The law may be in your side if you are one of the thousands of people waiting for parcels from Santa this year.
If you ordered something online, the Consumer Contracts Regulations are there to protect you, although getting a refund might be the least of your worries if you're waiting for a much-wanted gift to turn up with just days to go. The laws came into effect in 2014, and they apply to items bought online, over the phone or by post and essentially mean you can get a refund for anything you may have bought within the first 14 days after you receive it.
So if your parcel doesn’t arrive in time, you can at least send it back and get a refund when it does turn up, if you have bought a replacement in the meantime. These rights include click & collect orders, but exclude personalised or perishable items like flowers and fresh food.
Read more: Shoppers' anger as Royal Mail, Evri and DPD fail to deliver
Unfortunately you have fewer rights if you buy something in store and request it for delivery - as you're not by law entitled to a refund unless the item's faulty, but most shops have a 'goodwill' returns policy, which means you can return an item and exchange it, get a refund or a credit note.
Angry customers have flooded social media asking where their Christmas parcels are, after Royal Mail strikes have lead to reports of piles of parcels and letters building up at sorting offices and the situation has been made worse by retailers such as Currys switching from Royal Mail to alternative couriers, which has caused backlogs with delivery companies such as DPD and Evri, formally Hermes.
Waiting in for a parcel delivery this close to Christmas - with another two days of Royal Mail strikes on the horizon on December 23 and 24 - is nerve-wracking – but here we explain your rights if your parcel arrives late or doesn't turn up at all.
If you're waiting for an order to turn up
Your contract is with the retailer you bought the goods from, so even if you think the problems is down to a poor service from the courier, the retailer is who your compliant is with. But while it's the retailer you will need to deal with in order to get compensation later on, you may be best off trying to contact the courier first. Delivery companies usually have a customer service helpline or even online tracking facilities to help you find out where your delivery's got to, although there have been many complaints this year about unhelpful tracking and long waits on telephone lines.
If you can't contact the delivery company, your next port of call should be the retailer, as unless you paid directly for the delivery with a parcel firm, then it's the store that owes you a duty of care. But don't let it fob you off – it chose to sub-contract out the deliver, so legally it has to sort out any problems..
If you made it clear to the retailer at the time you ordered that you needed your goods by a certain date and it’s late, or if it was obvious to the retailer that delivery by a certain date was essential, you can treat the contract as at an end and claim a refund. The more proof you have that you made it clear that delivery was essential, or that it should have been obvious, the better, but if it wasn’t clear to the retailer at the point of purchase, you need to give them another opportunity to deliver your order. If the retailer fails to deliver the goods by the new deadline, then you can treat the contract as at an end and ask for a refund.
Can you cancel my order if it's going to turn up too late?
If the delivery has taken more than 30 calendar days, then you can legally cancel the contract and get a refund, regardless of whether the item was bought online or in store. If you've waited less than 30 days, your rights depends on how you bought the item.
If you ordered it online then it may be possible to cancel the item before it arrives – most stores will have cancellation policies in their T&Cs, so check them or give the retailer a call to find out. If an item has already been dispatched, you may have to wait until it arrives and return it to get a refund. Again, this rule doesn't apply to personalised or perishable items.
If you ordered in store, unless the retailer said it would arrive by a specific date, it's difficult. Martin Lewis recommends you ask the shop to agree that ‘time is of the essence’, as this massively enhances your rights. If it then doesn't deliver by the deadline you've set, you will be legally entitled to cancel your contract.
If you give permission for your delivery to be left somewhere safe, you may have a problem
Think very carefully about nominating a safe place or a neighbour to take delivery, as if something goes wrong, you will still be considered to have received the delivery. If, for instance, your parcel was left with a neighbour who denies having it, or has vanished from your doorstep or a safe place, your rights will depend on whether you gave permission for your order to be left there.
If your account specifies delivery instructions like a safe place or dedicated neighbour where your order can be left if you’re not in and you didn’t provide delivery instructions, the retailer has failed to fulfil its contract with you and is legally bound to refund or replace your order. But if you left specific delivery instructions for your parcel to be left with a nominated neighbour or a specified safe place and the parcel is delivered, the retailer is not responsible if something then goes wrong.
Even if you agree more generally that your parcel can be left with a neighbour or safe place without specifying in detail, then you’ve said you are happy for anyone or anywhere in close proximity to your home to accept delivery on your behalf. If the courier contacted you to ask if your parcel could be left in a safe place or with a neighbour and you gave them specific instructions, this would mean you are agreeing for your order to be delivered there.
If you paid extra for special delivery, you can claim back the extra delivery cost
If the shop didn’t specify an exact delivery date, as long as the parcel arrived within 30 days it's technically not late so you won't be able to get a refund on the delivery charge. .But if you paid for express delivery, or extra for a package to arrive on a specific day, then you should ask for a refund on the charge for the delivery. Be aware that you'll only get back the difference between the price of the lowest, or most common, delivery option, and the more expensive option you chose.
If your order arrives damaged or faulty or tampered with
You have a right to refuse it and get a refund, repair or replacement. If you find a tampered parcel in an unexpected place or it’s handed over to you in a tampered state, you can complain to the retailer and ask for a refund or replacement.
If you take delivery and the parcel is damaged, before opening it, take photos of the box at every angle, including close-up shots of the damage or where it looks like it’s been opened and resealed. When you open the parcel, check to see that your full order is there. Take pictures of the contents, especially if something is missing or has been replaced.
How long do you have to wait for a refund?
Shops can only process a refund once an item's back with them, so it depends how long it takes to reach them. Once they've received it, they have to process your refund within 14 days. If you've bought online, the refund should also include the cost of the delivery cost, as long as you chose the least expensive method. If you paid for a more expensive delivery option, you’ll only get a refund of the cost of the least expensive delivery charge. Most shops won't include the delivery charge this as standard, so you might have to chase it up.
Are you entitled to compensation if you want to keep your delayed item?
By law, an item only needs to be delivered within 30 days to be seen as delivered on time, but in rare circumstances, you may be able to claim compensation if you’ve lost out because of a delayed delivery within 30 days. This is under the rules of ‘consequential loss’ and is only if you have lost out financially because of the late delivery, such as having to take extra time off work to be home for the redelivery.
What happens if your parcel never arrives?
First of all complain to the retailer - it should be able to refund you the full amount. If that doesn't work, and you've paid for even a proportion of the cost by credit card, then you could try to claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act as long as the item is worth at least £100 and under £30,000.
Where Section 75 doesn't apply, there's another rule that you may be able to fall back on, if you've used a debit card or paid for an item worth less than £100 on a credit card. It's called chargeback, and it allows the card provider to reverse a payment you've made to a retailer if they agree you've a legitimate complaint.
Now read:
- DPD delivery delays - Full list of Newcastle and North East postcodes affected
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- Last dates for Christmas deliveries from Argos, Currys, Amazon and other stores
- Police tell drivers to be vigilant after car stolen in Gosforth as owner de-ices it
- Families ready to scale back Christmas celebrations by shopping at cheaper supermarkets
