Parcel marked delivered but missing: a UK evidence checklist

If your UK parcel is marked delivered but not received, save the tracking record, check likely recipients and places, then ask the retailer to investigate. Where you bought goods from a business for personal use and the retailer arranged delivery, Ofcom says to contact the retailer about the missing order.

Who is responsible in the UK? For a consumer purchase from a business where the retailer arranged delivery, section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says the goods normally remain at the retailer’s risk until you, or a person you identified to receive them, takes physical possession. A tracking scan saying “delivered” does not by itself establish who received the parcel or where it was left.

Your delivery instructions can change the answer. If you authorised a specific safe place or recipient, delivery was completed as agreed and the parcel went missing afterwards, responsibility may be different; see Citizens Advice’s delivery guidance. If you independently commissioned a carrier the retailer did not offer, section 29 has a separate carrier exception. If authorisation or handover is unclear, record that uncertainty and ask the retailer to investigate rather than assuming a refund is guaranteed or ruled out.

Use the worksheet below with whatever evidence you have. Missing photos or signatures should not stop you reporting the discrepancy.

Check the parcel, address and delivery instructions

Match the tracking number to the missing item and the address on your order. Check whether the order has separate parcels. If a parcel arrived but its contents are missing, describe that different problem accurately.

Ask relevant household members, neighbours or reception staff whether they accepted it; at work, check the post room. Check the agreed place and any location named in tracking. These reflect Royal Mail’s suggested delivery checks; record what you actually checked without accusing anyone.

Save instructions from checkout, account settings and later courier messages where available. Note changes and their dates. Settings visible today may not establish what applied when delivery was attempted. If you cannot establish permission, write “unknown”.

For a locker or collection point, copy the exact event wording rather than treating arrival there as confirmed collection. Evri’s terms distinguish collection events; other services’ records need their own explanation.

If a delivered scan appeared today, check the carrier’s guidance. Royal Mail notes that rare same-day scanning errors can occur and advises allowing an extra day before the sender contacts Royal Mail. This is not a universal waiting rule: save the record now and report an unresolved or urgent discrepancy to the retailer promptly.

Build your missing-parcel evidence worksheet

Copy this into a note or document. It is an organising aid, not a compulsory claims form. Start with:

• Seller: ___; business or private seller: ___
• Order ID: ___; item: ___; parcel ID: ___; courier: ___
• Address used: ___; outbound delivery or return: ___
• Carrier arranged by: ___; delivery promised: ___
• Authorised place/person: ___; permission source and relevant date: ___
• Permission: authorised / not authorised / unknown; later change and date: ___

This worksheet is for UK consumers who bought goods from a business and whose retailer arranged the outward delivery. Different arrangements — including private sales, gifts sent privately, returns, overseas disputes and carriers you independently commissioned — may need different advice.

Save the records you have

• Identify the order, address and parcel; keep the confirmation or receipt and relevant payment record.
• Save the full tracking history, final status and displayed date/time.
• Preserve available delivery instructions and changes.
• Save any delivery photo, location record, named recipient or signature.
• Note relevant place/recipient checks, dates and results.
• Keep correspondence, case references and written replies.

Keep the evidence in a private folder. Share it through a verified retailer or provider support channel, and where possible redact unrelated payment details, personal information and other people’s identities. Keep unredacted originals securely in case they are needed later.

Record availability varies. Evri describes photos and a delivery-location pin; do not assume every service provides identical evidence. Its tracking FAQ and Digital Signature terms describe signature-related records differently, so do not assume a recipient-signed document exists. Ask what the actual record represents.

Turn a mismatch into a question

Give attachments IDs such as 01_order and 02_tracking. Use states saved, requested, unavailable, not applicable or disputed. Copy the blank rows; add more as needed.

Record ID / type	Source and date saved	What it shows	Mismatch or unknown	Question for retailer	State

For instructions, compare the authorised location with the recorded one. For a photo, note recognisable details or uncertainty; if useful, take a comparison photo of your own entrance. For a name/signature, say whether you recognise it and nominated that person. For correspondence, record the explanation or missing answer.

Fictional example: a delivery photo shows a blue door; the buyer’s entrance is red. Record “location unrecognised” and ask “Please check the delivery address and location against my order.” That identifies a question, not a proven outcome.

The Consumer Council suggests requesting recorded delivery/signature evidence where possible. Ask the retailer for available supporting records and investigation of discrepancies. Morphy Richards describes DPD reviewing internal delivery records; APC Direct describes possible driver interviews for disputed delivery. These are provider-specific investigation examples, not guaranteed access. Neither a proof-of-delivery label nor one image settles every retail dispute.

Keep a short timeline

Separate the delivery event from when its notification reached you. Include ordering, promised delivery, checks, first report and later replies. Copy times/timezones as shown, or mark them unknown.

Date / time / timezone if shown	Event or action	Record or case reference	Reply / promised next step

Send a factual message to the retailer

Adapt this message, choosing one truthful status sentence and one authorisation paragraph. Do not claim you never received the parcel if you know it was delivered to a place or person you authorised and disappeared afterwards. Report the conflict promptly, following the current procedure for an item marked delivered rather than assuming guidance for parcels still in transit applies.

Subject: Order [ID] — parcel missing after delivered status

Hello,

My order [ID], containing [item], has parcel reference [number]. Tracking records [exact status] at [date/time].

[Choose: I have not received the parcel / I acknowledge delivery to [place/person], but the parcel is now missing.]

The delivery address on my order is [address]. I checked [places/people actually checked] on [date], with this result: [result].

Authorised: I authorised delivery to [place/person]. Please check whether the delivery followed that instruction.

Not authorised: I did not authorise delivery to [recorded alternative place/person].

Uncertain: I cannot establish which delivery instruction applied. Please check the instructions recorded for this delivery.

The discrepancy or missing record is [description]. Please investigate with your delivery provider and share the available records supporting the delivery, including [specific record requested].

My requested resolution is [redelivery/replacement/refund, as appropriate]. Please explain the proposed resolution and any relevant conditions.

I attach [record IDs]. Please confirm my case reference and when I should expect the next update.

Thank you, [Name]

If the retailer’s reply does not resolve it

Keep the retailer’s response and follow its written complaints procedure. If it refers you to the courier, ask the retailer to investigate with the delivery provider it arranged; Evri also directs retail recipients with missing deliveries to the sender.

If the retailer says the parcel was delivered

Ask for the retailer’s written decision, including the recorded delivery time and location, any available delivery photo or recipient record, and how it checked your actual delivery instructions. Point to the precise mismatch in your worksheet — for example, an entrance you do not recognise, a recipient you did not nominate or an instruction not followed. Ask what further investigation or evidence would resolve that discrepancy.

If asked for a denial-of-receipt declaration, complete it accurately and keep a copy; ask for clarification if the wording does not match what happened. Morphy Richards describes such a declaration in some DPD investigations, but it is not a universal requirement.

If the dispute remains unresolved

Keep the decision, case number, supporting records and correspondence together. If you bought through a marketplace or paid by card, PayPal or a buy-now-pay-later provider, check that provider’s current dispute eligibility and deadline promptly. These are different routes, and none guarantees a refund. For card payments, Herm’s chargeback vs Section 75 guide explains the differences.

Whether redelivery or a refund is appropriate depends on the actual delivery facts and applicable conditions; Citizens Advice explains the relevant circumstances. If you authorised a delivery location and the parcel went missing afterwards, say so when seeking advice rather than describing it as never delivered.

For independent advice, contact Citizens Advice’s consumer service in England or Wales, Advice Direct Scotland or the Consumer Council in Northern Ireland. Ofcom does not investigate individual parcel complaints.