Tracking that says "delivered" doesn't settle who pays if the package is gone. For a U.S. order, start with the retailer or marketplace that took your payment. Save the delivery photo and tracking record, then report suspected theft promptly. A carrier claim, household insurance claim, or credit card dispute can help in some cases, but none of those routes guarantees a refund for a package stolen after it was left at an authorized location.

Quick steps to request a stolen package refund

1. Verify the delivery details. Confirm the shipping address. Check the proof-of-delivery photo, look around doors and garages, and ask neighbors, reception staff, or building management. Check package rooms, lockers, and other entrances.
2. Save evidence immediately. Screenshot tracking, the delivery time, the proof-of-delivery photo, the order confirmation, delivery instructions, and any carrier messages. Save camera footage before it is overwritten.
3. Contact the retailer or marketplace. Say whether the package was misdelivered, never reached you, or was stolen after being left where delivery was authorized. Ask for an investigation, refund, or replacement.
4. File a police report if theft is suspected. Use your local police department's non-emergency or online reporting process. Keep the incident number in case a retailer, carrier, or insurer asks for it.
5. Check carrier or shipping insurance coverage. A carrier claim may apply to loss or damage during transit. A package already marked delivered is often treated differently.
6. Escalate carefully. If the seller refuses and the facts support a billing dispute, contact your credit card issuer promptly. Don't describe the package as "never delivered" if it was left with a person or at a location you authorized.

A police report, video clip, or delivery photo can support what you report. None of those items, on its own, creates a refund.

What actually controls a refund

The first decision usually belongs to whoever sold the item. A retailer, a third-party marketplace seller, and a private seller can each use different procedures, and the seller's order policy often matters more than the tracking scan.

How delivery was authorized can change the result. A package left at your door, in a locker, with a neighbor, or with a building receiving desk is not the same case as one photographed at the wrong address. Who purchased the shipping and insurance also matters, because the sender or shipping-account holder may be the only party allowed to file a carrier claim.

How you paid affects later options. Credit card billing protections are not the same as debit or prepaid procedures. Speed matters too: retailer and carrier deadlines vary, so don't wait for a finished investigation before you notify the seller. Describe the facts accurately and ask which remedy the order policy allows.

Contact the retailer before pursuing a carrier claim

The retailer took your money and can decide whether to refund or replace the order, so it's usually the best first contact. Send the request through the order page, email, or customer-service chat so you have a record.

You can use wording such as:

Tracking shows the order as delivered on [date and time], but I did not receive it. I checked the delivery location, neighbors, building reception, and package room. Please investigate the delivery and tell me whether you can issue a refund or replacement.

If the package was left in a location you selected and then stolen, say that clearly. That situation can be treated differently from a wrong-address delivery or a scan that happened before the package arrived.

Ask for a case or support number, the delivery photo or other proof of delivery, the carrier's investigation findings, the policy reason if the request is denied, and the deadline and process for an appeal. If the retailer tells you to contact the carrier, ask whether it will open the investigation as the shipping-account holder. Some claims are tied to the sender's account or the shipping contract, so a recipient may not be able to complete the process alone.

How to report a stolen Amazon package

Amazon's available options can vary by order, seller, carrier, item, and delivery instructions. Don't rely on claims that every order below a particular dollar amount is automatically refundable, or that every claim requires a police report.

Try these steps:

1. Open Your Orders in the Amazon app or website.
2. Select the order and choose the help option for a missing or delivered-but-not-received package. The wording may change.
3. Confirm the delivery address and review the proof-of-delivery image.
4. Explain whether the package was misdelivered, never received, or stolen after delivery.
5. Upload relevant screenshots, photos, video, or a police report number if you have one.
6. Request a refund or replacement and save the case reference.

For an order sold by a third-party marketplace seller, contact the seller through the order page first. If the seller doesn't resolve the issue and Amazon displays an A-to-z Guarantee option, follow the instructions and deadline shown in your account.

Amazon may ask for more information or send you to the carrier. Keep every message, and don't open conflicting claims without explaining that another investigation is already pending.

USPS, FedEx, and UPS claims

A carrier claim is not the same thing as a consumer refund. Payment may be available only when the shipment qualifies for insurance or indemnity under the service terms, and reimbursement may go to the sender or shipping account holder.

USPS

The USPS domestic claims page says an eligible claim for a missing or damaged item may be filed immediately and generally no later than 60 days after the mailing date. Service-specific deadlines and documentation requirements can apply.

USPS says claims decisions are usually sent within 5-10 days. That's a processing estimate, not a promise that a package marked delivered will qualify for payment.

Gather the tracking or label number, proof that the service included insurance or indemnity, proof of the item's value, the order confirmation or invoice, delivery details and photos, and police report information if theft was reported.

The USPS Domestic Claims Basics guidance says an online appeal generally must be filed within 30 days of the original decision. The USPS Domestic Mail Manual also explains that customers may need to retain the mailing container, packaging, and contents for claims involving missing contents or damage.

For a package scanned as delivered and then stolen from your porch, ask USPS or the seller whether the shipment's coverage applies before assuming an indemnity claim will reimburse you.

FedEx and UPS

Start with the tracking page or the carrier's claims portal. Provide the tracking number, invoice, proof-of-delivery information, delivery instructions, and any video or police report.

If the portal won't let you file, contact the retailer and ask it to open the claim. Deadlines, eligible claim types, required documents, and payment limits vary by service and account. Don't treat a declared-value amount as an automatic full-value payment for theft after delivery.

If the delivery photo shows a different address, explain that the issue may be misdelivery rather than porch theft. That distinction can change how the retailer or carrier investigates.

Should you file a police report?

A police report isn't automatically required for every retailer or carrier claim. It may be requested for a high-value item, or by a homeowners, renters, or shipping insurer.

If you believe the package was stolen, use the local non-emergency line or online reporting system. Provide the tracking number, delivery time, item value, and location, and mention available camera footage and any witnesses. Save the report or incident number. Don't confront a suspected neighbor or post personal information online.

The report documents that you made a theft allegation. It doesn't decide whether the retailer, carrier, insurer, or payment issuer must reimburse you.

Apartment and shared-building deliveries

Apartment deliveries can be hard to prove because a courier may leave the package in a lobby, mailroom, leasing office, locker area, or another resident's doorway.

Contact building management promptly. Ask it to check package-room or locker logs, confirm whether staff accepted the delivery, preserve security-camera footage, identify the delivery location shown by the carrier, and record the incident in writing.

Tell the retailer if the package was handed to building staff or left somewhere different from your delivery instructions. A building report and footage can be more useful than a general statement that the package was missing.

Homeowners, renters, and shipping insurance

Check your homeowners or renters policy if the item was valuable. Theft coverage may apply to personal property, but the policy can have a deductible, coverage limit, location restriction, or documentation requirement. Ask specifically whether theft from a porch or other delivery location is covered.

Shipping protection or declared-value coverage is separate from your household policy. Review its exclusions and claim deadline. It may cover loss or damage during transit without covering a package the carrier records as delivered.

Tell each company if another party has already refunded or replaced the order. Collecting two reimbursements for the same loss can create a repayment problem.

When a credit card dispute may help

A credit card dispute is an escalation route, not a guaranteed refund for porch theft. It fits best when the seller did not deliver the merchandise, delivered it to the wrong place, or otherwise failed to provide what you paid for.

The FTC's guidance on credit card billing errors says a qualifying dispute should be made in writing within 60 days after the statement containing the error was sent. The FTC recommends calling the card issuer first and then sending a written dispute to the billing-inquiries address listed on the statement. Its sample dispute letter shows the information and documents to include. The FTC also notes that some issuers may extend the 60-day dispute period when a shipment is delayed.

Attach copies of the order confirmation and charge, tracking and delivery evidence, your messages with the seller, the seller's denial or case number, a police report number if relevant, and a carrier claim decision if one exists.

For a qualifying credit card billing error, the issuer must generally acknowledge the dispute within 30 days unless it has already resolved it, and resolve it within two billing cycles, but no more than 90 days. During the investigation, the FTC says you don't have to pay the disputed amount or related finance charges, but you should continue paying the undisputed balance.

Debit and prepaid cards don't automatically follow the same federal credit-card dispute process. Contact the bank or card provider as soon as possible and follow its written deadline and evidence requirements.

If the package was delivered to a location or person you authorized and was stolen afterward, explain those facts instead of labeling the transaction "not received." The issuer may decide that the seller fulfilled its delivery obligation.

If your refund request is denied

A denial isn't necessarily the end of the process. Ask for the denial and the policy reason in writing, then check whether the retailer, marketplace, carrier, or insurer has an appeal process. Submit focused evidence, such as a wrong-address delivery photo, locker log, or camera timestamp, and ask for a supervisor or specialist review.

Use the USPS appeal deadlines if your claim was through USPS. Contact your credit card issuer only if the facts support a truthful billing dispute. For a substantial loss, review your state consumer-protection complaint process or seek local legal advice.

Don't file a police report solely to improve the odds of a refund, edit video to remove context, or submit the same loss as multiple unrelated claims. Those steps can undermine an otherwise credible request.

Screenshot the tracking page and proof-of-delivery photo now, then send the retailer a dated request through the order page or chat. That preserves your options while you still have time to check neighbors, building staff, and any camera footage.