Royal Mail lost it. Here's what the law actually lets you claim.
Royal Mail has a statutory shield most couriers don't: you generally can't sue it for negligence over lost post. But a paid-for service — Special Delivery, Tracked, a business account — is a contract, and a contract can be enforced. Knowing that difference is most of this page.
Who you're actually suing
It usually depends on two things: who paid for the service, and which service it was. If you paid Royal Mail to send something, your contract is with Royal Mail and the claim is normally in contract, for the value covered by the service you bought. If a shop sent you something by Royal Mail, your claim is usually against the shop.
You bought Special Delivery, Tracked 24/48, Signed For or a business account service. The Postal Services Act generally stops a claim in negligence, so the claim is for breach of the contract for that service — and Royal Mail's terms set compensation limits by service. A court can be asked whether those limits were fair and clearly brought to your attention, and whether the service was performed as promised.
- Name on the form
- Royal Mail Group Limited
- Company number
- 04138203
- Address for service
- 185 Farringdon Road, London, EC1A 1AA
You ordered from a retailer and they posted it by Royal Mail. Under the Consumer Rights Act the goods usually stay the retailer's responsibility until they reach you, so a parcel that never arrives is normally the retailer's problem to fix — and the retailer, not Royal Mail, is the one to name.
Royal Mail is the trading name; the company is Royal Mail Group Limited. Parcelforce Worldwide is part of the same company. Use the registered name and the Farringdon Road address on the claim form.
Checked against Companies House on 2026-08-24. Registered details change — the wizard re-checks before anything is filed.
Alongside the money itself, courts may award simple interest on money you have been kept out of — commonly 8% a year under the County Courts Act 1984 — and the court fee is typically added to a successful claim. Interest is discretionary.
How people describe it when they reach us
The sorts of things people tell us. Illustrative, based on patterns in the cases that reach us.
Your legal rights when Royal Mail loses or damages post
In England and Wales Royal Mail is the universal service provider and has statutory protection from negligence claims that ordinary couriers do not. A paid-for service is still a contract, and consumer law still governs the small print.
ActPostal Services Act 2000, s.90Royal Mail usually cannot be sued in negligence for lost post — a claim normally has to be in contract.
Section 90 generally excludes proceedings in tort against a universal service provider for loss or damage to a postal packet in the course of transmission. It does not, on its face, exclude a claim in contract for a service the customer paid for, and it is expressly subject to section 91. In practice this is why a lost-post claim is normally framed as a breach of the contract for the service bought, and why Royal Mail's own terms and compensation limits matter so much.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗ActConsumer Rights Act 2015, s.49A paid-for service must generally be performed with reasonable care and skill.
Where a consumer pays a trader for a service, section 49 usually implies a term that it will be performed with reasonable care and skill. A service that fails, is repeatedly not delivered as promised, or is carried out carelessly may be treated as a breach, depending on the facts.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗ActConsumer Rights Act 2015, s.62An unfair term in a consumer contract is generally not binding on the consumer.
Section 62 usually provides that a term is unfair if, contrary to good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights to the consumer's detriment. Caps on compensation, exit fees and one-sided small print may be examined against this test; courts typically look at how prominent the term was and whether the consumer had a real chance to see it.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗ActConsumer Rights Act 2015, s.29Goods you buy usually stay at the retailer's risk until they reach you.
For consumer goods, risk usually remains with the trader until the goods come into the physical possession of the consumer or someone the consumer nominated. If a parcel was lost before that point, the trader may find it harder to rely on dispatch alone — which is why the retailer, not its courier, is normally the right defendant for a buyer.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗Case lawContract law — breach of contractFailing to deliver what was paid for may amount to breach of contract.
A purchase or subscription is typically analysed as a contract. If one side does not perform a central promise — goods not delivered, a service not provided, money not refunded as agreed — a court may find a breach and will then consider what loss flowed from it. The measure is normally the money you are out of pocket, proved with evidence.
This is general information about the law in England and Wales, not advice about your case. Which provisions apply, and how, depends on the facts.
Four things you'll hear. None of them end it.
Their terms say so; a court decides whether they bind you. A cap in a consumer contract generally has to be fair and clearly brought to your attention. And where you declared and paid for cover, the claim is for what was covered.
Half true. The Postal Services Act generally bars a claim in negligence for lost post. It does not, on its face, bar a claim for breach of the contract you paid for. That is why the page keeps saying "the service you bought".
Their record, not the last word. Special Delivery needs a signature; a scan without one, or a photo of the wrong door, is evidence for you.
Sometimes right — and this page says when. If a shop sent it, the shop is your defendant. If you paid Royal Mail, the contract is yours.
Five things worth gathering now
Three steps, done for you
Your side, your words
What happened, what was agreed, what you are out of pocket. We ask what a court would ask — starting with who the defendant is.
A formal demand
A letter before action to Royal Mail Group Limited's registered office, with a deadline. Many disputes end here.
Court claim, prepared
If they will not engage: a small claim drafted, checked and filed. We do the paperwork; the decision is the court's.
What JustClaim is: we prepare and file the paperwork for your claim, for a fixed price shown before you pay. We're not a law firm, this isn't legal advice, and no outcome is ever guaranteed — what you get is the strongest honest version of your case, properly made.
Questions people in this exact spot ask
Can you sue Royal Mail for a lost parcel?
For a service you paid for — Special Delivery, Tracked, Signed For, a business account — you can bring a claim for breach of that contract. What you generally cannot do is sue Royal Mail in negligence: the Postal Services Act 2000, section 90, excludes proceedings in tort for loss or damage to post in transmission. So the claim is framed on the contract and the service level you bought.
Royal Mail offered me stamps. Is that all I can get?
That is their standard compensation, not a court's decision. If you paid for a service with a higher cover level, the claim is for what that service covered. Whether their limits bind you is a question of whether they were fair and clearly brought to your attention — a court decides that on the facts.
Do I sue Royal Mail or the shop I bought from?
Usually the shop, if they chose Royal Mail: under the Consumer Rights Act your goods normally stay at the retailer's risk until they reach you. If you booked and paid for the postage yourself, Royal Mail is your defendant.
What name goes on the claim form?
Royal Mail Group Limited, company number 04138203, 185 Farringdon Road, London EC1A 1AA — checked on Companies House on the date shown above. "Royal Mail" alone is a trading name.
How much does it cost to take Royal Mail to small claims court?
The court fee depends on the amount: £35 up to £300, £50 up to £500, £70 up to £1,000, £115 up to £3,000. If you win, the fee is normally added to what the other side is ordered to pay. Our fixed price is shown before you pay anything.
I sent it first class with no tracking. Can I claim?
You can claim on the contract for the service you bought, but ordinary post carries only Royal Mail's standard compensation and you'll need proof of posting and of value. Many people find the claim isn't worth the court fee at that level; a formal letter sometimes changes the offer.
Paid for Special Delivery and it vanished?
Tell us what happened. We frame the claim the way the Postal Services Act allows — on the contract — and name the right company.
Claim what you're owed →