Did your international package vanish between customs and your doorstep? It happens constantly on overseas routes. The tracking status freezes in place. Sellers blame the courier, while couriers tell you to contact the merchant. You end up trapped in the middle.
Turns out, most buyers waste days chasing the wrong company.
When you buy from an online shop, your legal contract is with the seller, not DHL, UPS, or FedEx. The merchant hired the carrier. You paid the merchant. That simple relationship dictates who owes you your money back.
Who Controls Your Refund
Federal law establishes strict standards for delivery delays. Under the FTC Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule, sellers must ship orders within the specific window they advertised to you at checkout. If the website gave no shipping timeframe, federal regulations give them a baseline of 30 days to get your items on the move. When delays push past that 30-day mark, the business has to contact you with an update and offer a clear choice: agree to the revised date or cancel immediately for a full refund.
Couriers operate under completely separate commercial contracts.
Unless you stood at a shipping counter and bought the international airway bill yourself, the courier owes you nothing directly. Freight companies answer only to the shipper of record. Pushing the merchant for an immediate refund produces results much faster than arguing with a foreign customs warehouse where support agents have no system access to reverse your card charges anyway, leaving you spinning your wheels for weeks.
Evidence to Collect Before Hitting Send
Never fire off a vague one-sentence message with just an order number. To be honest, frontline support reps look for simple excuses to push open tickets aside. Give them a complete file right away.
Assemble these specific records for your claim:
- The original invoice or merchant receipt listing purchased items and total charges
- A full-screen capture of the carrier tracking portal showing the latest scan
- Crisp photos displaying the damaged parcel, external shipping labels, and broken merchandise
- A signed written declaration stating you never received the package if tracking reports delivery
Stick to standard image files like PNG or JPG. Do not send links to Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive. Company mail filters and security firewalls routinely quarantine incoming emails containing external links.
Ready-to-Use Dispute Email Templates
Copy these templates directly into a support email or web portal, and swap out the bracketed details.
1. Missing or Severely Delayed International Order (To Seller)
Subject: Order [Order Number] - Missing Shipment and Refund Request
Dear [Merchant Name] Support Team,
I placed order [Order Number] on [Order Date] for delivery to [Destination Address]. The shipment was sent via [Carrier Name] under tracking number [Tracking Number].
Tracking has not updated since [Date of Last Scan], when it was scanned in [Last Location]. The expected delivery date of [Original Delivery Date] has passed.
Because this package is significantly delayed and appears lost in transit, I request that you either issue a full refund of [Total Amount Charged] or immediately dispatch a replacement shipment.
Please confirm how this issue will be resolved within 3 business days.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Phone Number]
[Your Email Address]2. Damaged Goods Received from an Overseas Shipment (To Seller or Carrier)
Subject: Damaged Delivery Claim - Order [Order Number] - Tracking [Tracking Number]
Dear Claims Team,
I received shipment [Tracking Number] for order [Order Number] on [Delivery Date]. Upon opening the parcel, I discovered the contents were damaged during transit.
Damaged item details:
- Item: [Product Name and Model]
- Purchase Price: [Amount]
- Description of Damage: [Describe crack, breakage, tear, or crushed parts]
I have retained all exterior shipping cartons, interior packing materials, and damaged goods. Attached are photographs showing the exterior shipping label, the damaged box, and the broken items.
I request a full refund of [Amount] to my original payment method or a pre-paid return label and replacement.
Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Contact Information]3. Escalation for an Unresponsive Seller or Carrier
Subject: ESCALATION: Unresolved Non-Delivery for Order [Order Number]
Dear Management Team,
I am writing to escalate an unresolved issue regarding order [Order Number], shipped via [Carrier Name] under tracking number [Tracking Number].
I previously contacted customer support on [Date of First Contact] and [Date of Second Contact]. I have not received a substantive resolution, and the shipment has now been missing for [Number of Days] days.
If I do not receive confirmation of a full refund or replacement shipment within 48 hours, I will initiate a formal billing dispute with my payment card issuer and submit a complaint with consumer protection authorities.
Attached is my prior correspondence and tracking documentation.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Order and Account Number]Carrier Claim Limits and Strict Deadlines
If you arranged international shipping yourself, carrier rules bind you to strict filing windows. Thing is, international transit windows close much faster than domestic ones.
FedEx gives you only 21 calendar days from the delivery date to submit a claim for damaged or missing contents on international routes. Let that cut-off slip past, and the claims portal automatically rejects the submission. UPS enforces its own restrictions. You generally have to wait 24 hours past the scheduled delivery time before filing a lost package report, while damage or loss claims on international air shipments must be filed within 60 calendar days of the ship date.
Always inspect the declared value on the airway bill. Basic carrier liability caps at $100. If an unhedged $600 coat goes missing without extra declared value fees paid at checkout, the carrier only pays that base $100 payout. Declared value is not true cargo insurance. You still have to establish carrier fault before anyone issues payment.
The 60-Day Credit Card Backstop
Merchants love to drag out communications while carrier traces crawl forward. Do not let customer service run down your clock.
Under FTC guidance on billing errors and the Fair Credit Billing Act, you must dispute an unreceived item in writing within 60 days of the statement date where the charge first appeared. Federal statute treats goods that never arrived as formal billing errors.
Take these steps when a merchant refuses to act:
- Review your card account and verify the exact posting date of the transaction.
- Send the seller one final notice giving them 48 hours to issue a full refund.
- File a charge dispute through your card issuer for merchandise not received.
- Upload your documentation, including the original invoice, tracking screenshots, and seller emails.
- Track statutory deadlines. Your card issuer must acknowledge your dispute in writing within 30 days of receipt and conclude the investigation within two billing cycles, never exceeding 90 days total.
Federal rules excuse you from paying the disputed charge and associated interest while the investigation remains open. If your bank fails to honor these timelines, submit an official complaint through the CFPB complaint portal. Financial institutions generally reply to CFPB submissions within 15 calendar days.
Check your statement dates right now. If the parcel has been missing for weeks and the retailer continues to stall, cut off negotiations and file your card dispute.