There are laws in place to protect the consumer if your order doesn’t arrive on time - here's what you can do ...

Your parcel hasn’t turned up on time. What should you do? What are your rights?

There are laws in place to protect the consumer if your order doesn’t arrive on time.

The consumer contracts regulations, which came into effect this year, apply to items bought online, at a distance, or away from a trader’s premises.

The onus is on the retailer and not the courier to refund the customer.

If a retailer fails to deliver your goods on time, they are in breach of their contract.

If you have paid for premium delivery and your order does not arrive before or on the date they said it would, you can apply for the refund from the retailer.

A lot of people assume the refund lies with the delivery firm but actually it’s with the retailer.

When you place your order with someone like Argos or Amazon, you agree to their terms and conditions - not the delivery company’s.

If this does happen, you have a 14-day window from the day of receipt to cancel your order.

Unlike shops, who will refund a customer only as a goodwill gesture, online shoppers have a right to a refund within 14 days of placing their order.

So if an item is late being delivered, customers have a 14-day window to cancel the order and get a refund.

Here’s what you can do if you do not receive your items in time:

• It’s the retailers’ responsibility to get your orders to you within the agreed timeframe so you must complain to them if they don’t arrive on time or you just want to find out how you’ll be affected.
• You have 14 days after receipt to cancel online orders, if you’re really worried you can cancel it before it even arrives.
• If you paid for express delivery but it doesn’t arrive in the promised time frame, you can ask for the cost of express postage back.
• You may also be able to claim compensation back if you’ve lost out because of it, for example, if you had to take time off work to wait for a delivery.
• But remember. Unlike express delivery, you cannot claim normal postage costs if the item arrives, even if it turns up later than the estimated delivery time.