Express delivery was late. Can I get the delivery fee back?
What to do when you paid for express or booked delivery and it came late or not at all: what you can claim, the email to send and who decides.
AI-assisted research and reviewed for accuracy. Something out of date? Let us know.
Usually, yes. If a store took payment for express or timed delivery, the Australian Consumer Law says it must supply within the period it gave you, and you can also claim foreseeable costs such as lost time. A card chargeback must be claimed within 45 to 120 days of paying. If the store refuses, your state consumer agency or a tribunal such as NCAT decides.
Already tried and got nowhere?
That's where we start. Our team takes it from here.
Do you get the delivery fee back if express delivery is late?
Usually, yes, when the store missed a delivery time it gave you when you paid. Section 36 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) says a business that accepts payment must supply within the period it specified at or before the time you paid or, if it gave none, within a reasonable time. In practice, the "next day" or "2 to 3 days" shown when you paid for express is the period the store has to meet.
Delivery is also a service, and services come with consumer guarantees. Section 60 says a service must be provided with due care and skill. Section 62 says that where no time is fixed, it must be provided within a reasonable time.
When a service fails a guarantee, section 267 of the ACL lets you claim damages for loss that was reasonably foreseeable, on top of cancelling or a refund. The ACCC says these costs can include lost time or productivity. A day off work for a booked delivery that never came is worth including in your claim.
The store has one defence. Section 36 doesn't apply if the delay was caused by someone else or by something beyond the store's control, and the store took reasonable precautions to avoid it. If the store blames its courier, ask it in writing what it did to avoid the delay.
Your claim is with the store, not the courier. Consumer Affairs Victoria says a seller is responsible for resolving any issues with Australia Post or the courier company it used. Australia Post's Express Post guarantee refunds the cost of posting to the sender, which is the store when you bought online.
| Your situation | What applies | What you can ask for |
|---|---|---|
| You paid for express or a delivery date and the store missed it | Section 36: supply within the period specified | The express or delivery fee back |
| The store gave only an estimate | Section 62: a reasonable time | The fee back if delivery went well past what was reasonable |
| You stayed home for a booked delivery and no one came | Section 60 and section 267: due care and skill, foreseeable loss | The delivery fee and reasonably foreseeable costs, such as lost time |
| The delay was beyond the store's control | Section 36(5): only if it took reasonable precautions | An explanation in writing of what it did to avoid the delay |
Retailers' own terms set expectations. The Good Guys says it does not offer set delivery times and gives an estimated window by the morning of delivery. Its delivery terms also say you may recover damages for any reasonably foreseeable loss caused by a failure of the delivery service.
What should you do first?
If you've only complained by phone or chat, put it in writing before anything else. A written request is what a manager, your bank or a tribunal will ask to see.
Step 1: Keep your evidence
Screenshot the delivery option and fee at checkout, your order confirmation and any message booking a delivery day or window. Note when the order arrived or the driver failed to show. If you took time off work, keep your leave record or a note of the hours you lost.
Step 2: Ask the store in writing
Use a channel that gives you a written record. Ajust's recommended channels:
- The Good Guys: the contact form at thegoodguys.com.au/contact-us or customercare@thegoodguys.com.au.
- Kogan: email to support@kogan.com with your order number.
- Temple & Webster: email to service@templeandwebster.com.au.
- Other stores: whichever channel gives you a written record and a reference number, usually email or the web form.
Subject: Late delivery on order [order number]: delivery fee refund
Hello,
On [date] I paid $[fee] for [express / timed] delivery of order [order number], due [by [date] / on [date] between [times]]. It [arrived on [date] / still hasn't arrived / didn't come at the booked time].
Please refund the $[fee] delivery fee to my original payment method. [I also took [time] off work for the booked delivery, which cost me $[amount], and I ask you to cover it.]
Please confirm the refund in writing by [date, 7 days from today].
Regards,
[Your name]
Step 3: Hold the store to a date
If the store offers a voucher or store credit, you can say no. The ACCC says refunds should be given in the same form as the original payment, unless you and the business agree otherwise. If it blames the courier, ask it in writing what it did to avoid the delay, and repeat your date.
Already done all this and still being offered a voucher or told it's the courier's fault? Here's what happens next.
What if the store still won't refund the fee?
Take it above the store, then outside it. Each route can help, but each has limits worth knowing before you start.
| Where | What it does | Where it stops |
|---|---|---|
| The store's customer care or complaints team | Can approve the refund the first person refused | It's still the store deciding about its own delivery |
| Card chargeback through your bank | Can reverse a card payment when you didn't get what you paid for within the agreed timeframe | Time limits vary from 45 to 120 days from the transaction date, and it isn't available for cash, money transfer, cheque, direct debit or BPAY. AFCA says the process doesn't guarantee a refund, and the store's bank can try to reject it |
| State consumer agency (NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, Queensland Office of Fair Trading) | Contacts the store to try to reach an agreement | It can't force a refund. Queensland's Office of Fair Trading says it cannot force a business to compensate you or rectify a problem |
| Tribunal (NCAT, VCAT, QCAT) | Hears the claim and can order the store to pay | You prepare and present the case yourself. NCAT's application fee is $64 for claims up to $10,000, which can be most of a delivery fee. NCAT: 3 years to apply |
Legal Aid NSW can fund a tribunal case about goods or services you bought, but only if you pass a means test and a merit test, and usually only once you've already been through the store's complaints process and an outside one.
Can someone take this on for you?
Yes, when the store won't refund the fee or the missed delivery cost you more than the fee.
Our team takes over your claim with the store and gets it past the call centre to the customer care or complaints team that can approve a refund. We put the fee and any costs from the missed delivery in writing, hold the store to a date and lodge with Fair Trading or Consumer Affairs for you if it still refuses.
No win, no fee. We'll tell you straight if we don't think we can win it.
Ajust has handled over 100 cases about late deliveries and delivery fees, and secured a confirmed result in 54% of closed cases.
- In these cases, the typical amount at stake is about $80.
- When Ajust secured a confirmed result in one of these cases, it typically took about 7 days.
- In Ajust's cases, The Good Guys refunded delivery fees of $59–85.
If the seller arranged delivery, it's responsible for your order until it reaches you, so a lost order is the seller's to fix.
What doesn't work
- Claiming from the courier. Courier guarantees refund the sender. When you bought online, the store is the sender and the one you claim from.
- Asking only once by phone or chat. Without a written request, it is hard to show your bank or a tribunal that you asked and were refused.
- Claiming lost time with no record. Keep your leave record or a note of the hours, and say what it cost you.
- Changing a booked delivery at the last minute. The Good Guys says it can charge reasonable costs of a failed delivery if you give less than 24 hours' notice of a change.
- Waiting until the chargeback window closes. The 45 to 120 days run from the day you paid, not from the day the order arrived.
Common questions
I took a day off work and the delivery never came. Can I claim for that?
You can ask. Section 267 of the ACL lets you claim reasonably foreseeable loss when a service fails a guarantee, and the ACCC says costs can include lost time. Say how much time you lost and what it cost, add your leave record, and ask the store to cover it with the delivery fee.
The store only gave an estimate, not a guaranteed date. Can I still get the fee back?
Possibly. Where no time is fixed, section 62 says a service must be provided within a reasonable time. What is reasonable depends on the service, and the ACCC names weather and availability of parts or materials as factors. The further delivery ran past the estimate you paid extra for, the stronger the request.
The store says the courier was late, not them. Who pays?
The store. Consumer Affairs Victoria says a seller is responsible for resolving any issues with Australia Post or the courier it used. Section 36 excuses a delay beyond the store's control only if the store took reasonable precautions, so ask it to explain in writing what it did.
The order still hasn't arrived. Can I cancel the whole thing instead?
Ask for an explanation in writing first. Consumer Affairs Victoria says that if the store still fails to supply within the timeframe it gave or a reasonable time, you're entitled to a refund of what you paid. Ask for everything you paid back, including the delivery fee.
Can I ask my bank to reverse just the delivery fee?
Ask your bank. Consumer Affairs Victoria lists not receiving products or services within the agreed timeframe as a common reason for a chargeback, and the time limit is 45 to 120 days from the transaction. Give the bank your written request to the store and its reply.
The store keeps offering a voucher instead of a refund. What now?
You can say no. The ACCC says refunds should be in the same form as the original payment unless you and the business agree otherwise. Reply once in writing that you want the money back, and give the store a date. If it still refuses, a chargeback or your state consumer agency is the next step.
- Competition and Consumer Act 2010, Schedule 2 (Australian Consumer Law), sections 36, 60, 62 and 267
- ACCC: Claiming compensation
- ACCC: Consumer rights and guarantees
- ACCC: Repair, replace, refund, cancel
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Products missing or damaged in transit
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Chargeback
- AFCA: Chargebacks factsheet
- Australia Post: Express Post guarantee
- Queensland Government: Understand the complaint process
- NCAT: Fees at NCAT
- NCAT: Consumer claims
- Legal Aid NSW: Consumer protection policy
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