The usual position
Where the retailer selected or offered the courier, the retailer is normally responsible for getting the goods into the physical possession of the consumer or a person the consumer identified. The customer should not be left to pursue the retailer’s delivery contractor as the only route to a remedy.
A missing parcel often produces a three-way argument. The courier says it was delivered. The retailer points to the tracking page. The customer says nobody received it.
Tracking information is relevant evidence, but it is not the contract itself. The legal question is whether delivery occurred in accordance with the agreement and the consumer’s instructions.
Risk normally stays with the trader until delivery
This means a retailer cannot usually end the complaint simply by saying that the courier has closed its investigation. The retailer can pursue the courier under their commercial arrangement, but the consumer’s claim remains against the seller.
The consumer-arranged courier exception
If the consumer independently commissioned a carrier that the trader did not offer, risk can pass when the goods are delivered to that carrier. This is different from selecting one of the delivery options presented by the retailer at checkout.
What counts as delivery?
Delivery to the consumer personally is straightforward. Delivery to another person or location can depend on what the customer expressly authorised, what the contract said and whether the instruction was followed.
Evidence can include
- a signature and the identity of the person who signed;
- a delivery photograph and whether it shows the correct property;
- GPS or scan data, considered with its accuracy and limitations;
- doorbell, CCTV or building-entry records;
- the safe-place or neighbour instruction actually given;
- messages sent by the courier at the time; and
- statements from household members, neighbours or reception staff.
A photograph of a box near a door may show where it was left. It does not necessarily prove that the location was authorised, secure or even the correct address.
Safe places and nominated neighbours
A specific instruction to leave a parcel in a named safe place or with a named neighbour can affect the analysis. If the courier followed that instruction accurately, the retailer may have a stronger argument that delivery was completed.
A general delivery preference should still be read carefully. Consumers should check whether it applies to one parcel or all future deliveries, and whether the location is genuinely secure. A courier choosing its own “safe” location is not the same as the consumer identifying that location.
What if the parcel is late rather than missing?
The trader must deliver by the agreed time. If no time was agreed, delivery should normally occur without undue delay and within 30 days after the contract was made.
Where delivery by a particular date was essential and the trader knew this, failure can allow the consumer to treat the contract as ended. In other cases, the consumer will commonly give a suitable additional period for delivery before ending the contract if that further deadline is missed.
A practical complaint sequence
Build the delivery evidence
Check the address, delivery date and any safe-place or neighbour instruction on the order.
Save the complete tracking history, delivery image and messages.
Check the property, household, reception and immediate neighbours promptly.
Tell the retailer that the goods did not reach you or an authorised recipient.
Ask for the evidence relied upon and request redelivery or a refund as appropriate.
Keep the retailer’s final position and any courier-investigation outcome.
The customer should cooperate with a reasonable investigation, but should not be required to prove an impossible negative. The retailer should assess the available evidence rather than treating a tracking status as conclusive.
Damaged deliveries
If goods arrive damaged, photograph the parcel before discarding packaging and notify the retailer promptly. The claim remains a faulty-goods issue against the seller, even where the damage appears to have occurred in the courier network.
Payment protection and escalation
If the retailer refuses redelivery or refund, payment protection may provide another route. The correct process depends on whether the customer used a debit card, credit card, payment service or another method.
Persistent delivery practices can also be reported through the Citizens Advice consumer service. An individual report does not guarantee enforcement, but it can contribute to wider intelligence supplied to Trading Standards.
The ConsumerWise verdict
“The courier says delivered” is evidence, not a complete legal answer. The retailer should establish where the parcel went, who received it and whether that matched the consumer’s instructions.
When the retailer chose the delivery company, it should remain the consumer’s point of contact and provide the contractual remedy if delivery was not completed.
Official sources and further guidance
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 29The statutory rule on risk before physical possession.
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 28Rules on delivery deadlines and ending the contract.
- Citizens Advice: order has not arrivedPractical guidance on contacting the seller for redelivery or refund.
- Citizens Advice: non-delivery complaint letterA template for raising a delivery complaint in writing.
