What do you do if a parcel is lost or arrives damaged?
There's only one thing to do before you open the package: a damage report. After that, notifying the seller, and if that fails, the consumer arbitration committee — all in order.
With delivery problems the most critical moment is the moment of delivery. If you saw the package was damaged and signed for it anyway, claiming your rights afterwards gets harder. If the box is crushed, the tape is torn or the weight looks suspicious, you need to open it in front of the courier and, if necessary, have a damage report drawn up.
The second point: the party you deal with is usually not the shipping company but the seller. In distance sales, delivering the product to you intact is the seller's obligation. The order below is based on this.
- Time1 hour
- DifficultyMedium
- Steps7
🧰 What you need
- The shipment tracking number
- The order/invoice record
- Photos of the package and the product
Steps
- Check it at deliveryIf the package is damaged, open it in front of the courier. If the product is broken, incomplete or different, don't accept delivery without having the courier draw up a damage report.💡 If the courier says 'let us know later', ask for a damage report anyway; a complaint without one is much harder to pursue.
- Take photos and videoRecord a video while opening the box. Make sure the outside of the box, the tape, the inner padding and the damaged part of the product are each visible.
- Get the record from shipment trackingUsing the tracking number, record the delivery date, the time and the person who took delivery. If the parcel shows as 'delivered' but never reached you, this record is your most important evidence.
- Write to the seller firstNotify the seller (the store or the marketplace) in writing: the order number, the problem, the photos and your request (return, exchange, refund). It has to be in writing — not by phone.
- If you used a marketplace, open a claimIf you bought it on a marketplace, start the platform's own return/dispute process; the process is put on record, and it's usually the fastest route.
- If you get no result, apply to the consumer arbitration committeeDisputes arising from a shipping contract fall within the remit of the consumer arbitration committee. You can make the application through e-Devlet with the Consumer Information System (TÜBİS), or submit it in person or by post.💡 Attach a petition + your supporting evidence (photo printouts, correspondence, invoice) to the application.
- Follow up on your applicationYou can follow the status of your application in TÜBİS through e-Devlet. If the decision isn't complied with once it has been served, enforcement proceedings can be started.💡 Which authority you apply to changes according to the amount in dispute; check the current monetary limits on the Ministry of Trade's consumer page.
⚠ This guide is general information. Yudum cannot be held responsible for the outcome of following it; for official procedures always rely on the institution's own statement. Steps and fees change over time.
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