your package until a space opened up, causing delivery to be delayed. They offer 5 days to pick up the package after the delivery notification before it is returned to the shipper.

So that is how to create a Virtual Address directs your shipments to the Locky for those vendors who do not offer that the service. There is also important information on your locker page that shows the maximum size of the packages that can be accepted. Unless you have a computer, a guitar, or something like that, average size packages will fit in the locker.

I hope this information takes some of the drama out of receiving your shipments in Portugal and will give you more time to explore this beautiful country rather than sitting at home waiting for a  (eventual) delivery.