Is choosing a parcel ‘safe place’ as safe as you think?

Have you used a safe place when receiving a parcel delivery lately? Letting a parcel company know where to leave your parcel can be a convenient way to make sure it’s delivered even when you’re out. But what you may not know is that this could affect your options — and even your chance of a refund — if anything goes wrong.

We see many consumers having issues with safe place delivery, such as parcels getting lost, stolen or damaged. Usually the retailer or seller is responsible for problems that occur during parcel delivery, but if the safe place was chosen by you — you may accept responsibility for the parcel left there. This means you could lose out on being refunded or compensated by the seller if you experience any issues.

Delivery of parcels to a safe place can be convenient for consumers

Shopping online has exploded in the last decade and — for many of us — we want home deliveries as quickly and easily as possible. Luckily, we can now communicate directly with delivery companies, especially if we want a parcel left somewhere safe when we’re going to be out. It means consumers with busy schedules and accessibility needs have more options to suit them.

You can often share your safe place preferences with parcel companies via their apps, on their websites, or with retailers when you checkout your order. A safe place should generally be somewhere out of public view, waterproof, safe and easy for the delivery driver to find. It could be anything from a garage, a shed or an enclosed porch. Not all parcel companies, retailers or senders allow you to give a preferred safe place.

Parcel companies may also choose to deliver to a safe place even when you haven’t given your preference. In this case it‘s the delivery driver’s decision whether there’s somewhere safe to leave your parcel. This may mean you do not become responsible for parcels left in this safe place that are lost, stolen or damaged — but this depends on which parcel company was used and what locations their terms and conditions say a parcel can be delivered to. See here for further advice.

But we know things don’t always go as planned with safe place

At Citizens Advice, we’re concerned that we’re seeing growing numbers reporting problems with the safe place system. We have heard of parcels being left in full view of busy roads or out in the soaking rain, not being found in consumers’ given safe places and being left in insecure locations chosen by delivery drivers. And consumers are not always being refunded or compensated for these issues.

Heather, who’s disabled and housebound, rang our consumer service for help with a parcel issue. She had received a text from a major parcel company informing her they had left a delivery of her medication in her designated safe place even though she had not set up a safe place with them. No calling card was left telling her where the parcel was and she could not find where her medication had been left. On calling the parcel company she was not able to get help retrieving her parcel or receive any compensation.

Source: Citizens Advice Consumer Service, December 2023. Name changed to preserve anonymity.

Parcels being left outside people’s houses is becoming an increasingly pressing issue, as more than £200 million worth of parcels were stolen in the UK last year. With “porch piracy” on the rise during a cost of living crisis, it’s even more important for parcels to be delivered safely.

You may become responsible for parcels left in your chosen safe place, but parcel companies and retailers don’t always make this clear

When deciding whether or not to nominate a safe place, it’s important to be aware that some parcel companies will mark your parcel as ‘delivered’ as soon as it’s left in the chosen location. This means responsibility is effectively passed to you, and your ability to get a refund or claim compensation could be affected. This will also depend on who’s sent you the parcel and what delivery instructions were given.

When we investigated this issue further, we found only 1 of the 6 largest UK parcel companies made it clear who accepts responsibility when you nominate a safe place on their website or app. Even if you look at these companies’ terms and conditions, it’s not always clear who accepts responsibility. Parcel companies need to be clear about what risks you accept when you nominate a safe place and what happens when things go wrong.

There are ways you can reduce your risk of problems with safe place

1. Check with the parcel company you’re expecting a delivery from to find out what their policy is on leaving parcels and whether you’re able to opt out. You could look into opting out on a per parcel basis or by parcel company
2. Don’t give your safe place preference unless you’re willing to accept responsibility if your parcel is lost, stolen or damaged from the safe place or have checked that you would not be responsible
3. If buying goods from a seller on an online platform you could check if they offer insurance or extra protection, or if the postal service they’re charging for covers the value of the item(s) bought
4. Consider using other options for parcel delivery such as diverting to a parcel shop or to a locker

If you’ve had a problem with post and you’d like to know what your rights are, you can call the our Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133, for more information see our website.