Refund and Returns Policy

Scope of this policy

This Refund and Returns Policy (“Policy”) applies to every shipment booked through IntlCargopost, whether created by a IntlCargopost agent on your behalf or booked directly by you, and regardless of the transport mode used — air freight, sea freight, road transport, or rail freight. It applies to individual senders, businesses, and recurring shippers alike, and covers domestic shipments within Cameroon as well as international shipments to and from any destination we serve.

By booking a shipment with IntlCargopost, paying for our services, or handing goods to us for transport, you agree to the terms set out in this Policy. Where this Policy references a specific fee, timeline, or contact channel, that reference is current as of the “last updated” date shown above and may be revised from time to time in accordance with Section 16.

This Policy should be read together with our Terms & Conditions and, where applicable, the terms of any shipping insurance purchased through the Insurance page. If there is a direct conflict between this Policy and a signed written agreement between you and IntlCargopost for a specific shipment, the signed agreement takes priority for that shipment only.

Definitions

• Shipment — one or more items tendered to IntlCargopost under a single tracking code for carriage from an origin to a destination.
• Sender / Shipper — the individual or business that books the shipment and hands the goods to IntlCargopost.
• Recipient / Client — the individual or business named to receive the shipment and who tracks it using the tracking code and PIN.
• Tracking Code — the unique alphanumeric code issued at booking and used to look up a shipment's status.
• Departure / In Transit — the period after a shipment has left the origin point and before it reaches its final destination or is marked delivered.
• Declared Value — the value of the goods stated by the sender at the time of booking, used to calculate insurance premiums and liability caps.
• Carrier — IntlCargopost and any third-party airline, shipping line, road haulier, or rail operator we engage to move a shipment on our behalf.

Booking & payment

A shipment is considered booked once IntlCargopost has recorded the shipper and recipient details, the goods description, and generated a tracking code, regardless of whether full payment has been received at that point. Some payment modes (cash, mobile money, bank transfer, pay on delivery) may allow booking before payment is completed; in those cases the shipment will not depart until payment terms agreed with your IntlCargopost agent are satisfied.

Freight charges quoted at booking are based on the weight, dimensions, declared value, mode of transport, and route provided by the sender. If the actual weight or dimensions of the goods differ materially from what was declared, IntlCargopost reserves the right to adjust the freight charge before departure and will notify the sender of any change prior to collecting the balance due.

Cancellations

You may request to cancel a shipment at any time before it departs. How a cancellation is handled depends on how far the shipment has progressed:

4.1 Before collection / drop-off

If the shipment has not yet been collected from the sender or dropped off at a IntlCargopost facility, it can be cancelled free of charge and any payment already made will be refunded in full, minus any payment-processor fee that is non-recoverable by us.

4.2 After collection, before departure

If the goods have already been collected and are being prepared for departure (labelled, weighed, staged for loading, or undergoing customs paperwork) but have not yet left the origin facility, cancellation is still possible. In this case, handling and administrative costs already incurred — such as packaging, labelling, or documentation fees — are non-refundable, but the remaining freight charge is refunded.

4.3 In transit

Once a shipment has departed and its status shows in transit, it generally cannot be cancelled, because the goods are already moving through a carrier's network and may already be loaded onto a vessel, aircraft, or vehicle. In exceptional cases we may be able to redirect or recall a shipment at an intermediate hub; where this is possible, redirection or recall fees apply and are communicated before we proceed, and no refund of the original freight charge is issued for the leg already completed.

4.4 How to request a cancellation

Cancellation requests must be made by the sender (or the account holder who booked the shipment) through our Contact Uspage, by phone, or directly with the IntlCargopost agent who created the booking, quoting the shipment's tracking code. We aim to confirm whether a cancellation is possible within one business day.

Refund eligibility

You may be eligible for a full or partial refund where:

• A shipment is cancelled before collection or before departure, per Section 4.
• Payment was made in error, duplicated, or charged for the wrong amount due to a processing mistake.
• A shipment is confirmed lost by IntlCargopost following the investigation described in Section 8.
• IntlCargopost fails to perform a paid add-on service that was booked and charged for (for example, a special handling service that was never carried out).
• A shipment is delayed solely due to an operational error on our part (for example, a booking or routing mistake), as opposed to a delay caused by customs, weather, or other factors outside our control.

Refunds are not automatic in every case above — most require a short verification step (matching payment records, confirming the shipment status, or completing a claim investigation) before funds are released, as described in Sections 7 and 8.

Non-refundable fees & services

The following are not refundable once incurred, even if a shipment is later cancelled, delayed, or returned:

• Completed deliveries — once a shipment has been marked delivered and, where applicable, signed for or confirmed received by the recipient.
• Customs processing fees — clearance, brokerage, and duty-handling fees paid to customs authorities or agents on your behalf.
• Insurance fees once coverage begins — the insurance premium is earned as soon as the policy attaches to the shipment at departure.
• Special handling services — fragile-item handling, temperature control, oversized-item handling, and similar services already performed.
• Storage fees — warehousing charges accrued while a shipment awaits collection, customs clearance, or redelivery.
• Expedited shipping surcharges after dispatch — priority or rush fees are earned once the shipment has been placed into the expedited routing it paid for.
• Packaging materials, crating, or labelling supplied and used for the shipment.
• Bank, mobile money, or card-network transaction fees charged by third-party payment providers, which IntlCargopost does not receive and cannot recover.

Refund process & timelines

Approved refunds are returned using the same payment method used at booking wherever possible. If that method cannot receive a refund directly (for example, cash payments or pay-on-delivery), we will arrange a bank transfer or mobile money payout to an account in the payer's name.

These timelines begin once a refund has been approved, not from the date of the original request — verification and, where relevant, claim investigation (Section 8) happen first. You will receive a confirmation once your refund has been approved and again once it has been issued.

Damaged, missing, or lost shipments

We take great care in handling every shipment, but if something arrives damaged, part of a shipment is missing, or a shipment cannot be located, you can file a claim using the process below.

8.1 Filing window

• Damaged goods: claims must be submitted within 7 days of the expected or actual delivery date.
• Lost or missing shipments: claims must be submitted within 14 days of the expected delivery date.

Claims submitted after these windows may still be reviewed at our discretion but are not guaranteed to be accepted, since evidence (packaging, photos, warehouse records) becomes harder to verify with time.

8.2 Required documentation

• Your shipment's tracking code and a description of the issue.
• Photographs or video of the damage, including the outer packaging as received.
• Proof of the goods' value — an invoice, receipt, or the declared value recorded at booking.
• For missing items from a multi-item shipment, a list of what was received versus what was expected.

8.3 Investigation process

Once a claim is submitted, we open an investigation that typically includes reviewing tracking and handling records, checking warehouse and carrier logs at each checkpoint, and, where relevant, contacting the carrier that handled the leg on which the issue is believed to have occurred. Most investigations are completed and a decision communicated within 7–14 business days of the claim being filed, though cross-border claims involving a third-party carrier can take longer.

8.4 Compensation

Where a claim is approved, compensation is calculated based on the declared value of the affected goods, subject to the liability limits described in Section 14, and subject to any insurance coverage purchased for the shipment (Section 9). Compensation is paid using the same refund methods and timelines described in Section 7. Claims found to involve undeclared, prohibited, or misdescribed goods (Section 11) are not eligible for compensation.

Shipping insurance

Shipping insurance is optional but strongly recommended for valuable, fragile, or business-critical shipments. Full details are available on our Insurance page; the points most relevant to refunds and claims are summarised here.

• Insurance must be purchased at the time of booking and cannot be added once a shipment has already departed.
• An insured shipment's claim is assessed against its full declared value, rather than the standard per-kilogram liability cap in Section 14.
• Insurance premiums are non-refundable once coverage has attached to the shipment, even if the shipment is later cancelled before departure for reasons unrelated to the insurance itself — the premium is refunded only if the underlying freight booking is cancelled before departure under Section 4.1 or 4.2.
• Claims on insured shipments follow the same filing windows and documentation requirements set out in Section 8.

Returned shipments

A shipment may be returned to the sender in the following situations:

10.1 Recipient refusal

If the recipient refuses to accept delivery, the shipment is held for a short period and the sender is notified. If the sender does not arrange an alternative recipient or redelivery instructions within a reasonable time, the shipment is returned to the sender's address at the sender's cost.

10.2 Incorrect or incomplete address

Where delivery cannot be completed because the address or contact details provided at booking are incorrect or incomplete, IntlCargopost will attempt to contact the sender or recipient to correct the details. If the issue cannot be resolved, the shipment is treated as a failed delivery and handled as described in Section 10.3.

10.3 Failed delivery attempts

After repeated unsuccessful delivery attempts, a shipment is moved to short-term storage at the nearest IntlCargopost facility while we attempt to reach the recipient. Storage fees (Section 6) begin to accrue after the complimentary storage period stated on your tracking page has elapsed. If the shipment remains unclaimed beyond the storage period communicated to the sender, it is returned to origin or, where the sender cannot be reached, handled in accordance with applicable unclaimed-goods regulations.

10.4 Return shipping fees

Return shipping costs are the sender's responsibility unless the return was caused by an error on IntlCargopost's part (for example, delivering to the wrong address despite correct information being provided). Where the return is caused by our error, the return leg is free of charge and any freight already paid for the outbound leg is refunded in full.

Customs, duties & prohibited items

International shipments may be subject to customs duties, import taxes, and inspection by customs authorities in the destination country. These charges are the responsibility of the customer or recipient unless otherwise agreed in writing with IntlCargopost before departure.

We do not issue refunds for:

• Delays caused by customs inspection, clearance backlogs, or additional documentation requests from customs authorities.
• Duties, taxes, or fines assessed by a customs authority.
• Seizure, confiscation, or destruction of goods that are prohibited, restricted, or undocumented in the origin or destination country.
• Denied entry of goods that do not comply with the destination country's import regulations.

Senders are responsible for declaring the true contents and value of every shipment and for confirming that the goods are legal to export and import. IntlCargopost reserves the right to refuse, hold, or report any shipment reasonably suspected of containing prohibited or undeclared items.

Delays beyond our control

Estimated delivery times shown on your tracking page are estimates, not guarantees. IntlCargopost is not liable, and no refund is due, for delays caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to:

• Severe weather, natural disasters, or other acts of God.
• Port, airport, or road congestion, strikes, or labour disputes affecting a carrier.
• Government action, customs holds, border closures, or changes in import/export regulations.
• Mechanical failure of a vessel, aircraft, or vehicle operated by a third-party carrier.
• Incorrect or incomplete information supplied by the sender.

Where a delay is caused by one of the above, IntlCargopost will keep the tracking page updated with the latest known status and will work with the carrier to move the shipment as soon as it is safe and lawful to do so.

Shipment modifications

Requests to change a shipment's destination address, recipient, or service level (for example, upgrading to expedited shipping) can be made any time before departure at no extra charge beyond any fare difference. Once a shipment has departed, modification may still be possible at an intermediate hub, subject to a redirection fee and carrier availability; this is handled the same way as an in-transit cancellation request under Section 4.3.

Liability & declared value

For shipments without additional insurance, IntlCargopost's liability for loss or damage is limited to the lesser of the goods' declared value or a standard liability of XAF 5,000 per kilogram, up to a maximum of XAF 250,000 per shipment. This standard limit reflects industry practice for uninsured cargo and is one of the main reasons we recommend purchasing insurance (Section 9) for valuable or business-critical goods, where compensation is instead based on the full declared value.

IntlCargopost is not liable for indirect or consequential losses, such as lost business, lost profits, or contractual penalties incurred by the sender or recipient as a result of a delayed, damaged, or lost shipment, beyond the compensation described above.

Disputes & escalation

If you disagree with the outcome of a refund or claim decision, you can request a review by replying to our decision email or contacting support with your tracking code and the reason for the dispute. A senior member of our claims team will re-examine the case, including any new evidence provided, and respond within 5 business days. If a dispute cannot be resolved directly, either party may pursue any remedy available under applicable law in Cameroon.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, fees, or applicable regulations. The “last updated” date at the top of this page shows when it was last revised. Changes apply to shipments booked after the update; shipments already in progress remain subject to the version of this Policy in effect at the time they were booked, unless a change is required by law.

Contact us

For cancellations, refund requests, or to file a claim, reach our support team through any of the channels below and have your tracking code ready.