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Coverage

Parcel delay

United Kingdom — Royal Mail compensation scheme

NationalGBUnverified — check before relying on it

United Kingdom

Rule id
parcel.gb-royalmail
Version
1.0.0
In force from
June 13, 2011
Last read against its sources
August 5, 2026
Countries bound
United Kingdom

In plain language

What this regime says.

United Kingdom — Royal Mail compensation scheme. Claims run through the Royal Mail compensation scheme, with Ofcom above it. This module names the route and the regulator and states no compensation limits or deadlines, because we could not verify them in this review cycle.

Who is covered

The person who contracted with the carrier — normally the sender. If you bought goods online, your claim is usually against the seller instead, and it is usually the better claim.

What you get

Compensation under Royal Mail’s published scheme, with the amount depending on the service used and whether extra cover was bought.

Where claims go wrong

  • Throwing away the proof of posting. Without it most claims fail immediately.
  • Claiming the listing price rather than the price actually paid.
  • Missing the claim window, which is shorter for damage than for loss.
  • Arguing with the carrier when you are the buyer rather than the shipper. The seller owes you the goods or your money.
  • Throwing away the packaging before a damage claim is settled.
The official claim route

Authority

Every citation,
with its pinpoint.

A claim that cites “EU law” gets filed. A claim that cites Article 7(1)(c) gets answered. These are the exact coordinates this entry rests on.
  1. Postal Services Act 2011 and Royal Mail’s scheme and conditions made under itPostal Services Act 2011 and Royal Mail’s scheme and conditions made under itURL verified 2026-08-05

Sources

Where a figure is indexed, converted or published by a regulator rather than fixed in the instrument, the provenance is recorded separately. Anything marked as a modelled estimate is exactly that — a model, not a statutory number.

What it imposes

Clocks, defences and the ladder.

A rule module builds these while it evaluates, because a limitation period depends on which forum is open to you. What follows is the structure this regime produces — deliberately with no dates and no figures, because those belong to your facts rather than to the law.

Documents

What this regime can produce.

Every one of these is a document you send yourself, in your own name. Duesday never writes to anybody on your behalf and is never anyone’s agent.

The same claim type elsewhere

CMR Convention — international carriage of goods by road (8.33 SDR per kilogram)CMRTreaty — party states varyCMR Convention, Art. 23Confidence: highHague-Visby Rules — international carriage of goods by seaHAGUEVISBYTreaty — party states varyHague-Visby Rules, Art. IV r. 5(a)Confidence: highMontreal Convention 1999 — international carriage of cargo by airMONTREALTreaty — party states varyMontreal Convention 1999, Art. 22(3)Confidence: highInternational postal items — Universal Postal Convention inquiry and indemnityUPUTreaty — party states varyUniversal Postal ConventionConfidence: lowEuropean Union — delivery rights on consumer sales (Directive 2011/83/EU, Art. 18)EUSupranational — 30 countriesDirective 2011/83/EU, Art. 18Confidence: mediumFrance — La Poste / Colissimo compensationFRNational — FranceCode des postes et des communications électroniques and La Poste’s conditions générales de venteConfidence: lowGermany — Deutsche Post DHL domestic parcelsDENational — GermanyPostgesetz and the DHL Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen Paket/PäckchenConfidence: lowDHL Express — service commitments and claimsDENational — GermanyDHL Express Terms and Conditions of CarriageConfidence: low

Other rights in the same countries

England & Wales — tenancy deposit protection (Housing Act 2004 ss. 213–215)GB-EAWSub-national — United KingdomHousing Act 2004, s. 213Confidence: highEngland & Wales — unclaimed estates and bona vacantia (Administration of Estates Act 1925 s. 46)GB-EAWSub-national — United KingdomAdministration of Estates Act 1925 (c. 23), s. 46(1)(vi)Confidence: mediumGreat Britain — Delay RepayGBNational — United KingdomNational Rail Conditions of TravelConfidence: mediumNorthern Ireland — tenancy deposit schemes (SR 2012/373, as amended 2023)GB-NIRSub-national — United KingdomTenancy Deposit Schemes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012Confidence: mediumScotland — tenancy deposit schemes (SSI 2011/176)GB-SCTSub-national — United KingdomTenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011, reg. 3Confidence: highConsumer Credit Act 1974 s.75 (and s.75A) — creditor joint and several liabilityGBNational — United KingdomConsumer Credit Act 1974, s.75Confidence: highUK Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 (and the not-yet-commenced DMCCA subscription regime)GBNational — United KingdomConsumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3134)Confidence: highUK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018GBNational — United KingdomUK GDPR Arts. 15–21 and Data Protection Act 2018Confidence: medium

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Not a law firm. Not legal advice. You send it yourself. This page describes a law; it is not advice about your situation and no outcome is promised.