How to Get a Refund for Late Packages

Requesting a Refund from a Retail Company

Contact the company that you placed the order with. Even if a shipping company—for example, the USPS—is responsible for the delayed arrival, you'll need to contact the retail company first. The retail company will be able to tell you which company the order was shipped with, and will be responsible for issuing you a refund as well. If your package has not yet been delivered, even though the guaranteed delivery date has passed, you may need to contact the delivery company to find out the location of your package. While the delivery company is not responsible for issuing your refund, their Customer Service representatives can at least inform you where your package is and when it should be delivered.

Request a refund from the company. While different retail companies may have different specific refund policies, all companies should be willing to refund your shipping fees in the case of a late delivery. You'll likely need to request the refund through the company's Customer Service web page, or call the listed Customer Service phone number. In this interaction, be ready to provide all relevant information regarding the order: Your order number, A shipping number (if provided), The date on which you placed the order, and An emailed receipt.

Know your rights as a consumer. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, you're entitled to a full refund for any products that have been ordered online or over the phone and arrived later than promised. If you prefer not to receive the late package at all and would rather cancel your order altogether, you can receive a full refund for the cost of the item and its shipping, as long as you cancel the order within 14 days. If the package did not have a guaranteed date of delivery, you're still entitled to a refund if it arrived more than 30 days after the date when you placed your order.

Asking for a Refund from the USPS

Take action within 30 days. It's important to request the refund within a timely manner. For packages that have been shipped by Priority Mail (or Priority Mail International), Global Express, or Click-N-Ship labels, the USPS will offer a full refund if the package is delivered late. However, you must make the request within 30 days from the date of purchase for a domestic purchase (or domestically shipped package) or 90 days from the date of purchase for an international purchase (or internationally shipped item). If you procrastinate your request and 30 (or 90) days pass, the postal service will no longer honor your request for a refund.

Gather relevant materials. Before you make your case for a refund to the Post Office, you need to have material (typically emails) indicating when you placed your order, when the retail company (or individual) shipped the package, and when the package was supposed to have arrived by. Without these materials, the USPS will be unwilling to provide a refund. You'll need: The package tracking number. A “proof of purchase,” such as your receipt from an online retailer.

Request the refund at your local post office. USPS refund requests cannot be made online or over the phone; you must request a refund in person at a USPS office. Bring the previously mentioned materials, and ask to speak to the Post-Office supervisor to help you file your claim. At the Post Office, you'll be asked to fill out and turn in a PS Form 3533, to process the refund request. Do not use any versions of the PS Form 3533 that are available online (as a PDF, for example). Each copy of the form has a unique barcode, so you must obtain a new paper-copy form from the USPS office.

Wait for your refund. It may take some time for the USPS to look into the delay on your package and issue a refund. When the refund does come, it will be as a cash payment or via money order. If the amount refunded is different than what you expected (or what you paid for shipping initially), contact the USPS office and ask for the oversight to be fixed.

Getting a Refund from an Online Retailer

Find out which shipping company has your package. If you've ordered a package through an online retailer and the package hasn't arrived (or arrived late), you should contact the company and ask them for a status update on the package. It's possible that the responsibility for your package's late arrival does not lie with the retail company itself, but with the shipping company. For example, if you ordered a package through Amazon, this shipping information will likely be available on your “My Orders” page. If not, send an email to Amazon (or the retail company you ordered from) through their Customer Service portal. Specify your order number, and ask which carrier has the package. If you placed your order using an Amazon Prime account, or specified 2-day or overnight shipping, Amazon holds themselves responsible for making sure your package arrives within the 2-day deadline. Most other online retailers hold themselves to a similar standard when you order 2-day (or overnight) shipping.

Contact the shipping company. Online retail companies often ship through USPS, but will sometimes use a private shipping organization. Get in touch with the shipping company directly; there should be a Customer Service phone number or email address on the company's website. Explain the situation and provide your order number and tracking number, if both have been provided by the retailer. If your package has already arrived, explain that it arrived a certain number of days late past the point of guaranteed delivery. If the package is still missing, inquire as to the package's location and estimated delivery date.

Contact the retail company directly about a refund. Reach out in an email or over the phone, and be polite but clear with a Customer Service representative. Explain that you would like a refund for the late (or missing) package. Even if the shipping company is at fault, your order was with the retailer, and the company should be responsible for the shipment arriving on time. If your late order was with Amazon through Amazon prime, in many cases, Amazon will extend your membership by one month for free. If your order is exceptionally late, Amazon may refund the full price of the item as well. If your order was not through Amazon Prime but you still requested 2-day shipping, Amazon should still be willing to refund the cost of your shipping.