---
title: "If your parcel is lost or damaged in the post"
description: "Who carries the risk if a parcel of gold is lost or damaged, who makes the claim, what to do if tracking stops, and how your own postage differs."
canonical: "https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/if-your-parcel-is-lost-or-damaged-in-the-post"
published: "2026-09-21"
modified: "2026-09-24"
language: "en-GB"
publisher: "Assaypost"
---

# If your parcel is lost or damaged in the post

Written at the Assaypost bench, checked before publication. Published 21 September 2026. Updated 24 September 2026.

**The short answer:** If you posted on a label Assaypost issued, a lost or damaged parcel is the business's problem, not yours. Clause 7.2 of the terms puts the risk in the post on the business both ways: from the moment the parcel is accepted at the counter, and on the way back until it is delivered to you. The business makes any claim against the carrier itself. What you are owed is what your items were worth, not capped at what the carrier pays or at any offer (clauses 12.2 and 12.4). Keep your posting receipt, because it speeds a trace, but losing it costs you nothing (clause 7.3). On postage you bought yourself, all of that changes: you are the carrier's customer, and the claim is yours.

## Who carries the risk, in the words of the terms

Anyone who hesitates at the counter is asking one question: if this goes missing, who loses? On a label Assaypost issued, the answer is written into the contract rather than left to goodwill, and it is worth reading in the original.

> **Clause 7.2 of the terms, as published**
>
> "We carry the risk in the post, in both directions, on any label we issued. On the way to us, from the moment the parcel is accepted at the counter. On the way back to you, until it is delivered to you — not until it is despatched. Because the contract with the carrier is ours and not yours, we make any claim ourselves: you are not asked to claim, to chase the carrier or to prove anything to it. What we owe you is settled under clause 12, and it is neither limited to, nor conditional on, what the carrier pays us."

Three details do most of the work. The risk starts at the counter, so a parcel lost on its first night in the network is not your loss. It runs until a return is delivered to you, not merely sent, so a parcel lost on its way home is not your loss either. And the claim sits with the business because the contract with the carrier does: under clause 3.2 the business chooses the carrier, the service and the cover, and you are not a party to that contract.

The full wording is in [clause 7.2 of the terms](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms#clause-7-2), with clause 12 beside it. If this guide ever reads differently from the terms, the terms are what counts.

## The claim is the business's to make, and what you are owed

If a parcel on an Assaypost label is lost, you do not fill in a claim form, telephone the carrier or produce a valuation for it. The business deals with the carrier and, whatever the carrier decides, owes you under clause 12 of the terms.

- **What you are owed is your loss.** Clause 12.2 measures it by what the items were worth, not by what the business would have paid for them. Where a piece was worth more whole than as metal, the whole-piece value is the one that counts.
- **The carrier's cover is not your ceiling.** Clause 12.4 says the cover on a carrier's label is how the business insures itself, not a limit on what you are owed. If the carrier pays less, or nothing, the difference is the business's to find.
- **A disagreement about value goes to an independent valuer, at the business's cost.** Under clause 12.3 either side may ask for one, the business pays the fee whatever the valuation says, and it is bound by the figure.
- **Say roughly what you are sending before you post.** Clause 7.4 asks for this so that the right service is used. A mistake about what something turns out to be worth is never held against you. Only knowingly sending far more than you said can reduce what is paid on a lost parcel, and then only so far as the loss was caused by the business not being told.

Your own record still matters, even though you never have to prove anything to the carrier. If a parcel does not arrive, the question becomes what was in it. Clause 8.4 names the evidence each side produces, and from you that is what you sent, your posting receipt and, if you took one, a photograph of the items laid out before you sealed the parcel.

## Keep the posting receipt, but losing it costs you nothing

The receipt you are given at the counter carries the tracking number, which is how a parcel is found. Clause 7.3 asks you to keep it for that reason, because it helps the business trace the parcel and prove its claim quickly. The same clause is plain about what the receipt is not: "It is not a condition of anything you are owed: if you lose it, clause 7.2 still applies."

The easy habit is to photograph the receipt before you leave the counter, so the tracking number lives on your phone as well as in a coat pocket. It is a head start for any trace, not an obligation.

On your own postage it matters more. Royal Mail's retail compensation policy lists a certificate of posting among the evidence a claim for a lost valuable item needs, and says one is provided automatically with Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm. When the claim is yours, the receipt is part of your case.

## If the tracking stops moving

Tracking that has not updated for a while is not the same as a lost parcel. A tracking page shows only the scans that have happened, and a gap between them does not tell you where the parcel is. None of that changes who carries the risk, but the first step is to ask, not to fear the worst.

1. **Look it up with the number on your receipt**: Use the tracking number from your posting receipt, or from the email that carried your label, and note the last place and time the parcel was scanned.
2. **Tell Assaypost, not the carrier**: Send your reference and the tracking number through the [contact page](https://assaypost.co.uk/contact), with a photograph of the receipt if you have one. On a label the business issued, the enquiry with the carrier is the business's to open, because the contract is.
3. **Keep anything else at home for now**: If you split a lot across two parcels, hold the second back until the first is accounted for. There is no reason to put more into the network while a question is open about the first.
4. **Keep your list and photographs where you can find them**: They are what shows what was in the parcel if it does not turn up. Do not tidy them away until the matter is closed.
5. **Then leave the carrier to the business**: If the parcel reappears, it is booked in the ordinary way. If it does not, what you are owed is settled under clause 12, whatever the carrier decides to pay.

The same applies to a return. If the parcel coming back to you has stalled, tell the business the same way. Clause 7.2 keeps the risk on the business until the return is delivered, so a return that never arrives is the business's loss, not yours.

## Damaged, opened or light: why the parcel is photographed sealed

A parcel can arrive looking intact and still have been interfered with, and the only moment its condition can be recorded reliably is before anyone opens it. So every parcel is photographed on arrival, unopened: the outer packaging, any damage, and the seal and bag number where a sealed pack was used (clause 8.1). What happened in the post is then on record, separately from anything that happens on the bench.

If the seal or packaging shows any sign of having been opened, if the parcel is damaged, or if it is lighter than the weight the carrier recorded, clause 8.2 says the business stops. It photographs the parcel as it is, goes no further with the contents, and tells you before anything else is done, reporting it to the carrier at the same time. While that question is open, nothing in the parcel is melted, refined, sold on or otherwise put beyond recall (clause 8.6).

Tamper-evident packing is what makes that check mean something. A printed pack comes with a numbered tamper-evident bag that cannot be opened and closed again without showing it: seal your items in it and write the number down. If you print the label at home and use your own box, photograph the items laid out, then the box packed, before the tape goes on. Clause 8.5 says your photograph counts, weighed alongside the business's own record.

If a return reaches you damaged, keep everything as it arrived: the outer box, the inner packing and the items. Photograph it and tell the business. Royal Mail's retail policy requires anyone claiming for damage to keep all the packaging and contents, because it may need to inspect them, so throwing the box away is the one thing that makes a claim harder.

## The business's label, or postage you bought yourself

Everything above applies to a label Assaypost issued. Clause 7.2, and the part of clause 12.2 that covers the post, are written for those labels, and do not cover a parcel while it travels on postage you bought yourself. Once it is in the business's hands, clause 12.2 applies to it like any other. On your own postage you are the carrier's customer, and the carrier's terms decide what you can claim, how and by when.

**Who deals with a loss, by how the parcel was posted. The right-hand column is Royal Mail's published retail policy for Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm posted over the counter, read 21 September 2026.**

| Question | On a label Assaypost issued | On your own Royal Mail postage |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Whose contract is it | The business's. It chose the carrier, the service and the cover (clause 3.2) | Yours, as the sender |
| Who makes the claim | The business. You are not asked to claim or to chase the carrier (clause 7.2) | The sender or the recipient may claim, but only one is paid |
| What limits what you receive | Nothing the carrier pays. You are owed your loss, measured by what the items were worth (clauses 12.2 and 12.4) | Compensation for actual loss is paid up to the smaller of market value and the compensation the sender bought |
| Jewellery | Sent on the service confirmed to you in writing with the label, before you post | Excluded from compensation unless sent by an appropriate Special Delivery Guaranteed service |
| Proof of posting | Helps a trace. Losing it costs you nothing (clause 7.3) | Part of the evidence for a loss claim. A certificate of posting is provided automatically |
| When a loss can be claimed | The claim against the carrier is the business's, and so are its deadlines | Not considered until five working days after the due delivery date, and must be made within 80 calendar days of posting |
| Damage | Tell the business and keep the packaging; the business claims | Keep all the packaging and contents, as Royal Mail may need to inspect them |

Royal Mail's conditions change, so read its own pages before you rely on them; the sources below give the addresses and the date they were read. Royal Mail publishes a standard compensation level for the service and sells higher ones, and those amounts belong on its pages rather than here. Nothing in the right-hand column describes the carrier, service or cover on an Assaypost label, which are confirmed to you in writing with the label, before you post.

If you have the choice, post on the buyer's label rather than your own, where the buyer's terms put the risk on the buyer. An Assaypost label is prepaid, so it costs you nothing and takes the risk in the post off you, provided you say roughly what you are sending (clause 7.4).

## Seller risks and exceptions

- Posting on your own postage. The terms that put the risk on the business are written for its labels. On postage you bought, the loss is yours to claim from the carrier, on its terms and within its time limits.
- Sending far more than you said. Clause 7.4 allows what is paid on a lost parcel to be reduced if you knowingly sent much more than you described, so far as the loss was caused by that. Describe the lot as best you can, even roughly.
- Using a service that excludes jewellery. On your own postage, Royal Mail's retail policy excludes jewellery from compensation unless it travels by an appropriate Special Delivery Guaranteed service.
- No record of what went in. A lost parcel turns into a question about its contents. Without a list and a photograph taken before sealing, the answer rests on memory.
- Throwing away damaged packaging. A carrier may need to see it. Keep it until you are told it is no longer needed.
- Splitting a lot without saying so. Clause 3.3 of the terms asks you to send a lot together where you can. Parcels arriving on different days are separate lots with separate offers, unless you ask in writing for the first to be held. If the lot is large, ask before you pack.
- Posting when the confirmation does not match. If the service or cover in your confirmation is not what you expected, or does not look enough for what you are sending, say so before you post. A higher level is arranged first, and the items wait at home until it is.

## When not to use this route

> **Keep the parcel at home if any of these is true**
>
> The cover confirmed with your label does not look enough for what you are sending, and nothing more has yet been arranged. You have not been told in writing which service the label uses. You are thinking of paying for your own postage to save waiting for a label. The buyer's terms, whoever the buyer is, leave the risk in the post with you. In every case the answer is to ask first: a parcel that has not been posted cannot be lost.

Some things should not go in the post until somebody has seen photographs. That includes a lot bigger than one parcel ought to carry, heavy silver that will not fit a sensible box, and anything that may be worth more whole than as metal. The [posting guide](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/posting-gold-and-silver-safely) covers packing and splitting a lot. The [security and insurance page](https://assaypost.co.uk/security-and-insurance) follows a parcel from the counter to the bench, and [how to check a postal gold buyer](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/how-to-check-a-postal-gold-buyer) sets out what to ask any buyer before you post.

## Questions sellers ask

### What happens if my parcel of gold goes missing on the way to Assaypost?

If it was posted on a label the business issued, the loss is the business's. Clause 7.2 puts the risk on it from the moment the parcel is accepted at the counter, and the business claims from the carrier itself. What you are owed under clause 12.2 is what the items were worth, not what the carrier pays.

### Do I have to claim from the carrier myself?

Not on an Assaypost label. The contract with the carrier is the business's, so the claim is too. On postage you bought yourself it is the other way round: you are the carrier's customer and the claim is yours.

### I have lost my posting receipt. Does it matter?

It can make a trace slower, but it does not weaken your position. Clause 7.3 says the receipt is not a condition of anything you are owed. If the tracking number is anywhere else, such as a photograph or the email that carried your label, send that instead.

### What if the items I declined arrive back damaged?

Keep everything as it arrived, photograph it and tell the business. The risk on a return stays with the business until the parcel is delivered to you, so the damage is the business's to put right. The packaging may be needed if the carrier wants to inspect it.

### Is the carrier's compensation the most I can get back?

Not on an Assaypost label. Clause 12.4 says the carrier's cover is how the business insures itself, not a limit on what you are owed. On your own Royal Mail postage it is different: Royal Mail's policy pays up to the smaller of market value and the compensation you bought.

### Why is my parcel photographed before anyone opens it?

Because that is the only moment its condition can be recorded before anybody has touched the contents. If the seal or the packaging shows any sign of interference, the business stops, photographs it as found and tells you before doing anything else.

## Sources

1. [Royal Mail — Retail compensation policy for loss](https://www.royalmail.com/retail-compensation-policy-loss) (accessed 21 September 2026)
2. [Royal Mail — Retail compensation policy for damage and part loss](https://www.royalmail.com/retail-compensation-policy-damage) (accessed 21 September 2026)
3. [Royal Mail — Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm](https://www.royalmail.com/sending/uk/special-delivery-guaranteed-1pm) (accessed 21 September 2026)

## Related

- [Security and insurance](https://assaypost.co.uk/security-and-insurance)
- [Terms](https://assaypost.co.uk/terms)
- [Posting gold and silver safely](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/posting-gold-and-silver-safely)
- [How to check a postal gold buyer before you send anything](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/how-to-check-a-postal-gold-buyer)
- [Request your postal pack](https://assaypost.co.uk/postal-pack)
- [Offers, returns and payment](https://assaypost.co.uk/offers-returns-and-payment)
- [Declining an offer and getting your items back](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/declined-offers-and-returns)
- [Complaints](https://assaypost.co.uk/complaints)

## Start with photographs

- [Send a photo on WhatsApp](https://wa.me/447369296063?text=Hello.%20I've%20been%20reading%20your%20guides%20and%20I've%20got%20some%20pieces%20I%20can't%20identify.%20Sending%20photos%20now.)
- [Request a prepaid label](https://assaypost.co.uk/postal-pack)
- Telephone [07369 296063](tel:07369296063), 6am to 10pm, seven days a week