By Kate Harvey
Content Manager | Pou Whakahaere Ihirangi
Having an online order get lost, arrive late or show up damaged can be stressful. But you don’t need to get on the phone with the courier company or spend hours tracking down your parcel. In New Zealand, the law is clear – you have rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act and a store can’t just blame the courier.
Here is our guide to sorting out your online delivery problems. If you still need help, our Consumer Advice Line is available for members.
Who is responsible for lost deliveries?
If an online store arranges the delivery of a product you’ve bought, it is responsible under the Consumer Guarantees Act for that product until it arrives with you.
The store should be the one chasing what has happened to your delivery – you don’t need to be sending messages or calling the courier company.
If the parcel hasn’t been delivered, you’re entitled to ask for a refund or replacement.
Who is responsible for delivery delays?
Your goods must be delivered within the agreed timeframe.
If the delivery is taking longer than expected to arrive, you shouldn’t have to contact the courier company yourself – the store should follow up with the courier to find out where the parcel is. However, if you’re been sent tracking information, you might find that useful to keep you informed.
If your parcel doesn’t show up by the time it was meant to, and the retailer has had the chance to sort it out, you can ask for a refund or replacement.
Who is responsible for damaged deliveries?
Under the Consumer Guarantees Act, goods must arrive in acceptable condition. If you open your parcel and find it’s damaged, take photos and contact the store as soon as you can. You don’t need to sort it out with the courier as it’s the store’s job to do this.
Normally you would be responsible for the cost of returning something you’ve bought online if you don’t want it. But that’s not the case if it’s damaged or faulty. You can claim the cost of the return delivery from the store or ask the store to send you a prepaid courier ticket.
Who is responsible if a courier delivery is stolen?
Your rights when a parcel is stolen will depend on where the parcel was left. Under the Consumer Guarantees Act, businesses have to do their jobs with reasonable skill or care, including getting deliveries to you.
So, if a parcel has been delivered to your front door, the retailer is likely to have done its job with reasonable care and skill. If a parcel is just left at the front gate on a main road, then you could say it hasn’t delivered the parcel with care.
It’s still worth asking the seller what it can do to help if a parcel shows as being delivered but isn’t there.
To avoid a parcel being stolen, we strongly recommend you:
have items delivered to a workplace or to someone who is home during the day
select 'signature only' to ensure the parcel won't be left unless someone is there to sign for it
include specific delivery instructions to ensure parcels are left out of sight
install security cameras to discourage thieves. Our members can access our test results for security cameras and see which ones we recommend. We have tested dozens of security cameras, including ones from popular brands Ring, Arlo and Eufy.
How to get a refund if a shop won’t take responsibility
If a shop refuses to refund you for a lost or damaged delivery, you could apply for a chargeback if you paid for the item by debit or credit card. Chargebacks come in very handy if you’ve bought goods from an overseas retailer and are having problems.
A chargeback reverses the money out of a retailer’s bank account and puts it back in yours.
You’ll need to contact your bank to kick off the process. We’ve put together a guide to chargebacks.
We know your rights
Got a problem with a faulty product, received shoddy service or been misled by a retailer? Our expert advisers can provide clear, practical advice that you can trust.
