The sheet to print
Parcel never delivered: the sheet to keep
Six reflexes, in the order they serve, from the frozen tracking page to the full refund. Each one carries the text that founds it.
File EU 2011/83
This page is made to be printed: when printing, the whole screen around it disappears.
Law as verified onJuly 29, 2026
- 01
Address the seller, never the courier
Your contract is with the trader who sold you the goods, and the risk of loss only passes to you on physical handover. “Take it up with the courier” gets answered in writing, with the Article. One written exception: a carrier you commissioned yourself, when the trader did not offer that choice.
Article 20 · Directive 2011/83/EU (consumer rights), Article 20 (Passing of risk) · eur-lex.europa.eu - 02
Know the ceiling: 30 days, unless a date was agreed
Absent another agreement on the time of delivery, it is without undue delay and not later than 30 days from the conclusion of the contract. An agreed date wins, and a “delivery times are indicative” line replaces neither.
Article 18(1) · Directive 2011/83/EU (consumer rights), Article 18 (Delivery), paragraph 1 · eur-lex.europa.eu - 03
Set an additional period in writing, dated
Report the missed delivery and call upon the trader to deliver within an additional period appropriate to the circumstances. Announce in the same message that, failing delivery, you will terminate the contract.
Article 18(2), first subparagraph · Directive 2011/83/EU (consumer rights), Article 18 (Delivery), paragraph 2, first subparagraph · eur-lex.europa.eu - 04
Know when termination is immediate
A refusal to deliver, or an essential delivery date announced before the order: in those written cases, no additional period to grant, the termination is immediate.
Article 18(2), second subparagraph · Directive 2011/83/EU (consumer rights), Article 18 (Delivery), paragraph 2, second subparagraph · eur-lex.europa.eu - 05
Claim all sums paid, delivery included
The reimbursement covers all sums paid under the contract, without undue delay. A credit note is never mandatory, and an “internal procedure” cannot slow a right down.
Article 18(3) · Directive 2011/83/EU (consumer rights), Article 18 (Delivery), paragraph 3 · eur-lex.europa.eu - 06
Untick, and claim back what a box ticked for you
Any additional cost requires your explicit consent. A pre-ticked box is not consent, and any payment collected that way must be reimbursed.
Section “Delivery costs” · Shipping and delivery: additional costs and pre-ticked boxes · europa.eu
General information on the European baseline, not legal advice on your case. Independent educational site, unconnected to the institutions of the European Union. The redress links in this file point only to official bodies.
Sources checked on July 29, 2026. · https://depleindroit.odersa.org/en/fiches/le-colis-jamais-livre · Content licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What the law owes you
Every right with its amount or its deadline, the extract of the official text it rests on, and its address.
The risk travels on the seller's back
The risk of loss of or damage to the goods only passes to you when you, or a third party you indicated and other than the carrier, acquire physical possession of the goods. A parcel lost on the way therefore remains the seller's problem. One exception, written in the same sentence: the risk passes on delivery to the carrier if you were the one who commissioned that carrier and the trader did not offer that choice.
The official text · Article 20
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02011L0083-20220528“In contracts where the trader dispatches the goods to the consumer, the risk of loss of or damage to the goods shall pass to the consumer when he or a third party indicated by the consumer and other than the carrier has acquired the physical possession of the goods. However, the risk shall pass to the consumer upon delivery to the carrier if the carrier was commissioned by the consumer to carry the goods and that choice was not offered by the trader, without prejudice to the rights of the consumer against the carrier.”
Delivery not later than 30 days, unless a date was agreed
30 days
Absent an agreement on another time of delivery, the trader delivers without undue delay and not later than 30 days from the conclusion of the contract. If a date was agreed, that date governs.
The official text · Article 18(1)
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02011L0083-20220528“1. Unless the parties have agreed otherwise on the time of delivery, the trader shall deliver the goods by transferring the physical possession or control of the goods to the consumer without undue delay, but not later than 30 days from the conclusion of the contract.”
The additional period you set, which arms termination
On failure to deliver, you call upon the trader to deliver within an additional period of time appropriate to the circumstances. If it is not kept, you are entitled to terminate the contract. It is a mandatory step, and it is what makes the case solid.
The official text · Article 18(2), first subparagraph
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02011L0083-20220528“2. Where the trader has failed to fulfil his obligation to deliver the goods at the time agreed upon with the consumer or within the time limit set out in paragraph 1, the consumer shall call upon him to make the delivery within an additional period of time appropriate to the circumstances. If the trader fails to deliver the goods within that additional period of time, the consumer shall be entitled to terminate the contract.”
Immediate termination, reserved for the written cases
No additional period to grant when the trader has refused to deliver, or when delivery by a specific date was essential and announced before the conclusion of the contract. In those cases, termination is immediate.
The official text · Article 18(2), second subparagraph
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02011L0083-20220528“The first subparagraph shall not be applicable to sales contracts where the trader has refused to deliver the goods or where delivery within the agreed delivery period is essential taking into account all the circumstances attending the conclusion of the contract or where the consumer informs the trader, prior to the conclusion of the contract, that delivery by or on a specified date is essential. In those cases, if the trader fails to deliver the goods at the time agreed upon with the consumer or within the time limit set out in paragraph 1, the consumer shall be entitled to terminate the contract immediately.”
Reimbursement of all sums paid, without undue delay
Upon termination of the contract, the trader reimburses all sums paid under the contract, delivery costs included, without undue delay. A credit note only replaces that reimbursement if you prefer it.
The official text · Article 18(3)
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02011L0083-20220528“3. Upon termination of the contract, the trader shall, without undue delay, reimburse all sums paid under the contract.”
A pre-ticked box is not consent
Any additional cost requires your explicit consent. A surcharge added through a box ticked in advance is not validly consented to, and any payment collected that way must be reimbursed.
The official text · Section “Delivery costs”
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/shipping-delivery/index_en.htm“You must give your explicit consent to any additional costs, for example if the trader wishes to offer you express delivery, or gift wrapping. Using a pre-ticked box on the trader's website does not constitute such consent and you would be entitled to reimbursement of any payment which has been collected in this way.”
This site is educational and independent: it is not an official site of the European Union, and this verdict is not legal advice on your case. The deadlines and wordings quoted are copied from the official text or the official page, whose link appears under each right.
File EU 2011/83
The items in this file
Every item has its own page. The situation is played here; what you keep, what you send and what you re-read live next door.