Tracking number help desk
Need a tracking number, or need to understand the one you have?
This desk exists for one job: making sure you can see your consignment. Ask us for a reference, ask us what a status means, or ask us why something has not moved — a named operator will answer with the actual file in front of them.
Anatomy of a reference
What CV-26-7KQ4M2-GB actually means
A CargoVault reference is not a random string. Each block carries information that our desk, our brokers and our drivers all read the same way.
Carrier prefix
Every consignment handled under CargoVault custody opens with CV. It confirms the movement is booked on our own operating licence rather than sub-contracted out to an unnamed carrier, which is what makes the rest of the reference auditable.
Contract year
The two digits after the prefix are the year the consignment entered the custody chain. Claims windows, insurance cover and archive retention are all calculated from this year, so it is stamped into the reference itself and never changes, even if the shipment rolls into January.
Consignment core
Six characters drawn from an unambiguous alphabet — no letter O, no digit 0, no letter I, no digit 1 — so a number read out over a bad phone line still resolves to exactly one shipment. This core is what our scanners write to at every handover.
Origin desk
The final pair identifies the operations desk that accepted the booking and remains accountable for it. It tells you which office to call, which customs regime the paperwork was filed under, and which team owns any exception raised on the journey.
Checkpoint language
What each status is telling you
- Booked
- The consignment exists on paper: collection window agreed, cover written, but nothing has been scanned yet.
- Received by CargoVault
- Physically in our hands, sealed, weighed and photographed. This is the first scan that binds the tracking number to a real package.
- In transit
- Moving on its primary leg — vessel, aircraft or vehicle. Progress updates come from the leg itself, not from a nightly batch file.
- Customs
- Held at a border for documentary or physical inspection. Our brokers hold the file and push updates as the entry clears.
- Out for delivery
- On the final vehicle, with a named driver and a delivery window.
- Delivered
- Signed for, with proof of delivery captured and retained against the reference.
- On hold
- Paused deliberately — awaiting payment, documents, or a customer instruction. Nothing moves until it is released.
- Exception
- Something deviated from plan. An operator owns it, and the timeline states what happened rather than hiding it.
Tracking terms in full
Read these before you rely on a reference for a deadline, a claim or a customs filing.
1. What the tracking number is, and what it is not
A CargoVault tracking number is a permanent reference to a custody record. It is not a proof of ownership, a bill of lading, a customs entry or a payment receipt. It identifies a chain of scans, photographs, signatures and timestamps that describe where a consignment has been and who was holding it. Anyone in possession of the reference can read the public checkpoint history for that consignment; nobody can amend it from outside our operations desk. Treat the number as you would a booking reference: share it with the people who genuinely need visibility of the movement, and expect them to see origin, destination, mode, status and timeline entries.
2. When your number is issued
A tracking number is generated by an operations agent once a booking has been accepted and a collection window is confirmed. It is issued to the email address and phone number given at booking, and it is repeated on the collection receipt handed over by the pickup crew. If you booked through the website and have not received a reference within one working day of confirmation, the booking exists but has not yet been released to operations — use the form on this page and quote the email address you booked with, and the desk will locate the request and issue the reference to you directly.
3. Why a status can look unchanged
A checkpoint is written when a consignment physically changes hands or changes leg. On an ocean movement, that can mean several days between entries while the vessel is at sea, even though the journey is progressing normally. Our dashboard renders the live leg so you can see that motion, but the timeline itself stays honest: we do not fabricate intermediate scans to make a page look busy. If a status has genuinely stalled — no movement past the estimated window, or a customs entry that has sat beyond the normal clearance time — that is exactly the case this page exists for. Contact the desk and an operator will pull the file.
4. Accuracy, estimates and delivery dates
Estimated delivery dates are planning figures derived from carrier schedules, historical lane performance and current border conditions. They are given in good faith and updated as the movement progresses, but they are not contractual guarantees unless a written time-definite service has been purchased for that consignment. Weather, port congestion, air capacity, industrial action, customs inspection and force majeure can move an estimate. Where an estimate moves materially, we record the reason on the timeline rather than silently re-dating the shipment.
5. Privacy of the reference
The public tracking view deliberately excludes personal data. It shows the consignment's route, mode, status, checkpoint history and general handling notes; it does not show full contact details, declared values, commercial invoices or identity documents. Full booking data is visible only to the account holder and to authorised CargoVault staff. Because the reference itself grants read access to the checkpoint history, do not publish it in a public forum, marketplace listing or social post.
6. Lost, mistyped or expired references
References are case-insensitive and can be entered with or without hyphens. If a number does not resolve, the usual causes are a transposed character, a reference from a different carrier, or a booking that has not yet been released to operations. Checkpoint histories remain queryable for twenty-four months after delivery; beyond that, records are archived and retrievable by the desk on request rather than through the public tracker.
7. Claims and complaints
Any claim, complaint or query relating to a consignment should quote the tracking number. All CargoVault movements carry all-risk cover across transit, transhipment and warehousing, and claims are handled in-house. Notify the desk of visible damage on delivery and of concealed damage within seven days of receipt, keeping packaging and seals intact where possible. Every complaint receives a written reference and a named owner, and you can follow its progress by quoting either the complaint reference or the tracking number.
8. Fraud awareness
CargoVault will never ask you to pay a release fee, customs charge or storage penalty to a personal bank account, a crypto wallet or a payment link received by SMS. Legitimate charges appear on an invoice issued from our domain and are payable to the company account named on it. If a message quoting your tracking number asks for money in any other form, do not pay it. Report it to the desk with the tracking number and we will confirm the true status of the consignment.
Request a tracking number
Give us your name, phone number and email, plus the booking you are asking about. An operator will issue or locate your reference and reply with the current status.
Not shipped with us yet?
Book a collection and your tracking number is issued the moment the consignment is sealed and scanned.
Start a shipment