Parcel marked delivered but not received? (UK)

Why the retailer is responsible, not the courier

Your contract is with the business that sold you the goods. Section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats every sales contract as including a term that the goods remain at the trader's risk until they come into the physical possession of the consumer, or of a person the consumer identified to take possession of them. Citizens Advice puts it plainly: if the seller used a courier, it is for the seller to chase the courier, not you. A retailer telling you to "raise it with the courier" is asking you to do its job.

First, check it has not simply been misplaced

Before you write, spend ten minutes ruling out the obvious, because the retailer will ask. Check with neighbours, look around the property and any safe place, and check the delivery address on the order. Ask the retailer for any proof of delivery the courier holds, such as a photo or a location record: a photo of a door that is not yours is strong evidence. Be wary of texts asking you to pay a fee or click a link to rebook a delivery; Citizens Advice warns these are usually scams.

Redelivery or a refund: what you can ask for

Section 28 of the Consumer Rights Act sets the delivery rules. If no delivery time was agreed, the trader must deliver without undue delay and in any event within 30 days of the contract. Where a delivery date was essential (you told the seller before you bought, or it was obvious, such as a cake for a wedding) and it was missed, you can treat the contract as at an end. Otherwise, you can give the trader a further, reasonable period to deliver; if they miss that too, you can end the contract. When you end it, the trader must reimburse everything you paid under the contract without undue delay.

If the retailer will not help: your card

If you paid by debit card, you can ask your bank to raise a chargeback. If you paid by credit card and the single item cost more than £100 and no more than £30,000, you can make a Section 75 claim, which makes the card provider jointly responsible with the seller. If you paid through PayPal, you open a dispute with PayPal, which says you have 180 days from payment. The Financial Ombudsman Service says you usually have around 120 days to raise a chargeback, which may run from the date you expected the goods, so do not wait months for the retailer to reply before asking. If the card provider rejects a Section 75 claim, or will not take a chargeback forward, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Keep the record

Use email or the retailer's message centre so everything is dated. Screenshot the tracking page before it changes, keep the order confirmation and note every call. If the parcel was high value, a short, factual note of what you checked and when is useful if a card provider or Trading Standards later asks. You can report a trader who takes money and refuses to deliver to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer service, although Trading Standards will not usually recover the money for you.

Parcel not received — letter to the retailer

Edit this template with your facts, dates, and requested outcome before sending.

Subject: Order [reference] — marked as delivered but not received

Dear [Retailer] customer services,

On [date] I ordered [item] from you for [amount], order reference [reference]. Your tracking shows the parcel as delivered on [date] by [courier], but I have not received it.

I have checked [with neighbours / around the property / my safe place], and it is not there. I did not ask for the parcel to be left with a neighbour or in a safe place. [Or: The parcel was not left in the place I nominated.]

Under section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the goods remain at your risk until they come into my physical possession. Please do not refer me to the courier: the contract is with you, and it is for you to take this up with them.

Please [redeliver the item by [date] / refund the full amount of [amount], including delivery charges, to my original payment method]. If you hold a delivery photo, signature or location record, please send it to me.

Please reply by [date — for example, 14 days from today]. If this is not resolved I will ask my card provider to consider a chargeback [or a Section 75 claim].

Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
[Address]
[Order reference]

Common mistakes to avoid

• ✕Complaining to the courier and waiting, when the contract and the responsibility are with the retailer
• ✕Accepting "the tracking says delivered" as the end of the matter
• ✕Not checking whether you nominated a safe place or neighbour in your account settings
• ✕Letting the chargeback window run while the retailer keeps promising to investigate
• ✕Asking vaguely for help rather than stating redelivery or refund, with a date
• ✕Clicking a rebooking link in a text that claims to be from the courier

Next steps

1. 1Check neighbours, your safe place and the delivery address on the order
2. 2Screenshot the tracking and ask the retailer for proof of delivery
3. 3Write to the retailer, cite section 29, and ask for redelivery or a refund by a date
4. 4If they refuse or go quiet, contact your card provider or PayPal
5. 5If the card provider refuses, consider the Financial Ombudsman Service