When a customer complains that their parcel has not been delivered and you have paid a carrier (delivery company) to deliver it, the onus is on you to check on its whereabouts with the carrier. As soon as you paid the carrier, you entered a contract with them to deliver your parcel and it is up to them to fulfil that contract.
However there are some things you can do first to make sure the customer has done everything their end to check the parcel really has gone missing. And whilst no one wants to say it, lots of unscrupulous customers will insist they haven’t received goods when in actual fact they have, so using a carrier that uses electronic tracking and photos on delivery are invaluable to a seller as proof of delivery.
Of course sometimes genuine mistakes and accidents happen and you want to do all you can to locate a missing parcel. Here are two letters you can use initially to answer a customer’s complaint about non-delivery.
You might like the sample letter of complaint to carrier for non-delivery of goods
Letter replying to a customer’s complaint of non delivery of a parcel – sample 1
Dear [name of customer]
I am sorry to hear you have not received your parcel and if we cannot locate it, we will of course refund your money for this order. Please could you check some things on your end first:
Please verify this is your current mailing address as this is the address on the order.
[insert their address as supplied to you]
Please check with other members of your household to see if anyone may have put your parcel to one side and simply forgotten about it. This happens frequently!
You could also check with your neighbours as they are often asked to take in parcels, particularly if there is no safe place to leave it or if it is raining.
If you live in an apartment complex, please contact your rental office to see if they are holding your package there. Some packages won’t fit in your mailbox so carriers will often leave packages at a manager’s office for safekeeping.
[The following pragraph should only be used if you used the Postal service or Royal Mail).
Consider calling your local post office with the tracking number (XXXXXXX) and ask them if they can assist you further. Sometimes they have more information than what we can see online. They may even have your package on hold for you. If they have a postmaster at your local post office, ask to speak with him/her first.
In the meantime, I will file a loss report with the [name of carrier /delivery company]. If they are unable to help, I will refund your money.
Thank you for your patience!
[Your name]
The last paragraph mentioning reporting the loss should not be omitted. If they still insist no package is to be found, they are probably being truthful, so you can
File a LOSS/THEFT REPORT with the US POSTAL INSPECTOR here
Or the carrier you used will always have a non-delivered/lost parcel notification address on their website.
Letter replying to a customer’s complaint of non delivery of a parcel – sample 2
Dear [Customer’s name]
I am very sorry to hear that you did not receive your package. If we are unable to find it I will, of course, issue a refund. I would like to try a few things that have successfully located packages in the past. I will call your [post office/courier/delivery company] and initiate a trace on the package. Sometimes the package is simply there, awaiting pickup.
Please, do, ask your family and neighbors. Many lost packages were simply laid aside by a family member and then forgotten. And sometimes your delivery driver leaves it with a neighbour because s/he doesn’t want to leave it out in the weather.
If these measures don’t work I will file a case with [the carrier]. Many carriers now have scanners that are equipped with GPS tracking and the inspectors can find out exactly where the package was delivered. If your package was delivered to the wrong address they may be able to retrieve it and get it to you.
I will let you know what I find out and, please, let me know if you are able to find it yourself. If we can’t find it within a few days, I will refund and let you know what the inspectors find out.
Best Wishes,
[Your name]
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