A tracking status isn't a legal handoff — and the retailer knows that better than most customers do.
The seller, not the courier. Your contract is with the retailer you bought from — you never agreed to anything with the delivery company they chose to use. In the UK, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 makes this explicit: the retailer remains responsible for the goods until they're physically in your possession, or delivered to a safe place you specifically agreed to — a "delivered" tracking status alone doesn't end that responsibility. In the US, the FTC's Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule places a similar obligation on sellers to actually get the goods to you, with clear rules for what happens if they don't.
| United States | United Kingdom | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | FTC Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (16 CFR Part 435) | Consumer Rights Act 2015 |
| Who bears responsibility in transit | The seller — required to ship within the stated time, or 30 days if none is stated, and to resolve non-delivery | The seller — explicitly responsible for the goods until they're in the consumer's physical possession or an agreed safe place |
| Default delivery window | Within the time stated at purchase, or 30 days if no time was stated | Within 30 calendar days unless a different period was agreed |
| If delivery fails or is delayed | Seller must notify you and get consent to the delay, or issue a prompt refund if you don't consent | You can request redelivery, or a refund if it wasn't delivered by the agreed date or within a reasonable time |
| Do you deal with the courier directly? | No — the FTC framework places the obligation on the seller, not the delivery company | No — Citizens Advice and consumer bodies are explicit that you should never be told to contact the courier yourself |
One detail that catches people out: if a courier left the parcel in a "safe place" you specifically authorized at checkout, and it later goes missing from there, your position is weaker — you effectively agreed to that risk. But if it was left somewhere you never specified, responsibility stays squarely with the seller.
This is one of the most common ways sellers try to offload a problem that's legally theirs to fix. You have no contract with the courier — the seller chose them, and the seller is the one who has to chase them.
A tracking update isn't proof you received the item — it's proof the courier's system logged something. If you genuinely didn't receive it, that status alone doesn't override your right to a redelivery or refund.
If the courier decided on their own to leave it somewhere — behind a bin, with a neighbor you don't know — without your specific prior instruction, that's different from an authorized safe place, and the seller remains on the hook.
In the UK:
"Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, you're responsible for making sure my order is delivered to me at my address or to an agreed alternative safe place. I did not agree to my order being left in an alternative place, and I have not received it. I'd like a redelivery, or a full refund without undue delay."
In the US:
"My order was marked as delivered on [date], but I never received it. As the seller, I'd like you to investigate this with your carrier and arrange either a replacement or a full refund."
Use Kibbo's Parcel & Delivery tools to draft a formal request to the seller for a redelivery or refund, citing the exact right they're required to honor.
Explore Parcel & Delivery tools →