Have you returned home from holiday to discover a parcel you were expecting has disappeared? Coming home from holiday should be exciting but discovering that a parcel you were expecting is nowhere to be found can quickly take the shine off your return. Perhaps the tracking says ‘delivered’ but there is no parcel on the doorstep. Maybe it was supposedly left in a safe place, handed to a neighbour or delivered while you were away. Here’s how to track down a missing parcel, what to do if it says ‘delivered’ and who is responsible if your goods never arrived.
Image by Davie Bicker from Pixabay
1. Check the parcel tracking information
Start with the retailer’s website, your order confirmation and any emails or texts you’ve received.
Don’t just look at whether the parcel says ‘delivered.’ Check the detail behind that status.
Depending on the courier, you may be able to see:
- Where the parcel was supposedly delivered
- A delivery photograph
- The name of the person who accepted it
- Whether it was left in a designated safe place
- GPS or location information
- Whether it was diverted to a collection point or parcel locker
Take a screenshot of the tracking information while you have access to it. It could be useful later if there is a dispute about the delivery.
2. Check all the obvious — and not so obvious — places
If you have been away, don’t assume the parcel would have been left where you normally find deliveries.
Check your porch, garage, shed, garden, bins and other agreed or possible safe places. It’s also worth checking whether another member of your household accepted the parcel and has forgotten to mention it.
Don’t forget to look for a delivery card or check your emails and text messages for any message or instructions you may have missed while you were away.
3. Ask your neighbours
Your parcel may have been handed to a neighbour, even if the tracking information doesn’t make this immediately obvious. If you’ve been away for several days, it’s worth asking neighbouring properties whether they accepted anything for you.
Don’t necessarily restrict your search to the house immediately next door. Delivery drivers sometimes leave parcels with another nearby neighbour if nobody answers the door.
4. Check whether your parcel has been taken to a collection point
If the driver couldn’t deliver your parcel, it may have been taken to a parcel shop, post office, locker or local collection point. Check your courier’s app, emails and text messages carefully.
A collection deadline may also apply, so don’t ignore a notification simply because you were away when it arrived.
5. What if the parcel says ‘delivered’ but you don’t have it?
This is one of the most frustrating situations. If the tracking says ‘delivered’ but there is no parcel, contact the courier and tell them clearly that you have not received it.
Ask them to investigate the delivery and, where available, request:
- The delivery photograph
- The exact delivery location
- GPS information
- Details of who supposedly accepted the parcel
- The delivery driver’s notes
- An investigation or case reference number
Don’t be fobbed off simply because the courier’s system says ‘delivered.’
A delivery scan is evidence of what has been recorded on the courier’s system. It doesn’t automatically mean that the parcel has actually reached you.
6. Contact the retailer
If you purchased an item online, your contract is with the retailer, not the courier. This means you shouldn’t automatically be told to sort the problem out yourself with the delivery company.
Tell the retailer that your goods have not been received and ask them to investigate the matter with their courier. make your problem theirs
You can certainly adopt a dual pronged approach and contact the courier yourself, particularly if you need information about where the parcel was supposedly delivered but don’t allow the retailer simply to wash their hands of the issue.
“But the courier says it was delivered…”
That doesn’t necessarily settle the matter. If you haven’t received the goods, explain this to the retailer and ask them to investigate.
Under UK consumer law, the retailer generally remains responsible for the goods until they come into your physical possession, or the possession of someone you nominated to receive them.
There can be exceptions, for example, if you specifically authorised a safe place or nominated another person to accept the parcel so the exact circumstances matter.
7. Pay particular attention to the delivery date
If you’ve just returned from holiday, check exactly when the parcel was marked as delivered. You may find that it was supposedly delivered several days ago while you were away.
If you had arranged a safe place, delivery to a neighbour, a diversion or a collection point. If you didn’t nominate a safe place and the parcel was simply left somewhere without your permission, tell the retailer.
8. Keep evidence of your missing parcel
If your parcel cannot be located, keep a record of everything.
Save:
- Your order confirmation
- Tracking information
- Screenshots
- Delivery photographs
- Emails and text messages
- Details of telephone conversations
- Names of people you speak to
- Dates and times of calls
- Any courier or retailer reference numbers
If the matter eventually becomes a formal complaint, having everything in one place can save you a lot of time and frustration.
9. Don’t immediately assume your parcel has been stolen
If a parcel has disappeared, it is tempting to assume that somebody has stolen it. However there are several other possibilities.
It could have been:
- Delivered to the wrong address
- Left somewhere unexpected
- Given to a neighbour
- Taken to a collection point
- Returned to the retailer
- Incorrectly marked as delivered
- Delivered while you were away and subsequently moved
Establish what happened before reporting a theft. If you have genuine evidence that the parcel was stolen, that’s different but a parcel simply being missing doesn’t necessarily mean that a crime has taken place.
What if the retailer tells you to contact the courier?
This is a common source of frustration for consumers. You can contact the courier to help establish what happened, but if the retailer arranged the delivery, don’t automatically accept “It’s the courier’s problem” as the final answer.
Go back to the retailer and explain that the goods have not been received. Ask them to investigate with their delivery provider and provide you with a resolution.
Remember: you bought the goods from the retailer. You didn’t choose to enter into a contract with their courier.
How long should you wait before complaining?
Don’t leave it for weeks simply because you’ve been away.
As soon as you’ve checked the tracking information, your property, safe places, neighbours and collection points, contact the retailer if the parcel still cannot be found.
The sooner you report a missing delivery, the easier it may be for the retailer and courier to investigate what happened.
My top tip for anyone going away on holiday
There are lots of things you should do before you go away on holiday to mitigate issues, one of them is to check whether you have any outstanding deliveries.
If you do, consider:
✔ Diverting the parcel to a secure collection point or locker
✔ Rescheduling delivery where possible
✔ Using a trusted neighbour
✔ Setting up a safe place only if you’re comfortable with it
✔ Checking your courier apps for delivery preferences
If you haven’t already gone away, don’t assume that a ‘delivered’ notification means everything is fine. Check where, when and to whom the parcel was supposedly delivered.
In a nutshell
Returning from holiday to find a missing parcel is frustrating, but don’t immediately panic and don’t automatically accept that a ‘delivered’ scan means the matter is closed.
Check the tracking, look around your property, ask neighbours, check collection points and then contact both the courier and retailer if necessary.
Most importantly, if the retailer arranged the delivery, don’t allow yourself to be passed from pillar to post between the retailer and courier.
If you haven’t received the goods, inform the retailer promptly and put the onus on them to investigate.
After all, “the courier says it was delivered” isn’t necessarily the same thing as you actually receiving your parcel.
