---
id: KB-CC-011
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/contacts-and-channels/when-an-email-does-not-arrive
idioma: en
categoria: contactos-canales
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-CC-001, KB-CC-002]
citadoPor: [KB-IN-014, KB-CC-018]
---

# When an email does not arrive

_"I never got anything" is nearly always one of four things, and only one is the email's fault._

**Responde a:** client says the email never arrived · emails going to spam · not receiving the signing link · email deliverability problems

It is the commonest incident and the worst diagnosed, because the phrase it arrives with — "I never got anything" — covers four different situations that are fixed in different ways.

## The four causes, by frequency

| Cause | How to recognise it | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Address typed wrong | The send shows as bounced | Fix the contact and resend |
| It is in the junk folder | Shows delivered and unopened | Ask them to look there; then another channel |
| Someone else opened it | Shows opened and the person never saw it | Send to the right person, not the generic mailbox |
| Their company filter blocked it | Shows neither delivered nor bounced | Another channel, and tell their IT |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> All four are told apart by looking at the send status, and none is told apart by resending. Resending without looking is what turns a two-minute incident into three days of crossed emails.

## What prevents most of them

1. **Send to people, not generic mailboxes** — "info@" and "admin@" are where the notices that matter go to die.
2. **Verify the address when creating the contact** — One extra letter surfaces weeks later, with the deadline on top.
3. **For anything urgent, a channel with more reach** — A phone message does not compete with a corporate email filter.
4. **And let it chase by itself** — A reminder after three days resolves half the "never arrived" cases with nobody calling.

> [!WARNING]
> Watch the third case. When mail goes to a shared mailbox, someone opens it, decides it is not for them, and there it dies: it shows delivered and opened, and the person who had to sign never saw it. It wastes the most time because the data says everything went fine.

## If it keeps happening with the same client

Then it is not an incident, it is their filter. What works is talking to their IT so they recognise the sender; what does not work is retrying and expecting a different outcome.

**En corto**

- Check the status before resending.
- A named person beats a generic mailbox.
- And if email fails twice, change channel instead of insisting.

> [!NOTE]
> Every resend consumes the same as the first send, because it is a new action. One well-addressed send with automatic reminders costs less than five manual ones to the wrong address.

**Can I tell if they opened it?**

You can see whether it shows opened; in some mail clients that signal is approximate.

**Can I send by two channels at once?**

You can, and for urgent items it pays. It counts as two actions.

**Does a custom domain stop it going to spam?**

It helps considerably, especially when the recipient already knows you by that domain.

## Ejemplos

**A supplier says the signing link never arrives, after four resends.**

- Checks the status: delivered and opened in a generic mailbox
- Resends to the named person

→ They sign that afternoon, after three weeks of emails that were arriving all along.

**An email bounces and nobody sees it.**

- Checks bounces after each send

→ The fault is fixed before chasing.

**The recipient's domain blocks the sender.**

- Agrees with their IT to allow it

→ The block is resolved for the whole company.

**The email lands in junk.**

- Asks them to add the sender to their safe list

→ The next notice reaches the inbox.

**People keep emailing when email is the problem.**

- Changes channel after the second attempt

→ The notice arrives where it gets read.

**The address is mistyped on the record.**

- Corrects the contact and resends

→ The send arrives first time.