"Contact the courier" is the most repeated deflection in UK online retail, and it's wrong every time. If something you bought online hasn't arrived, your legal relationship is with the seller, full stop — they chose the courier, and UK law makes that their problem to sort out, not yours.
The legal basis: Section 28 and Section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015
Two provisions do the actual work here, and neither can be overridden by a retailer's own terms and conditions, no matter what their website says:
- Section 29: goods remain at the retailer's risk until they're in your physical possession, or in the possession of someone you specifically nominated to receive them (like a neighbour you agreed to). If the courier left it somewhere you didn't authorise and it went missing, that's still the retailer's responsibility — not yours, and not the courier's, as far as your legal claim goes.
- Section 28: unless you and the seller agreed a specific delivery date, they must deliver within a default period of 30 days. Miss that window and you can treat the contract as ended and demand a full refund.
A retailer's terms stating "we're not responsible once the parcel leaves our warehouse" or similar is simply unenforceable — these two sections cannot be contracted out of.
Essential vs. non-essential delivery dates — this changes how fast you can cancel
If you told the seller a delivery date was essential (and they agreed) and they missed it, you can treat the contract as breached immediately and demand a refund. If no specific date was essential — most everyday online orders — you generally need to give the retailer one further chance: set a new, reasonable deadline for redelivery in writing, and only cancel for a full refund if that second deadline is also missed. Either way, once you've reached that point, or once the default 30-day window has passed with no delivery at all, you're entitled to a full refund, not store credit or a partial offer.
What to actually say to a retailer that deflects to the courier
Put it in writing (email is fine) rather than relying on a phone call, and be specific:
"Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, you're responsible for making sure my order is delivered to me at my address or an agreed alternative location. I did not agree to it being left elsewhere, and I have not received it. I am asking for a full refund within a reasonable time."
If the retailer claims it was delivered and asks you to "contact the courier," ask them directly for proof of delivery to you personally — a signature or photo that doesn't match your address or isn't recognisable as your delivery point isn't valid proof, and the burden is on the retailer to show otherwise, not on you to disprove it.
If the retailer still won't budge
- Chargeback or Section 75: for card payments, most card scheme rules allow a chargeback to be raised within around 120 days of the transaction for non-receipt of goods — cite "breach of contract under the Consumer Rights Act 2015" when you raise it, since retailers sometimes reject a first chargeback attempt and pushing back with the specific legal basis helps
- Trading Standards: report persistent or deliberate non-delivery practices via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, which forwards reports to Trading Standards
- Small claims court: for amounts the retailer still won't refund, Money Claims Online handles claims up to £10,000, with court fees starting from around £35 — most retailers settle before a hearing is ever needed
See also: Claiming compensation from Royal Mail, who's responsible when Evri says "delivered", and why you contact the retailer, not DPD.