Reviewed 30 September 2026 · quarterly cycle
Why was my parcel refused at the warehouse rather than at the border?
Because most restriction checks happen at booking rather than at clearance. The warehouse is where the line list is enforced, and by then the item is already there.
The evidence
Restricted lists are published per service, and enforcement happens when the parcel is booked onto a service rather than when it reaches a border. That is why a refusal at the warehouse is the common form and a refusal at the border is the rare one. It is also why the list to check is the one for the service you intend to book rather than a general list of prohibited goods.
The categories that trigger it are consistent across our review: batteries, magnets, liquids, aerosols, timber and plant material. None of them look alarming in a photograph, which is why they survive QC and are caught at booking. A parcel containing a magnetic mount looks exactly like a parcel containing a plastic mount.
The remedy depends on the category rather than on the item. A battery installed in a device is frequently acceptable where a loose cell is not, so the fix can be a packing change rather than a removal. A magnet is usually not negotiable, and the fix is to remove the item or to change the service to one that publishes acceptance.
When this does not apply
Where a line changes its published list between booking and dispatch, a parcel can be refused for something that was acceptable when the order was placed. That is a reason to check the list at booking rather than at ordering, and to treat the booking moment as the one that counts.