What to Do If Your Parcel Is Stolen

You’ve tracked your parcel from dispatch all the way through to delivery. But when you’ve gone to collect your parcel, it’s not there! You check your doorbell footage, and some unwelcome individual has come onto your property and whisked your precious parcel away. What do you do next? And how can you avoid it happening again in the future? Despite the huge increase in video doorbells, parcel theft remains a growing problem.

Once you’ve confirmed that the parcel was ‘delivered’, and is not with a neighbour or in an unexpected place, here are some steps you can take:

1. Report it to the sender. Notify the retailer or sender. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the seller is responsible for the delivery and quality of items purchased online. Provide as much information as you can to help support your case.
2. Update your delivery preferences. You may have previously selected that it was ok for your courier to leave a parcel in a “safe” place if you are not at home. Doing this can mean they are not liable if your parcel is taken from this place. Let the courier know that your parcel was stolen, and notify them that you wish to update your delivery preferences so that in the future, delivery drivers will not leave parcels on your doorstep. Instead, you can choose to get the parcel delivered to a trusted neighbour or to a secure location such as a delivery hub.
3. File a police report. It is estimated that only 1 in 333 parcel thefts are reported to the police, which makes it easy to underestimate the real scale of this problem. Parcels taken from your doorstep or lobby area are still theft, and understanding the full scale of the problem will allow the right organisations and local authorities to put in measures to reduce parcel theft in the future. The most efficient way is to file a non-emergency report online. Alternatively, you can report it in person at your local police station or by calling the non-emergency number (111).
4. Check any CCTV or doorbell footage (and check with your neighbours). This could give you more information to help your claim e.g. time of day, proof of crime and any potentially identifiable characteristics of the thief. Porch pirates might have targeted more than just your home, so check in with neighbours to see if they experienced the same or if they have any additional footage that can help you.
5. Check out alternatives to home delivery. Despite the convenience of having a parcel delivered to your home, home delivery is fraught with issues. There are plenty of out-of-home delivery options to consider. (We suggest a secure parcel locker!) This way, you can decide to have future parcels delivered there instead.

Download The 2024 Parcel Theft Report here: