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How to get money back and claim compensation if a parcel you sent is late, lost or damaged.

Delivery companies are renowned for poor service. The latest parcel firm survey from Citizens Advice found for the third year running that all major parcel firms are providing substandard performance. 

Our guide helps you claim compensation or complain if a parcel you sent has been lost or arrived late or damaged. We explain what to do if you have experienced a problem when sending a parcel using Royal Mail, DHL, DPD, Evri, Parcelforce or Yodel. 

See our shopping guide for information about claiming refunds if something you ordered online hasn’t arrived or was delivered late.

Your rights to compensation if a parcel is lost, damaged or delayed 

If a parcel you sent is lost, damaged or late then you could be entitled to claim compensation – alongside a refund for the cost of sending your parcel.  

You are protected by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which requires postal delivery companies to provide its service with ‘reasonable care and skill’. It’s a breach of contract if they fail to do this.

The amount you are entitled to claim will depend on the length of the delay, the type of delivery you paid for and the delivery company you used. You will need to check the Terms and Conditions of the delivery service you used to know what compensation is on offer. 

Claiming compensation from Royal Mail

You will be entitled to claim for compensation if your post has not arrived 10 days after the due date for 1st and 2nd class deliveries or 5 days after the due date for Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm.

You will be entitled to a refund for the cost of postage for any late, lost or damaged parcels. You may also be entitled to compensation for items of value – though you will be expected to have proof of posting. 

The point at which you can make your claim will depend on the delivery method you used: 

• Delayed deliveries: 10 working days after the due date for 1st or 2nd class parcels and 5 working days after the due date for Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed
• Lost deliveries: 3 working days after the due date for 1st or 2nd class parcels and one working days after the due date for Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed

Fee refunds for Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed must be claimed within 14 days.

Try to claim at the earliest point you can because you have a limited amount of time to make your claim for compensation:

• Delayed deliveries: up to one month from the date of receiving
• Lost and damaged deliveries: up to 80 days from the date of posting to make a claim

You can make a claim either as the sender or the recipient of the parcel but only one payout will be made. The level of compensation will vary for delayed, lost or damaged parcels – see our table for an indication of how much compensation you can expect.

Method of sending	Late	Lost	Damaged
1st or 2nd class	A book of first class stamps	The value of the item up to a maximum of £20	The value of the item/repair up to a maximum of £20
Royal Mail Signed For	A book of first class stamps	The value of the item up to a maximum of £50	The value of the item/repair up to a maximum of £50
Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm.	£5 (or up to £10 if the delay is substantial)	The value of the item up to the level of compensation purchased	The value of the item/repair up to the level of compensation purchased

What you’ll need to do to claim compensation from Royal Mail

Use Royal Mail’s claims centre to claim for a lost, damaged or late delivery. You’ll need to be prepared to supply some basic information and evidence, including:

• Name and address of the sender, addressee and claimant
• The cost and method of sending your parcel (e.g. stamps, special delivery etc)
• The place and date of postage
• Evidence of postage (e.g. a certificate of postage)
• A description of your contents and evidence of loss (e.g. purchase receipts, bank statements, repair quotes)

Claiming compensation from DHL

Compensation claims can be made for lost or damaged parcels but they must be made within 14 days of the delivery date for damaged parcels or within 28 days of posting for lost parcels.

DHL provides £25 compensation cover on all parcels sent within the UK and £50 compensation cover on all international parcels. You can buy extended contents cover up to the value of £1,000.

Check your terms and conditions for the delivery service you paid for to understand what you can and can’t claim for. Contact DHL customer services to make a claim. You must be the sender of the parcel to make a claim.

Claiming compensation from DPD

Compensation claims can be made for lost or damaged parcels but they must be made within 14 days of the delivery date for damaged parcels or within 28 days of posting for lost parcels. 

Check your terms and conditions for the delivery service you paid for to understand what you can and can’t claim for. Contact DPD customer services to make a claim. You must be the sender of the parcel to make a claim.

Claiming compensation from Evri

Compensation claims up to the value of cover paid for can be made for lost or damaged parcels.

Check your terms and conditions for the delivery service you paid for to understand what you can and can’t claim for. Contact Evri customer services to make a claim. You must be the sender of the parcel to make a claim.

Claiming compensation from Parcelforce

Compensation claims can be made for lost or damaged parcels but they must be made within 30 days of the despatch for all UK parcels. 

Parcelforce provides compensation cover ranging from £100 to £200 on all parcels sent within the UK and internationally. You can buy extended contents cover up to the value of £2,500.

Check your terms and conditions for the delivery service you paid for to understand what you can and can’t claim for. Information on claiming compensation or refunds is available on Parcelforce’s website. You must be the sender of the parcel to make a claim.

Claiming compensation from Yodel

Compensation claims can be made for lost or damaged parcels. You can do this for lost items after 3 days from the estimated delivery date. It’s worth acting quickly because it’s not clear in Yodel’s Terms and Conditions how long you have to make this claim. 

Yodel provides compensation cover up to £50 on all parcels sent within the UK. You can buy extended contents cover up to the value of £1,000.

Check your terms and conditions for the delivery service you paid for to understand what you can and can’t claim for. To make a claim you must log into your Yodel account and select ‘Create claim’ in the ‘Submit a claim’ section. You must be the sender of the parcel to make a claim.

Complaining about delivery services

Make complaints directly to the company in the first instance:

• Royal Mail customer services
• DHL customer services
• DPD customer services
• Evri customer services
• Parcelforce customer service
• Yodel Help Centre

If you’re not happy with the response you get you can escalate it. Royal Mail has its own Postal Review panel. You can also ask POSTRS – the independent postal redress service – to investigate your complaint.