DHL Item Missing From Parcel: How to Get a Refund (UK)
If the parcel arrived but an item you ordered was not inside it with a DHL delivery, you have rights as a UK consumer. Section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 keeps the goods at the retailer's risk until they are in your physical possession. Items that never arrived were never delivered, whatever the parcel scan says. DHL only pays the sender, so a UK online order is the retailer's claim to make. DHL eCommerce handles most UK home deliveries; DHL Express handles international. Use this page to check what to do next, the DHL claim window, and when to escalate if the retailer refuses. Compensation figures vary by service, so always verify the current numbers on DHL's website before relying on them.
How to claim a refund
- 1
Photograph the parcel, the packaging and the shipping label before you unpack anything else. If the outer packaging is torn, opened or resealed, capture that from several angles.
- 2
Check the label for a despatch weight. A weight that matches an empty or part-filled box is the strongest single piece of evidence you can hand the retailer.
- 3
Keep the packaging until the claim is closed. The retailer or DHL may ask to inspect it, and discarding it is a common reason claims get rejected.
- 4
Contact the retailer in writing, not DHL. Quote Section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015: the missing items never came into your possession, so they were never delivered to you.
- 5
Ask the retailer for two specific records: what their warehouse logged as packed, and the despatch weight recorded when DHL collected the parcel. Ask them to send the missing items or refund them in full.
- 6
If they refuse, escalate via Section 75 (credit card, orders over £100) or chargeback (debit card, usually within 120 days). DHL's own claim window is 14 days from despatch for damage and 28 days for a missing parcel (verify on the DHL website), and the retailer is the one who files it.
DHL compensation and escalation
- Claim window
- 14 days from despatch for damage and 28 days for a missing parcel (verify on the DHL website)
- How to claim
- DHL customer service, which opens the investigation before the claims team decides
- Escalation
- the retailer first; then Section 75 or chargeback
Frequently asked questions
Should I claim from DHL or the retailer?
Claim from the retailer. DHL only pays the sender, so a UK online order is the retailer's claim to make. DHL eCommerce handles most UK home deliveries; DHL Express handles international. Asking DHL directly will usually fail because your contract is with the retailer.
What is DHL's claim window for this issue?
14 days from despatch for damage and 28 days for a missing parcel (verify on the DHL website). Always check the current terms on DHL's own website before relying on a deadline.
What if the retailer refuses to refund?
If your order was over £100 and paid by credit card, file a Section 75 claim with your card issuer. For debit card or smaller amounts, request a chargeback within 120 days. You can also escalate via the retailer first; then Section 75 or chargeback.
DHL marked the parcel delivered — does that settle it?
No. A delivery scan records that a parcel arrived, not that the goods inside it did. Under Section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the retailer is responsible until the items themselves are in your possession.
Is a short-delivered parcel treated as a damaged item?
No, and the difference matters. Damaged goods are argued under satisfactory quality; missing items are argued under delivery, because they never reached you. Ask for the items or a refund rather than a repair or inspection.
What if the packaging was sealed and undamaged?
Then the likely cause is a picking or packing error rather than DHL. Ask the retailer for their packing record and the despatch weight — both sit with them, not the courier.