# Lost parcel claims for a small online shop: what Royal Mail and Evri pay, the deadlines, and who refunds the customer

> What Royal Mail and Evri pay a shop for a lost parcel, the claim deadlines for each, the evidence to keep, and why the customer's refund does not wait.

- Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/online-shops/lost-parcel-claims-royal-mail-evri-small-shop/
- Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/)
- Section: Online shops, Customer service and returns
- Published 1 October 2026
- Key fact: Royal Mail's business claims page pays a lost Tracked parcel at what the item cost the shop, not its sale price, up to £150 (Royal Mail's own Tracked 24 and 48 pages give £75 for postage bought online without a business account), and only if the claim is made within 30 calendar days of the date it opens (7 working days after the due date); Evri's terms for parcels booked on evri.com limit standard cover to the lesser of £20 or the value, and reject a business claim not made in writing within 28 days of the order.
- Sources: Royal Mail help centre, "Business Account Claims Centre" (dated 19 August 2026) and "Find out if my item is lost or delayed" (dated 9 September 2026), read in a browser 2026-10-01; Evri terms and conditions, conditions 3.7, 3.8 and 7.3, read in a browser 2026-10-01; Ofcom, "Advice to help with your postal service" (published 30 March 2023), read 2026-10-01; Consumer Rights Act 2015 s 29 and Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 reg 34(5), read 2026-10-01. eBay UK announcement "Royal Mail tariff changes coming October 2026" for the £3.75 label price, read in a browser 2026-10-01. Royal Mail's compensation policy pages for postage bought without an account refused our reader.

When a parcel goes missing, two clocks start and the shop is on the wrong end of both. The customer is owed a replacement or a refund now, because the goods were the shop's risk. The carrier pays later, pays less, and pays only if the claim arrives inside its own window.

## Who refunds the customer

The shop does. Section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says goods "remain at the trader's risk until they come into the physical possession of" the consumer, or of someone the consumer has named. The one exception is a carrier the customer arranged personally and the shop did not offer as an option. So "it is with the courier, please claim from them" is not a reply the law supports.

The customer could not claim anyway, because the shop bought the label. Royal Mail's help page says so from the other side: "If you're the recipient, please contact the sender."

Our [where-is-my-order reply template](https://aeolookup.com/online-shops/where-is-my-order-reply-template/) has the wording for each stage, with a date in every reply.

## What the carriers pay

| | Royal Mail Tracked 24 and 48 | Royal Mail 1st and 2nd Class | Evri, booked on evri.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limit for a lost parcel | Up to £150 on a business account; up to £75 or the item's value on postage bought online | Up to £20 | The lesser of £20 or the value |
| What is paid | "Actual loss": what the item cost you | Actual loss, plus the postage | Value as Evri determines it, plus the delivery charge |
| Claim opens | 7 working days after the due date | 10 working days after the due date | Not stated in the terms we read |
| Claim closes | 30 calendar days after it opens | 80 days after posting | 28 days after the order, in writing |

**Royal Mail pays cost, not price.** Its claims page defines actual loss as "what the item cost you to acquire, purchase or manufacture" and gives its own example: a shop that sells jeans for £25 and bought them for £15 can claim £15. The evidence it asks for is an electronic copy of "proof of cost price", which "should not include item sale price". A supplier invoice in pounds is the document.

**The Royal Mail figures come from two places.** The Tracked column is from Royal Mail's page for business account customers, dated 19 August 2026. For postage bought online without an account, Royal Mail's own Tracked 24 and Tracked 48 pages, read on 1 October 2026, say each item is covered against loss or damage up to £75 or the value of the item, whichever is lower. The £20 figure for 1st and 2nd Class is Ofcom's summary, published on 30 March 2023. Check the current policy before relying on either.

**Evri's £20 is the default.** "Full Cover" can be bought at booking and raises the limit to the amount of cover bought; we did not read its price. A shop on an Evri business contract, or buying labels through a marketplace, is on different terms from these.

## One lost parcel, in pounds

A shop sells a £42 item with £3.95 delivery and sends it by Tracked 48 for £3.75, the online small-parcel price from 5 October 2026 as eBay UK states it. The item cost the shop £18. The parcel vanishes.

1. The shop refunds the customer £45.95, which is £42 plus £3.95.
2. The shop has also lost the stock and the label: £18 plus £3.75 is £21.75.
3. Royal Mail's compensation, on cost price, is £18.
4. After the claim the shop is down £21.75 less £18, which is £3.75, and it has lost the £24 margin on the sale (£42 less £18). We could not confirm whether the Tracked postage is refunded as well.

Now take a £120 item that cost £60. On the Royal Mail business terms the claim pays £60, inside either limit. On Evri's standard terms it pays £20 and the shop carries the other £40 of stock, unless it bought Full Cover.

## The dates

Take a Tracked 48 parcel posted on Monday 5 October 2026. Royal Mail's aim is two to three working days, so it is due by Thursday 8 October. Royal Mail counts Monday to Saturday as working days, so the seventh working day after that is Friday 16 October. A claim made earlier is refused ("early claims cannot be processed"). It then has to be made within 30 calendar days, which runs to about 15 November.

Evri's clock starts at the booking. A label booked on 5 October gives a business until 2 November, 28 days later. A customer who waits three weeks before writing has used 21 of those days.

## How to claim

1. On the day the customer first writes, work out the date the claim opens and the date it closes. Put both in the diary.
2. Replace or refund without waiting for the carrier.
3. Build one folder per parcel: the tracking number, proof of posting, a screenshot of the tracking page at its last scan, the supplier invoice showing the cost price, both addresses, and the date and place of posting.
4. Submit online. Royal Mail routes the claim by how the postage was paid: stamps, online postage, Post Office counter or business account. Evri supplies a claim form through its contact page.
5. Send everything at once. Royal Mail says a claim "will be assessed solely on the evidence you provide", and that it usually responds in full within 30 days.

## When a return goes missing

For a change-of-mind return, regulation 34(5) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 sets the refund deadline at 14 days after the shop gets the goods back or, "if earlier, the day on which the consumer supplies evidence of having sent the goods back". A proof of posting starts the refund clock whether or not the parcel arrives.

The claim against the carrier belongs to whoever bought the return label. If the shop supplied a prepaid label, the claim is the shop's, and Royal Mail's business page gives 30 days from the posting date for a Tracked Returns item. Our [returns rights checker](https://aeolookup.com/online-shops/returns-rights-checker-online-shop/) sets out the rest of what is owed on a return.

## What to change this week

Send anything worth more than a few pounds tracked; our [guide to Royal Mail's October 2026 prices](https://aeolookup.com/online-shops/royal-mail-price-rise-october-2026-small-shop/) shows that tracked postage bought online now costs less than a stamp. Know the limit on your service before you send a £100 parcel on £20 of cover.

This is general information, not legal advice. Limits and deadlines are as the carriers published them on the dates shown, and they change.

## Short answers from this page

**How much will Royal Mail pay my shop for a lost Tracked parcel, and how long do I have to claim?** Royal Mail's business claims page pays a lost Tracked parcel at what the item cost the shop, not its sale price, up to £150 on a business account or £75 on Tracked postage bought online without one. The claim opens 7 working days after the due date and must be made within 30 calendar days of that date. The customer's refund does not wait for the claim.

**If a customer's return parcel goes missing in the post, do I still have to refund them?** Yes. For a change-of-mind return the refund is due 14 days after the shop gets the goods back or, if earlier, 14 days after the customer supplies evidence of having sent them, under regulation 34(5) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. The claim against the carrier belongs to whoever bought the return label.

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General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.