Royal Mail Item Missing From Parcel: How to Get a Refund (UK)
If the parcel arrived but an item you ordered was not inside it with a Royal Mail delivery, you have rights as a UK consumer. Section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 keeps the goods at the retailer's risk until they are in your physical possession. Items that never arrived were never delivered, whatever the parcel scan says. If you bought goods online, the retailer is responsible under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Personal Royal Mail claims apply when you posted the parcel yourself. Use this page to check what to do next, the Royal Mail claim window, and when to escalate if the retailer refuses. Compensation figures vary by service, so always verify the current numbers on Royal Mail's website before relying on them.
How to claim a refund
- 1
Photograph the parcel, the packaging and the shipping label before you unpack anything else. If the outer packaging is torn, opened or resealed, capture that from several angles.
- 2
Check the label for a despatch weight. If the label or the retailer's records show a despatch weight, compare it with the weight of what arrived; a mismatch is useful evidence.
- 3
Keep the packaging until the claim is closed. The retailer or Royal Mail may ask to inspect it, and discarding it can weaken a claim.
- 4
Contact the retailer in writing, not Royal Mail. Quote Section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015: the missing items never came into your possession, so they were never delivered to you.
- 5
Ask the retailer for two specific records: what their warehouse logged as packed, and the despatch weight recorded when Royal Mail collected the parcel. Ask them to send the missing items or refund them in full.
- 6
If they refuse, escalate via Section 75 (if you paid on credit and your purchase qualifies) or a chargeback (usually within 120 days; check with your bank). Royal Mail's own claim window is 30 calendar days of the eligible claim date on Tracked 24 and Tracked 48, which most retailers ship on, and up to 80 calendar days from posting on other services (verify on the Royal Mail website), and the retailer is the one who files it.
Royal Mail compensation and escalation
- Claim window
- 30 calendar days of the eligible claim date on Tracked 24 and Tracked 48, which most retailers ship on, and up to 80 calendar days from posting on other services (verify on the Royal Mail website)
- How to claim
- Royal Mail's online claim form (proof of posting and contents required)
- Escalation
- the Postal Review Panel and then the Postal Redress Service (POSTRS)
Frequently asked questions
Should I claim from Royal Mail or the retailer?
Claim from the retailer. If you bought goods online, the retailer is responsible under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Personal Royal Mail claims apply when you posted the parcel yourself. Your contract is with the retailer, so it is the retailer's job to deal with Royal Mail.
What is Royal Mail's claim window for this issue?
30 calendar days of the eligible claim date on Tracked 24 and Tracked 48, which most retailers ship on, and up to 80 calendar days from posting on other services (verify on the Royal Mail website). Always check the current terms on Royal Mail's own website before relying on a deadline.
What if the retailer refuses to refund?
If you paid on credit, you may have a Section 75 claim against your card issuer or lender for a single item (or a set sold together) with a cash price over £100 and up to £30,000, paid for wholly or partly on credit, most often a credit card (some point-of-sale loans and store or catalogue credit also qualify; paying through PayPal or some marketplaces can rule it out). If not, or if you paid by debit card, ask your bank about a chargeback; the usual time limit is about 120 days, but check with your bank. You can also escalate via the Postal Review Panel and then the Postal Redress Service (POSTRS).
Royal Mail marked the parcel delivered — does that settle it?
No. A delivery scan records that a parcel arrived, not that the goods inside it did. Under Section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the retailer is responsible until the items themselves are in your possession.
Is a short-delivered parcel treated as a damaged item?
No, and the difference matters. Damaged goods are argued under satisfactory quality; missing items are argued under delivery, because they never reached you. Ask for the items or a refund rather than a repair or inspection.
What if the packaging was sealed and undamaged?
Then the likely cause is a picking or packing error rather than Royal Mail. Ask the retailer for their packing record and the despatch weight — both sit with them, not the courier.
