Black Friday deals are dropping thick and fast online with more on the way ahead of the annual global sales event this weekend with Cyber Monday discounts also expected to encourage bargain hunters to get a head start on their Christmas shopping.
For those browsing the sales online, waiting on a purchase being delivered is usually a smooth and simple process - you order and pay for an item, a delivery provider collects your product, you receive details of the expected delivery date and you wait for it to arrive.
But what happens if your parcel doesn’t arrive or doesn’t turn up on time? Especially at this time of year as demand for deliveries increases.
Budgeting experts at thinkmoney.co.uk have put together everything you need to know about your parcel rights, from not turning up to arriving late or damaged - you could be owed compensation.
Jonathon Sabinsky, Head of Communications, at thinkmoney.co.uk, said: “Waiting for a parcel can be frustrating, especially with the vague timelines given by the delivery company. We can end up waiting in the house all day for a parcel only for it not to turn up which can be annoying as well as disappointing."
He continued: “In the run-up to Christmas, it’s so important to know your rights when it comes to parcel deliveries. You should always contact the seller to see what reimbursement is available for you, after all, if you have paid for a service, whether it is standard or next day delivery, you expect to receive it."
Your rights if your parcel doesn’t turn up on time
You know how it is. A parcel is due to be delivered but you have no idea when it will turn up. You’ve just been told ‘between 9am and 5pm’. But that means you have to stay in the house all day, and then your parcel doesn’t even show up.
Even worse? When you’ve paid extra for one-day delivery because you need something urgently and it turns up two or three days later.
If this has happened to you, here are your consumer rights.
Contact the company
When you have a parcel delivered late or never turns up at all, your first port of call should be the company you ordered it from. Often, they will have a policy where you won’t have to pay delivery costs if your parcel was late. They might also be willing to offer you some other kind of compensation if you’ve incurred any extra costs because of the delay - for example, if you had to buy a replacement to cover the package that didn’t turn up in time.
However, this all depends on the individual company’s policies so you’re not guaranteed to get any money back.
The best way to go about it is to speak to the company and explain exactly how the delay has caused you problems.
Stayed home from work
If you have taken the day off work because you were expecting a delivery and it doesn’t turn up, you’ll be especially put out as you’ll have wasted a day’s holiday, with no parcel to show for it. If you have to arrange and wait for a redelivery booked for a specific day, meaning more time away from work, it’s possible that you could claim compensation.
Same day delivery
Paying extra for one-day or even same-day delivery is something that most of us would generally try to avoid. But, there can be times when it’s the only option. For instance, if your child only lets you know last-minute about something they need for school and you’ve paid £5 to make sure you get it delivered urgently, you probably won’t be pleased if it doesn’t turn up until days later.
In this situation, if you have paid extra for a special delivery to ensure the item arrives on time and it has arrived later than agreed, you can claim back the additional cost - this is because the service that you paid for wasn’t delivered.
It’s important to make sure you order in time to qualify for the one-day or same-day delivery - for example, if you have to order by 5pm to get your parcel the next day but you actually put the transaction through at 5.15pm. Not doing so could mean the company you ordered from hasn’t actually done anything wrong and they don’t have to refund you.
How to claim
To claim for any late parcels, it’s a good idea to get in touch with the company first as your contract is with the retailer, not the delivery firm.
Some companies have a standard policy for compensation for late deliveries and you should be able to find details of this on their website or by ringing the company in question.
Most companies will usually be fairly forthcoming and pay out compensation quite quickly. However, if you don’t hear back from them, you should write a formal letter to the company, detailing your case for compensation.
If you still don’t get a response, you can take the company to the small claims court. This can be difficult and take time, so make sure you’ve exhausted every other possibility before you resort to this.
Late or missing packages
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, any goods that you order should be delivered within 30 days unless you agreed otherwise on an earlier date.
To get a refund for these goods, you will need to get in touch with the retailer, however, if you are concerned about the whereabouts of the parcel, you can contact the courier.
You should be able to find a customer service helpline or even track the parcel online to see where the delivery’s got up to, but, you will only be able to do this if you know which courier is delivering your item.
If the parcel is going to arrive later than expected, you can ask for a refund if you ordered online or over the phone. This is assuming that it was due to be delivered on time when you originally ordered it.
You have the right to cancel an order within 14 calendar days in exchange for a full refund.
If you paid for a more expensive delivery option, then you will only get a refund for the least expensive delivery method, and you may have to pay return delivery costs to send the parcel back.
If your parcel doesn’t arrive after 30 days and the courier’s told you that it’s lost in transit, your next step should be to get in contact with the retailer.
This is because it’s the retailer that you have a contract with, not the courier. As the item not turning up breaches the retailer’s contract with you, your consumer rights then come into effect - you can ask to receive a full refund or for the item to be delivered again.
If you hear no response from the company, write a formal letter to them detailing your case for compensation. If they still don’t respond to this, you can take the company to the small claims court. This should only ever be considered as a last resort as it can be a lengthy process. You can read more about your rights if your parcel doesn’t arrive here.
Damaged item
If the item that you ordered arrives damaged, you should get in contact with the seller as soon as possible. They are responsible for the condition of items when you receive them.
If your item is damaged, put this in writing, ideally in an email.
Take photos of the damage so that you have a record of the issues and how you received the goods. You should also act quickly to prove that the item was not damaged after it was delivered. Doing so will protect your rights, particularly to highlight that you are within the 30-day timeframe.
The seller may ask you to return the item as part of a refund. If they do this, you should get the company to confirm that any further damage caused in transit won’t be held against you.
The cost of sending the goods back should be covered by the company as well. Under the Consumer Rights Act, the seller must pay for you to return goods that have been damaged or are faulty.
Alternatively, if the retailer has a store near you, you could suggest taking the goods back there as long as the staff members in the store know to expect you.
Section 75 protection
Unable to claim a refund through the retailer? Then you could be covered by your credit card provider under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
For this to apply, you would have had to pay for all or a portion of the goods on your credit card. The order purchased would also need to be worth at least £100. However, if you paid £60 on your credit card, and a further £150 another way, you would still be covered. You cannot use Section 75 if you didn’t buy directly from the trader, for instance, using eBay.
Section 75 means that your credit card provider is jointly responsible for anything that goes wrong with a purchase that you make. This covers goods that didn’t arrive or were faulty when they did. This is particularly useful for retailers or traders that have gone bust. You can make a claim by contacting your credit card provider, and it’s best to ask in writing.
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