Problems with parcel deliveries

This briefing discusses problems with parcel deliveries by companies other than Royal Mail. The Commons Library has a separate briefing on Royal Mail performance.

What can people do when they have problems with parcel deliveries?

Where a consumer has bought something online and the retailer has arranged delivery, they should contact the retailer if there are problems with the delivery: it is the retailer’s responsibility to make sure all items are safely delivered. There is more information in the ‘What rights do people have as consumers?’ section below.

Consumers may also contact the parcel delivery company and make a complaint in some circumstances. There is information on how complaints should be treated in the ‘What other standards are parcel companies required to meet?’ section below.

Citizens Advice has a useful article explaining what you can do if your post or parcel has been lost, damaged or delayed. It also has a free consumer service that can provide help via a helpline or online chat. In Scotland advice is available from consumeradvice.scot and in Northern Ireland from the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland.

Ofcom, the postal regulator, does not investigate individual complaints about parcel companies but it does publish some advice in its article on Parcel companies.

The Commons Library briefing, Legal help: where to go and how to pay, may be useful if someone is considering a legal route.

How common are problems with parcel deliveries?

When asked, in 2025, about two thirds of people (68%) said they had experienced an issue with deliveries in the previous six months.

As shown in the chart below, the most common delivery issues were parcels being delayed, parcels being left in inappropriate locations, and a delivery person not knocking on the door loudly enough or not ringing the doorbell.

Source: Ofcom, Measuring user experience of parcel delivery to residential addresses, 22 October 2025. Figures include Royal Mail.

In a 2025 Ofcom survey that examined the performance of individual companies, Amazon and FedEx did best in terms of reported customer service satisfaction, closely followed by UPS and DHL. Evri did worst, followed by Yodel.

Overall, 4.1 billion parcels were delivered in the UK in 2024/25. This figure includes parcels sent domestically and parcels sent to the UK from abroad.

What rights do people have as consumers?

A consumer has rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 where goods ordered online are delivered damaged or not delivered at all. Whether redress should be sought from the retailer or the courier would depend on who arranged delivery of the goods: the retailer or the consumer.

What if the retailer arranged delivery?

Where the retailer has arranged delivery, it is the retailer’s responsibility to make sure that items purchased online are safely delivered. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the retailer remains legally responsible for the goods until they reach the buyer or are delivered to a nominated safe place. This means the retailer must resolve any delivery issues, including sending the consumer a replacement good if necessary.

The sale contract should state how and when the goods will be delivered. Otherwise, the act provides for a default period of 30 days, during which time the retailer must deliver the goods (unless a longer period has been agreed with the consumer).

If the retailer fails to comply with either the contractual or statutory delivery requirement, the consumer may have grounds to cancel the contract and/or claim damages for any losses incurred by late or failed delivery (much would depend on the facts of the individual case).

What if the consumer arranged delivery themselves?

The situation would be different if the consumer (and not the retailer) had arranged delivery directly with the courier. A problem with delivery would still be covered by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 but the consumer would need to seek redress directly from the courier (with whom they have a contract).

Under the act, the following terms are implied into consumer contracts for services:

• the trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill
• where the price is not contractually agreed in advance, the price paid for the service must be reasonable
• the service must be performed within a reasonable time (unless a timescale for performing the service is agreed in advance)
• any spoken or written voluntary statement made by the trader (about the trader or the trader’s service) may be a binding contractual term where the consumer relies on it when deciding to enter into the contract, or when making any decision about the service after entering into the contract

It follows from this that a service will be ‘non-conforming’ if it is not performed with reasonable care and skill, not performed within a reasonable time, or not performed in line with the information given.

Where services do not conform to the contract, the following statutory remedies are available to consumers:

• the right to ask for a ‘repeat performance’ of the service, or
• if a repeat performance of the service is not possible, a right to a price reduction

Regarding a repeat performance, the trader must either repeat the element of the service that is inadequate or perform the whole service again at no extra cost to the consumer, within a reasonable time and without causing the consumer significant inconvenience.

The consumer can claim a price reduction when:

• the service is not performed in line with information given about the trader
• the service has not been performed within a reasonable time
• it is impossible to re-perform the service, or
• they have requested a repeat performance, but the service has not been re-performed within a reasonable time or without significant inconvenience to the consumer

In cases where a parcel is lost, stolen or damaged, a full refund of the courier fee would not provide adequate compensation. However, the existence of statutory remedies in the Consumer Rights Act 2015 does not prevent the consumer from seeking other remedies, such as damages, provided they do not recover compensation twice for the same loss. As a first step, the consumer would need to make a claim in writing to the courier company. If agreement could not be reached, the next step would be to seek mediation or begin a court action.

Do consumers have to buy parcel protection?

No.

When arranging delivery of a purchased good directly with a parcel delivery firm or broker, consumers are typically asked if they want to purchase ‘parcel protection’ insurance. Under this type of insurance policy, a consumer is compensated in full if their parcel is lost, stolen or damaged. If the consumer declines to buy parcel protection insurance, the courier may try to limit any compensation to the cost paid for its delivery services.

In consumer contracts, firms are free to use whatever terms they consider reasonable, but these terms cannot be unfair. Under part 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, consumers are not bound by a term in a contract if that term is deemed unfair. A term may be deemed unfair if:

• It is contrary to the requirements of good faith. Terms must be designed, negotiated and agreed with the consumer in a fair and open way.
• It causes a significant imbalance between the rights of the trader and the consumer, to the detriment of the consumer.

In other words, for the purposes of the act, “unfair” contract terms are those which put the consumer at a disadvantage by limiting their rights or disproportionately increasing their obligations compared with the trader’s rights and obligations. However, core contractual terms – namely, terms describing the main subject matter and setting the price – are exempt from any assessment of fairness, provided they are both prominent and transparent.

If a consumer believes a term in their consumer contract is unfair, they can challenge the term by writing to the company. They will need to explain why they consider the term to be unfair and cannot be enforced against them. If the dispute cannot be resolved, it will ultimately be for the court to decide if a contractual term is unfair.

If the claim is below £10,000 in England and Wales or £3,000 in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the case may be dealt with in the small claims court.

Alternatively, the consumer could report the case to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and/or their local Trading Standards department. Under Part 3 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, the CMA has direct enforcement powers to tackle breaches of consumer law including stopping a business from using unfair contract terms.

Further information on unfair contract terms is provided in the Commons Library briefing on the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (see section 4).

What other standards are parcel companies required to meet?

Ofcom, the regulator for postal services, sets out requirements for parcel companies in regulatory consumer protection conditions. These relate to complaints and the fair treatment of disabled customers.

What are the requirements for complaints?

One of Ofcom’s conditions says that parcel companies must have clear complaints procedures:

A postal operator shall establish, make available and comply with transparent, simple and inexpensive procedures for dealing with complaints of consumers of postal services, which facilitate the fair and prompt settlement of disputes.

There is associated Ofcom guidance on customer complaints handling, introduced following an Ofcom review of postal services that took place in 2022.

What are the requirements for disabled customers?

Another of Ofcom’s conditions is that parcel companies must have policies for the fair treatment of disabled customers:

A relevant postal operator shall establish, publish and comply with clear and effective policies and procedures for the fair and appropriate treatment of disabled consumers in relation to the collection, delivery and receipt of relevant parcels in the UK.

What is being done about standards of parcel delivery?

As mentioned above, Ofcom reviewed postal services in 2022. Following the review, it introduced new guidance on handling complaints and the requirement for companies to have policies on treating disabled customers fairly.

Ofcom say that improvements have been made by parcel operators following the 2022 review, while noting that there is still room for more. It says that that it expects “parcel operators to keep their policies and processes under review and to prioritise continuous and consistent improvement across the sector”.

What more could Ofcom do?

Ofcom continues to monitor developments and has confirmed it “will act in line with our enforcement duties if we consider it appropriate to do so”. It has enforcement powers under schedule 7 of the Postal Services Act 2011, including to impos financial penalties.

Ofcom can also impose regulatory conditions (further requirements) on parcel companies. These include:

• ‘Essential conditions’, for example, to guard against the theft or loss of or damage to postal packets, or to secure the delivery of postal packets to the intended addressees
• ‘Consumer protection conditions’, including in relation to how complaints are handled and disputes resolved

More detail is set out in paragraphs A2.48 to A2.61 in Annex 2 of Ofcom’s 2022 Review of Postal Regulation: Annexes (published 18 July 2022).

What does the government say?

In February 2026, the government said that “some delivery companies need to do more to meet the rightful expectations of customers”.

It pointed to Ofcom as the (operationally independent) regulator for the postal sector, saying that Ofcom would consider enforcement action and additional regulations to help protect customers from underperforming parcel operators:

Ofcom has recognised the growing concern about the performance of delivery operators and has taken action to discuss with them what steps they have taken to comply and, where its assessment indicates that specific parcel operators are not operating in line with the existing requirements, Ofcom will consider whether enforcement action is necessary or additional regulation is needed to ensure consumers are adequately protected. To that end, Ofcom has sent a regulatory compliance letter to parcel operators.