The parcel is lost or late: who pays, and what next? Six questions for UK online shops

A customer has written to say their parcel has not arrived, or tracking says it arrived and they say it did not, and you need to know whose loss it is and what you owe them now. The answer depends on who bought it, who chose the courier, what tracking shows, what the customer wants and what the item is. This questionnaire asks about each in turn and gives the one outcome that fits, with the rule behind it. It follows the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 as we read them on legislation.gov.uk on 2 October 2026. Nothing you choose leaves the page.

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A parcel is lost or late: whose loss it is and what to do

Answer each question. Some questions appear only when an earlier answer makes them relevant. Nothing you choose leaves this page.

1. Who bought the item?ChooseA consumer, buying for themselvesA business, buying for its business
2. Who chose the courier?ChooseYou did, or the customer picked one you offered at checkoutThe customer booked their own courier, not one you offered
3. What does tracking show, and what does the customer say?ChooseStill on its way, or not yet arrived, and later than expectedLost: the carrier says so, or there has been no scan for daysTracking says delivered, but the customer says it never came
4. Does the customer still want the item, or do they want their money back?ChooseThey still want it, or a replacementThey want to cancel and have their money back
5. What kind of item is it?ChooseAn ordinary item from stockPersonalised, made to order, or perishable
6. Where are you against the delivery date?ChooseStill inside 30 days of the order, or before the agreed dateAn essential date has passed, or one the customer said matteredPast 30 days or the agreed date, with no essential date

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The outcome is the rule as our guides and the sources named set it out, applied to the answers you gave. It is not advice on your own case.

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The questions, and why each is asked

1. Who bought the item? Section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 keeps goods at the trader's risk until a consumer has them. Between businesses, section 32 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 sets a different starting point.

2. Who chose the courier? Section 29(3) and (4) move the risk to the consumer on handover only where the consumer commissioned the carrier and it was not one the shop named as an option. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant.

3. What does tracking show, and what does the customer say? The goods stay at your risk until they come into the physical possession of the customer or someone they named, so a delivered scan alone does not settle it. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant.

4. Does the customer still want the item, or do they want their money back? A consumer may cancel a distance sale at any time in the cancellation period, which begins when the order is placed, so a refund request before delivery is often a cancellation. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant.

5. What kind of item is it? Regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 removes the right to cancel for goods made to the consumer's specifications or clearly personalised, and for goods liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant.

6. Where are you against the delivery date? Section 28 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires delivery within 30 days of the order unless a date was agreed, and lets the customer end the contract only once that date is missed. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant.

Every outcome, and the rule behind it

A business buyer: handing it to the carrier usually counted as delivery

Reached when: "Who bought the item?" answered "A business, buying for its business".

Section 32(1) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 says that where the seller is to send the goods, delivery to a carrier is prima facie delivery to the buyer. Section 32(2) requires the seller to make a reasonable contract with the carrier for the buyer; if it did not and the goods are lost, the buyer may refuse to treat the handover as delivery. Your terms of sale can say otherwise, and they decide first.

• Read your trade terms for a clause on risk in transit before you reply.
• Make the claim against the carrier yourself, since you bought the label.
• Check your service and cover were reasonable for the value of what you sent.

Source: Sale of Goods Act 1979, section 32(1), (2) and (4), read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in Lost parcel claims for a small online shop.

The customer's own courier: the risk passed when you handed it over

Reached when: "Who chose the courier?" answered "The customer booked their own courier, not one you offered".

Section 29(3) and (4) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 put the goods at the consumer's risk from delivery to the carrier where the consumer commissioned that carrier and it was not one the shop named as an option. Section 29(5) leaves the carrier liable to the consumer, so the customer claims from the courier they booked. If the courier was one you offered at checkout, this does not apply and the parcel is still yours.

• Send the customer your proof of handover: the collection receipt, date and time.
• Give them the photos of the packed item and the parcel weight for their claim.
• Stop offering a courier at checkout unless you are content to carry its losses.

Source: Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 29(3) to (5), read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in Lost parcel claims for a small online shop.

Marked delivered but not received: it is still yours to put right

Reached when: "What does tracking show, and what does the customer say?" answered "Tracking says delivered, but the customer says it never came".

Section 29(2) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 keeps the goods at the trader's risk until they come into the physical possession of the consumer or a person the consumer identified to take them. A delivered scan is the carrier's record, not proof the customer has the parcel. If it went to a neighbour the customer named, it was delivered. Otherwise replace it or refund, and use the scan, photo or GPS point as evidence in your claim against the carrier.

• Ask once about neighbours and safe places, and give a 24-hour window.
• Then send a replacement or refund, without waiting for the carrier.
• Save the delivery photo or GPS record and open the carrier claim the same day.

Source: Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 29(1) and (2), read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in "Where is my order?" reply template.

They still want it: send it, or a replacement, and claim later

Reached when: "Does the customer still want the item, or do they want their money back?" answered "They still want it, or a replacement".

Section 29(2) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 keeps the goods at your risk until the customer has them, so a lost parcel is replaced at your cost. Section 28(3) says that unless a date was agreed, delivery must be without undue delay and not more than 30 days after the day of the order. Send the replacement now and make your claim against the carrier separately: what it pays, and when, has no bearing on what the customer is owed.

• Give the customer a date: when the parcel is due, or when the replacement goes.
• Send a replacement by a tracked service if the original is lost.
• Work out the carrier's claim window from the due date and diary it today.

Source: Consumer Rights Act 2015, sections 28(2) and (3) and 29(2), read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in Lost parcel claims for a small online shop.

They can cancel now: refund the price and the delivery charge

Reached when: "What kind of item is it?" answered "An ordinary item from stock".

Regulation 29 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 lets a consumer cancel a distance sale without giving a reason, and regulation 29(2) starts the cancellation period when the contract is made, so the customer can cancel before the parcel arrives. Regulation 34 requires you to refund all payments, including delivery up to your cheapest standard option, without undue delay and by the same means of payment. With nothing to come back, there is no reason to wait for the carrier.

• Refund the price and the standard delivery charge now, by the method they paid with.
• If the parcel turns up later, ask them to send it back and offer a prepaid label.
• Open the carrier claim for a lost parcel; the refund does not wait for it.

Source: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulations 29(1) and (2), 34(1) to (4) and (7), and 35(4), read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in Returns rights checker.

Personalised or perishable and not yet overdue: you can still deliver

Reached when: "Where are you against the delivery date?" answered "Still inside 30 days of the order, or before the agreed date".

Regulation 28(1)(b) and (c) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 remove the right to cancel for personalised, made-to-order and perishable goods, so the customer cannot cancel simply because the parcel is late. Section 28(3) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you until the agreed date, or 30 days after the order if none was agreed. The goods are at your risk until delivered (section 29), so a lost one is remade and sent again at your cost inside that time.

• Tell the customer the date you will deliver by, inside the 30 days or the agreed date.
• Remake or replace a lost item now and send it tracked.
• If you cannot deliver in time, tell the customer now and offer a refund.

Source: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28(1)(b) and (c); Consumer Rights Act 2015, sections 28(3) and 29(2); read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in Can I have a no-refund policy for personalised and custom orders? What a UK online shop can refuse, and what it cannot.

An essential date was missed: they can end the contract and get it all back

Reached when: "Where are you against the delivery date?" answered "An essential date has passed, or one the customer said mattered".

Section 28(6) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 lets the consumer treat the contract as at an end if delivery on the agreed date was essential in the circumstances when the order was made, such as a dated birthday cake, or if the customer told you before ordering that the date was essential. Section 28(9) then requires you to reimburse all payments without undue delay. This applies to personalised and perishable goods, which have no right to cancel.

• Refund everything paid, delivery included, without waiting for the carrier.
• Keep the order note or message that set the date, for your carrier claim.
• Show a dispatch cut-off for dated orders on the product page.

Source: Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 28(5), (6) and (9), read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in "Where is my order?" reply template.

Overdue with no essential date: the customer can set a final deadline

Reached when: any other set of answers.

Where delivery is later than the agreed date, or more than 30 days after the order, and the date was not essential, section 28(7) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 lets the consumer set a further period that is appropriate in the circumstances. If the goods do not arrive within it, section 28(8) lets them treat the contract as at an end, and section 28(9) requires you to reimburse all payments without undue delay. If you refuse to deliver at all, section 28(6) lets them end it at once.

• Agree a firm new delivery date with the customer and put it in writing.
• Remake and send the item tracked so it arrives inside that date.
• If it will not, refund everything paid rather than wait to be asked.

Source: Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 28(3) and (5) to (9), read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in "Where is my order?" reply template.

How to use the result

Answer with the order date, the tracking page and the customer's message open, because two of the outcomes turn on dates. Whatever the outcome, the customer's refund or replacement and your claim against the carrier are separate jobs: deal with the customer first and do not make them wait for the carrier's decision. Put the carrier's claim opening and closing dates in your diary on the day the customer first writes, and keep proof of posting and the supplier invoice in one folder.

The outcome applies the rule to the answers given; it cannot see the facts behind them. Where an answer is a judgement, or the facts are unusual, the outcome may not fit. This page is general information, not legal advice.

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