Getting Your Delivery Address Right

Most delivery problems have nothing to do with the seller or the post. They start with an address that was almost right. A missing flat number, an old postcode or a name the courier does not recognise is enough to send a parcel back to where it came from.

Check it before you pay

Read your address through slowly at checkout, the way a courier would. Make sure the house or flat number, street, town and postcode are all there and all current. If you have moved recently, update it before you place the order rather than after.

Use a name that matches the door

Couriers deliver to a name as well as a place. If the name on your order is not one your household or building recognises, a parcel may be refused or left waiting at a depot. Use a name that will be accepted at that address.

Think about where it will be left

If nobody is home during the day, consider having the parcel sent to a workplace you are comfortable with, or to a collection point. A parcel left on a doorstep is easily lost.

Tell the seller about anything unusual

A building with a tricky entrance or a separate post room is worth a short message to the seller before they send. They can add a note to the parcel.

Keep your tracking details

When your order is sent, keep any tracking number you are given. If something does go wrong, it is the quickest way for you and the seller to find out where the parcel is.