Half of British consumers have faced issues with parcel deliveries ahead of the Black Friday and Christmas period as more turn people to online shopping.
Research from Citizens Advice found 47% of adults have had problems with parcel delivery since the country first went into lockdown in March, with 51% saying they feel more reliant on having goods delivered.
It also emerged more than 300 online domains have been suspended this year for issues related to the non-delivery of goods, counterfeit products and fake clone websites.
The Citizens Advice consumer service has received three times as many calls about delivery issues since March compared to the same period last year.
The charity's online advice on parcel issues was viewed almost 208,000 times between March and October, compared to 94,000 in the same period in 2019.
Three in 10 people also said they have had a parcel arrive late, while 24% said their experience of a delivery issue has affected their confidence when ordering goods.
A total of 2,026 UK adults were surveyed online between October 23 and 25.
Citizens Advice chief executive Alistair Cromwell said: "It's not right that the number of people having issues with parcels is so high. And it's especially worrying that so many people don't know what their rights are if something goes wrong.
"With Christmas and Black Friday on the horizon, it's important to remember that it's the seller's responsibility - not yours or the courier's - to make sure the item gets to you.
"As online shopping becomes an essential, we want people to feel confident that they can shop safely and securely from home."
If you have problems with deliveries, the good news is you have a series of rights in place thanks to the Consumer Contracts Regulations Act 2013.
The first thing to note if there are problems is that you need to contact the seller - not the delivery firm.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't contact the delivery company, but your options are usually limited to finding out where the item is and registering a complaint.
Your goods should be delivered on the agreed date that you were given when your order was placed.
If no date was given or agreed, the shop must get your purchases to you within 30 days of the order being placed.
If this doesn't happen, you’re entitled to a full refund if they don’t turn up or you've given up waiting.
If the seller won't redeliver the item or give you your money back, you can then take your complaint further.
Citizen's Advice has a full guide to your option here.
