What to do if a parcel is missing or was left outside your door

Katerina Galkina · EN · 07/10/2026

Check the address and agreed delivery location

Compare the order address, tracking, delivery photograph and time. Check reception, the parcel room and neighbours where appropriate. Save screenshots promptly: tracking history and delivery settings may later change.

Whether you authorised a safe place or neighbour matters. Review account settings and the delivery terms at the time of ordering. Citizens Advice explains ↗ that an agreed alternative location and an unauthorised drop can produce different responsibility. A photograph of a box outside a door does not by itself establish compliance with the agreed delivery terms.

Contact the seller

When buying from a business, the seller is responsible for delivery; if it hired a courier, it must pursue that courier. Give the order number, state that you have not received the goods and explain why the location or photograph does not demonstrate agreed delivery. Ask it to investigate the courier information and propose an appropriate remedy.

If the location was not agreed, say so clearly and request redelivery or a refund as appropriate. If you authorised a particular location, disclose that fact and check whether your instructions were followed. Purchases from private sellers or delivery arranged through a carrier you hired yourself may need a different legal analysis.

Preserve evidence and identify the remedy

Collect photographs of any wrong doorway, correspondence, safe-place settings and case records. If relevant CCTV is available, preserve the delivery segment lawfully. Report an apparent theft through the appropriate local police channel and keep the reference; do not postpone telling the seller while doing so.

For missed delivery deadlines, explain whether the date was essential to the contract. Citizens Advice guidance ↗ distinguishes essential dates from cases requiring another reasonable opportunity to deliver. Do not impose an impossible deadline without justification.

If the seller refuses

Request its written reasons and use its complaints procedure. For card payments, check chargeback or Section 75 with the bank and include evidence of approaching the seller. GOV.UK lists consumer services ↗ for England/Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; the linked Citizens Advice guide covers England.

Check suspicious redelivery-payment messages through the carrier's website opened independently. For future expensive orders, compare tracked/signature delivery, collection points and a secure receipt location, considering your building and availability.