Parcels and packages
Tracking says delivered but nothing arrived: who is responsible?
The short answer
Take actionA parcel marked delivered is often with a neighbour, in a safe place or with someone at your address. If yours is not, an online order is usually still the seller's to put right: the seller chose the courier and is its customer.
When to act: If it has not turned up by the end of the day after the delivered scan, file a complaint and we send it to the seller or the courier.
Pick your courier
What the delivered scan means at your courier, what it records and how long to wait.
What to do now
- 1
Open the tracking and look at the delivery photo, the map pin, the time of the delivered scan and any note on where it was left.
- 2
Search around your home: porch, doorstep, bins, garage, mailbox or letterbox, and any safe place you set in the courier's app.
- 3
Ask your neighbours and everyone else at your address, and check any front desk or mail room.
- 4
Check the delivery address on your order confirmation, including the house or flat number and the postcode or ZIP code.
- 5
Keep screenshots of the full tracking history, the delivery photo and your order, with the order number and what you paid.
- 6
Still not sorted? File your complaint here. We write it with you and send it to the seller or the courier, so you do not have to chase it yourself.
What usually happened
Left with a neighbour or in a safe place
Drivers often leave a parcel next door or somewhere out of sight, such as a porch, side door, garage or a safe place set in the courier's app. UPS, for example, says its drivers do this when no signature is needed, and Royal Mail names the neighbour in its tracking message and leaves a card. Check the note and the photo before anything else.
Scanned as delivered too early
Royal Mail and Amazon both say a parcel can now and then be marked delivered before it arrives. Royal Mail asks you to allow an extra day, and Amazon says it can show as delivered up to 48 hours early. USPS says a package may come separately from your letters, so check again later in the day.
Delivered to the wrong address
A photo of a door, porch or mailbox you do not recognise, or a map pin down the street, points to the wrong house, often a nearby one or a flat with a similar number. A wrong or old address on the order has the same result: couriers deliver to the address on the label.
Taken after it was left
A parcel left on a doorstep or porch can be taken before you get home. A photo of it at your door followed by nothing is the usual sign. Whether the seller still has to put it right depends on where you live and whether you asked for it to be left there.
What goes wrong with deliveries
From 1,421 complaints about FedEx, UPS, and Evri filed on Complain.biz. One complaint can mention several problems.
Who is responsible for a parcel marked delivered?
For an online order from a business, the seller is usually the one to put it right, because it chose the courier and is the courier's customer. How far the law backs that up depends on where you live. If you sent the parcel yourself, it is between you and the courier, under its terms.
United Kingdom
The Consumer Rights Act (section 29) keeps goods at the seller's risk until they come into your physical possession, or that of someone you named to take them. A parcel on a doorstep, or with a neighbour you never named, is not yet in your hands, so for an online order the seller is usually responsible. The exception is a courier you chose and booked yourself that the seller did not offer. Section 29 does not mention safe places, so if you asked for one, the seller may say the parcel was delivered.
Ireland
The Consumer Rights Act (section 35) leaves goods at the seller's risk until you, or a person you nominated, physically have them. The exception is a carrier you booked yourself that the seller did not propose. So a parcel scanned as delivered that never reached you is, for an online order, usually the seller's to put right.
Australia
The Australian Consumer Law (section 36) requires a business that took your payment to supply the goods within the time it stated, or a reasonable time. It is excused if the failure was due to someone else and it took reasonable precautions to avoid it, and a seller may argue that a courier's failure counts. The law does not say in so many words who carries the risk of a parcel lost after a delivery scan. Government guidance in Victoria and Western Australia says the seller is responsible for resolving delivery problems with Australia Post or the courier. Australia Post's terms rule out its included compensation for loss after it delivered the item.
New Zealand
Under the Consumer Guarantees Act (section 5A), a seller who delivers or arranges delivery guarantees that you will receive the goods. Your rights are against the seller. If the failure is substantial, you can reject the goods even though the courier lost them, because for this the Act counts the courier as the seller's agent. The Act does not say whether a parcel left at your address counts as received.
United States
The seller chose the courier and is its customer, so a package marked delivered that never reached you is in most cases the seller's to put right, with a replacement or a refund. USPS insurance does not cover a package lost or taken after delivery.
Canada
The seller chose the courier and is its customer, so a missing order is in most cases the seller's to put right. Canada Post says only the sender can receive compensation for a missing parcel.
Questions about parcels marked delivered
Who is responsible if tracking says delivered but I didn't get it?
If you bought online from a business, usually the seller: it chose the courier and is its customer. In the UK and Ireland the law keeps the goods at the seller's risk until you, or someone you named, have them. If you sent the parcel yourself, it is between you and the courier.
Who is responsible if a parcel is stolen after delivery?
It depends on where it was left and where you live. In the UK and Ireland a parcel left on your doorstep without your say is usually still at the seller's risk. If you asked for it to be left in a safe place, the seller may say it was delivered. USPS insurance does not cover a package taken after delivery.
What if the courier delivered my parcel to the wrong address?
If the address on your order was right, the parcel never reached you, so for an online order it is usually the seller's to put right. If the address on your order was wrong, the courier delivered where it was told, and the seller may refuse.
Can a parcel marked delivered still turn up?
Yes. Royal Mail says a rare scanning error can mark an item delivered before it arrives, and Amazon says a package can show as delivered up to 48 hours early. So give it until the end of the next day, or 48 hours for an Amazon order, before you act.
How long should I wait before I act?
Until the end of the day after the delivered scan, or 48 hours for an Amazon order, as Amazon asks. If there is still nothing by then, file a complaint on Complain.biz and we send it to the seller or the courier.
Based on
- legislation.gov.uk: Consumer Rights Act, section 29 (goods stay at the seller's risk until delivered)
- Irish Statute Book: Consumer Rights Act, section 35 (passing of risk)
- Australian Consumer Law (Competition and Consumer Act, Schedule 2), section 36: supply within the stated period or a reasonable time, and the exception
- Government of Victoria: Products missing or damaged in transit (the seller resolves issues with Australia Post or the courier)
- Government of Western Australia: Missing or damaged products (the seller resolves issues with Australia Post or the courier)
- Australia Post General Terms and Conditions, clause 3.7(g) (no included compensation for loss after delivery)
- Consumer Guarantees Act, section 5A (guarantee as to delivery; a carrier counts as the supplier's agent) and section 20 (loss of the right to reject goods)
- USPS Domestic Mail Manual 609, section 4.3: Nonpayable Claims (loss after delivery)
- USPS FAQ: Where is my package? Tracking Status Help (packages may come separately from letters)
- Canada Post: My package hasn't arrived (only senders can receive claims payments)
- Royal Mail: My item is shown as delivered but it hasn't been (rare scanning error, allow an extra day)
- Royal Mail: Postage tracking terms explained (the message names the neighbour, a card is left)
- Amazon Help: Find a Missing Package That Shows as Delivered (may show delivered up to 48 hours early)
- UPS: Understanding tracking status (where a driver leaves a delivered package)