A missing parcel is stressful for everyone. But if you sell to customers in the European Union (EU), the rules about who’s responsible—and what happens next—may be stricter than you realise.
Selling into or across the EU is a significant opportunity. The bloc is home to roughly 450 million consumers, with strong purchasing power and a growing appetite for cross-border ecommerce. Whether you’re a merchant based in France shipping to Germany, a UK seller reaching Italy, or an online store shipping across the EU, the addressable audience is enormous. But getting a parcel from your warehouse to a buyer’s door can be complicated.
Here’s what catches many sellers off guard: when you arrange delivery to an EU consumer, you generally remain responsible for the goods until the customer—or a third party they’ve designated—physically receives them. Under the EU Consumer Rights Directive, simply handing a parcel to a carrier generally doesn’t transfer the risk to the customer.
That means handling a lost or stolen parcel in the EU isn’t just a customer service decision. It can also be a legal obligation.
The problem is also bigger than many sellers assume. In the UK alone, parcel theft cost consumers an estimated £666.5 million in the 12 months to June 2025, according to Quadient’s 2025 Parcel Theft Report, with 4.83 million households experiencing at least one stolen parcel.
Here’s what the rules say, what to do when something goes wrong, and how to protect yourself before it does.
The law is clear: you generally own the risk until delivery
The EU Consumer Rights Directive generally puts the risk of loss or damage on the seller when the seller arranges delivery. That risk transfers to the consumer only when they—or a third party they’ve designated, other than the carrier—physically take possession of the goods.
In practice, that means if a parcel is lost or damaged while in transit, or never reaches the customer, you generally can’t simply direct the customer to resolve the issue with the carrier. Your responsibility to the customer is separate from your ability to recover the shipment’s value from the carrier.
There is an important exception: if the customer independently chooses and commissions a carrier that you didn’t offer, the risk can pass to the customer when the goods are handed to that carrier.
For merchants selling to EU consumers, the practical takeaway is simple: if you arranged the delivery, plan on owning the customer-facing problem when something goes wrong.
Lost versus stolen: does the distinction matter?
To the customer, it doesn’t really matter whether a parcel was lost somewhere in the carrier’s network or stolen after delivery. Either way, they don’t have the goods.
For you, however, the distinction matters because it affects how you’ll investigate the shipment and whether you can recover the cost from the carrier or shipping protection provider.
A lost parcel is one that disappears somewhere in the carrier’s network and doesn’t reach the customer. Depending on the carrier and service, you may need to wait until the shipment is considered officially lost before filing a claim.
A potentially stolen parcel is different. If tracking shows “delivered” but the customer says they never received it, don’t automatically assume the carrier’s delivery scan settles the matter. The parcel could have been delivered to the wrong address, left somewhere it wasn’t authorised to be left, handed to an unauthorised recipient, or genuinely stolen after an appropriate delivery.
Customer-authorised delivery arrangements can also change the analysis. EU law recognises circumstances in which a consumer designates a third party to receive goods, for example. But don’t assume that a carrier’s “safe place” delivery automatically transfers responsibility to the customer. The specific delivery instructions and circumstances matter.
When you’re not sure which situation you’re dealing with, document everything and investigate the shipment before deciding where responsibility lies.
Know your carrier’s claim deadlines
If you need to recover the value of a missing or damaged shipment, don’t wait until the customer complaint becomes urgent to find out how your carrier handles claims.
Claim deadlines vary significantly by carrier, country, service, and type of claim. For example:
- DHL Express: Its terms generally require claims for loss or damage to be submitted within 30 days of DHL accepting the shipment.
- Royal Mail: Many domestic loss claims can be submitted within 80 days of posting, while certain international claims have a six-month window. Specific services and types of claims can have different deadlines.
- FedEx: Deadlines vary depending on what happened. For example, FedEx distinguishes between claims involving damaged or missing contents and claims for shipments that were not delivered.
- UPS: Claim timeframes vary by service and market, so check the terms that apply to the shipment rather than relying on a generic deadline.
- DPD: Claim procedures and deadlines can differ between DPD operations and services, so check the terms for the specific country and service you used.
Missing a carrier’s claim window can limit or eliminate your ability to recover the shipment’s value, even though your obligations to the customer may still apply.
What to do when a package goes missing
If a parcel goes missing, follow these steps:
Act fast. Start investigating as soon as a parcel is flagged as missing, whether that’s because a customer contacts you, or tracking indicates that a shipment has stalled. Carrier claim deadlines can be strict, and early action gives you more time to gather documentation and resolve the issue.
Pull the tracking data. Find the last scan location, current status, delivery confirmation, and any exception codes or attempted delivery notes. This gives you a starting point for your carrier investigation. Centralised tracking across carriers also makes it easier to identify stalled shipments before customers have to contact you.
Check the delivery details. If tracking says the parcel was delivered, look at the delivery date, location, recipient information, photo or signature where available, and any delivery instructions. A “delivered” status doesn’t necessarily tell you the whole story.
File the claim. If the shipment is eligible for a carrier claim, submit it as soon as the carrier’s rules allow. You’ll typically need information such as the tracking number, shipment date, shipment value, proof of shipment, and supporting documentation. Requirements vary, so check the carrier’s specific process.
Talk to your customer before the investigation wraps. Don’t wait for the carrier to resolve the claim before communicating with the buyer. Let them know you’re aware of the problem and actively working to resolve it. A quick, honest update can help preserve trust while you investigate.
Refund or reship when appropriate. Once it’s clear that the customer isn’t going to receive the goods, resolve the order according to your legal obligations and your customer-service policy. Depending on the circumstances, that may mean arranging a replacement or providing a refund.
Pursue carrier reimbursement separately. Resolving the customer’s issue and recovering your costs from the carrier are two different processes. Keep your proof of shipment, shipment value, packing documentation, tracking history, and customer correspondence together so you have what you need if the carrier asks for evidence.
How to protect yourself before it happens
Handling one lost parcel is manageable. Handling them repeatedly without a consistent process gets expensive quickly.
A few things can make a meaningful difference:
Consider shipping protection or additional coverage. Most carrier defaults cover only a fraction of what a shipment is actually worth. For higher-value goods moving into the EU, closing that gap matters. It adds a small cost per shipment. It’s not optional if losing one of those shipments would actually hurt. ShipStation’s ParcelGuard insurance is built around this exact gap, covering a shipment’s declared retail value rather than the label price, and claims get filed digitally from inside the shipment record instead of through a notarised affidavit.
Use tracked services with meaningful delivery confirmation. Not every shipping service provides the same level of visibility. Economy services may have fewer scans or limited delivery information, making it harder to identify where a shipment went missing. For higher-value or time-sensitive orders, stronger tracking and delivery confirmation can give you better visibility and documentation.
Document every shipment consistently. Keep the information you’ll need to investigate a loss or file a claim in one place. For shipments that require customs clearance, make sure declared values, HS codes, commercial invoices, and other required customs documentation are accurate and consistent.
Set realistic delivery expectations up front. Cross-border delivery can take longer than domestic shipping, and delays can increase during peak periods. Giving customers a realistic delivery window and proactive tracking updates can reduce “where is my order?” messages and give you an opportunity to identify problems earlier.
Build your returns process around EU rules. For most online purchases, EU consumers have a statutory 14-day right of withdrawal after receiving their goods, subject to specific exemptions. Sellers also have obligations around refunds and return costs. Make sure your returns policy and operational process reflect the requirements that apply to the markets you serve.
Where ShipStation fits in
Shipping within the EU—or into it from outside—adds real complexity: customs documentation on applicable cross-border shipments, multiple carriers with different claim processes, tracking across borders, and returns that need to be handled efficiently.
ShipStation centralises these workflows in one place.
Real-time tracking across 200-plus global carriers helps you spot shipment issues before the customer has to flag them. International shipping tools can generate customs forms and commercial invoices for applicable shipments, helping keep required documentation organised and consistent. And returns management, including prepaid labels and self-service options, gives you a more structured way to manage returns at scale.
When a parcel goes missing, having tracking, shipment information, documentation, and customer-order details in one system makes it easier to investigate the problem, communicate with the customer, and pursue a carrier claim when appropriate.
The bottom line
EU consumer law places significant delivery obligations on sellers. When you arrange delivery, you generally can’t hand a parcel to a carrier and consider your responsibility finished. If the customer doesn’t receive the goods, it’s your job to resolve the issue with them—even if you ultimately recover the cost from the carrier.
Know your carriers’ claim processes before you need them. Move quickly when something goes missing. Build in appropriate shipping protection and keep your documentation organised.
The sooner your fulfilment stack—tracking, documentation, customer communication, and returns—is built to handle delivery problems, the sooner a missing parcel becomes a manageable exception instead of a five-day fire drill.
Ready to simplify your international shipping? ShipStation gives you the tools to manage cross-border fulfilment from a single platform, from tracking and customs documentation to returns and customer notifications. Start your free trial today.
