How to Claim for Lost or Damaged DPD Shipments

DPD is the third largest parcel courier in the UK (after Royal Mail and Evri) and was awarded top spot in MoneySavingExpert's 2024 delivery service poll (with 55% labelling the service 'great').

However, DPD came third bottom in Ofcom's 2024 customer satisfaction survey (43% satisfied) and attracted the 2nd highest number of compensation claims on the Claimit platform in 2024.

If DPD has lost or damaged your shipments, here's how you can automate a compensation claim with DPD in a few clicks.

DPD delivery performance: Spotlight

• Founded in 1976, DPD (formerly Dynamic Parcel Distribution) is part of Germany's GeoPost group.

• DPD has a network of 10,000+ delivery vehicles and 42,000 collection points.

• DPD has a European focus, delivering over 1.3 billion parcels annually across 41 countries.

• Nearly half of DPD deliveries are business to customer (B2C).

• DPD is the third favourite courier among UK customers (15%) and large online retailers (used by 26%).

• DPD attracted 15% of all claims on the Claimit platform in 2024.

Making a claim for a lost or damaged DPD shipment

1. Identify lost or damaged DPD shipment

Instead of waiting for a DPD customer to raise a customer support ticket, Claimit's automated claims platform uses AI to spot delivery issues in advance. The system scans for 50+ potential shipping errors, flags potential issues in the system and sends alerts to your customer support team.

2. Check claim eligibility

DPD accepts claims for parcels that are damaged due to transport or 'got lost during the transport'.

However, certain exclusions apply. For instance:

• Damages - You must fill in a Damage Report (i.e. details on packaging, description etc) within 7 working days after the parcel delivery.

• Losses - You must report the missing parcel within 7 calendar days of the expected delivery date with supporting evidence and declaration.

• All claims - You cannot claim for items on DPD's 'prohibited items' list, such as:

  • Furniture (including flat-packed)

  • Jewellery

  • Liquids

  • Perishable Food

  • Torches

  • Watches

  • White Goods (i.e. fridges, washing machines etc)

With manual claim processing, you need to review DPD's exclusions and claims deadlines before making a claim. With Claimit, you simply choose DPD from the list of couriers on the platform and the system instantly cross references your product with the courier's claims requirements.

3. File claim with all key documentation

From photos to timestamps, all couriers require supporting evidence to make a claim. For example, DPD's damage form demands:

• Recipient name

• Contact details

• Parcel number

• Type of damage

• Damage evidence (i.e. photo of the contents)

• Proof of value (invoice, paychecks etc)

• Amount of losses (repair costs)

• Bank account number (for reimbursement)

Time-consuming, right? The Claimit platform simplifies document gathering by highlighting which evidence is required and allowing you to drag and drop or upload files directly into the claims portal. You then simply click 'claim' and your claim is sent.

4. Track claim status

There is no fixed time for claims outcomes, but DPD aims to respond within 30 days of receiving a claim (this can be longer if you do not include all the required documentation in the original claim).

Keeping tabs on one claim does not require much effort, but if you're making 100+ claims per month (with 100+ claims tracking numbers), this can be difficult to keep on top of.

Claimit gives you full visibility of each claim's status via a single dashboard, so you can monitor claim progress until resolution.

5. Receive payout

DPD offers compensation for lost and damaged packages up to £100 GBP + postage. After resolution of your claim, DPD tends to reimburse successful claimants via bank transfer in 7-10 days.

Claimit not only generates payouts 40% quicker than manual claims processes, but reimburses you instantly with digital credits, so you don't have to wait. What's more, by ensuring you meet all of DPD's claims requirements, we achieved an 88% success rate for DPD claims in 2024.

Do I need Claimit for DPD claims?

If you're an ecommerce business that uses DPD to deliver your products, you could make a significant difference to your bottom line by using Claimit. Particularly, if you:

• Send more than 50 DPD shipments per month.

• Currently use a manual process to make claims.

• Have a low claims success rate (under 50%).

Book a demo for more info.