A customer writes, "It says delivered but I never got it." This is the costliest WISMO variant: if you reship before checking, you pay for the product, the shipping and the lost parcel, and the original may still turn up. A fixed 48-hour check sequence and clear rules keep that double payment rare.
Key takeaways
- Wait 24-48 hours after a delivered scan before declaring a parcel lost; carriers often scan early.
- Ask three questions first: neighbor, safe place, address.
- Reship under about €50 for clean histories; above that, file a claim first.
- A €40 reship costs about €40 more than a refund plus a successful claim.
How long should you wait before declaring a package lost?
Wait at least 24 hours after a "delivered" scan, and 48 hours for apartment buildings or parcel lockers. Carriers frequently scan a parcel as delivered before the driver reaches the door, and roughly one in several disputed parcels appears within two days. For in-transit parcels with no scans, use the carrier windows below.
For parcels stuck in transit, the table lists typical points at which you can open a trace. These are working rules of thumb; always check the carrier's current terms.
| Carrier | Region | No-scan wait before trace | Typical claim window |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPS | US domestic | 7 business days | Up to 60 days from shipping for insurance claims |
| UPS | US / international | 5 business days | Around 60 days |
| DHL | EU / international | 5-7 business days | Varies by service; often about 30 days |
| Royal Mail | UK | 5 working days after expected date | Within 80 days for compensation |
| Colissimo | France | 2-5 business days after expected date | Typically within 21 days for claims |
For the "delivered" variant, the clock starts at the scan, not at the ship date. For stalled parcels before delivery, see our guide on delayed shipments.
What should you ask the customer first?
Ask three questions in your first reply: has someone else in the household or a neighbor received it, is there a safe place the driver may have used, and is the shipping address on the order exactly right. These checks resolve a meaningful share of claims before any money moves, and they take the customer about two minutes.
- Neighbor and household check: Ask them to check with others at the address and with neighbors on both sides.
- Safe place check: Porches, garages, parcel boxes, reception desks, mailrooms.
- Address verification: Compare the order address with the delivery scan location and the carrier's proof of delivery (photo or GPS, where offered).
Also ask for a reply within 48 hours. A deadline keeps the case from drifting.
Lost package customer support template
Hi [first name], sorry about this. The carrier shows your order as delivered on [date]. Before we start a claim, could you check three things: (1) with anyone else at the address and your neighbors, (2) around porch, garage or mailbox, (3) that this address is correct: [address]. If it hasn't turned up within 48 hours of your reply, we will fix it with a replacement or refund.
This delivered not received customer email is short on purpose. It admits nothing, promises a resolution and sets a deadline.
Reship or refund: how do you decide?
Reship when the order is under about €50, the customer has no prior claims and the address is confirmed. Refund when the item is out of stock or the customer prefers it. Hold both for an investigation above roughly €150 or after a second claim in 12 months. Thresholds are yours to set; the table is a starting point.
| Order value | Customer history | Carrier claim eligible | Recommended action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under €50 | First claim | Any | Reship, file claim if eligible |
| Under €50 | 2+ claims in 12 months | Any | Refund or human review |
| €50-150 | First claim | Yes | Refund or reship after claim opened |
| €50-150 | Repeat claimant | Yes | Human review, require proof |
| Over €150 | Any | Yes | File claim first, human decides |
| Any | Any | No (window expired) | Decide on margin; store absorbs the loss |
Worked example: a €40 order
Assume a €40 retail price, €18 product cost, €6 shipping label and a delivered scan with no parcel.
- Reship: €18 product + €6 label = €24 extra cost. The original sale revenue (€40) is kept. If the first parcel is lost for good and no claim is filed, total loss is €24.
- Refund plus carrier claim: refund €40 revenue, plus you already spent €18 + €6 on the lost parcel. If the claim pays out €40 (insured value), you net back €40, so the loss is the €24 original cost minus nothing recovered beyond the refund. The sale is gone, though.
The practical difference: reshipping keeps the €40 sale and costs about €24. A refund gives up the sale, and a successful claim only restores what you paid out. Reship wins on margin for low values; refund wins when stock is gone or trust is already damaged.
For claim mechanics, coverage and when to buy cover, read our guide to shipping insurance.
How does AI triage fit into lost-package support?
Heylio handles the repetitive part: it looks up the Shopify order and tracking status, drafts a reply from your WISMO playbook and can issue the refund or apply a discount. Cases above your value threshold, or from repeat claimants, hand over to a human, and handovers cost nothing.
Heylio connects to Gmail, Outlook, Instagram DMs, WhatsApp and the chat widget. A typical flow:
- Customer writes in. Heylio finds the order and sees the delivered scan.
- It sends the neighbor, safe place and address questions from your playbook.
- If the customer confirms it is missing and the case fits your rules, it issues the refund or a discount code.
- If the order is high value or the customer has earlier claims, a human gets the full thread.
Billing is per AI resolution, meaning a conversation the AI closes itself. Plans run from Free (25 lifetime resolutions) to Scale at €99/month for 600. Be honest about limits: Heylio does not file carrier claims for you, so that step stays with your team.
How do you prevent repeat claims?
Prevention comes down to address quality, delivery proof and a written policy. Validate addresses at checkout, require signature above a set value, and publish a Shopify lost order policy that states the 48-hour check and what you do afterwards. Each step is cheap compared with a €24-€60 reship.
- Address validation: Catch typos and missing apartment numbers before fulfillment.
- Signature or locker delivery: Use for orders over your threshold, such as €100.
- Policy page: State wait times, proof you may request and when you reship or refund.
- Claim log: Tag each case by customer and carrier. Three claims from one address is a pattern.
- Carrier scorecards: If one carrier accounts for most claims in a region, switch for that region.
Heylio's auto-learning tracks your corrections and suggests playbook updates, so a rule you fix once, such as lowering the reship cap, carries into later replies.
What should your lost order policy say next?
Write your thresholds down today: the 48-hour wait, the order value that triggers human review, and the number of claims that counts as repeat. Then put them in your playbook so every reply follows the same rules. A clear rule turns an expensive judgment call into a two-minute reply.
Start by pulling your last ten delivered-not-received cases and checking which rule would have saved money.