Douglas order tracking: delivery, returns and problems

Where does Douglas sell online?

Douglas's country list has no shop for the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada or Australia. It lists Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland and ten more European countries, each with its own Douglas site. In France and Monaco, the group sells through Nocibé, which has its own online shop.

Each shop delivers in its own country: douglas.at to Austrian addresses only, douglas.be to Belgian ones only, and douglas.ch only when both your delivery and billing addresses are in Switzerland.

The rest of this guide uses douglas.de, with Douglas's German labels and a translation, and says where Austria, Switzerland and Belgium differ.

Who delivers my Douglas order?

In Germany, Douglas names DHL:

Douglas's terms also list delivery to a post office ("Postfiliale"), and one of its help pages talks of Hermes parcel shops, where you get an email, a text or both when your parcel arrives. Your checkout shows which of these you can choose; wait for that message before you go. Douglas doesn't deliver to PO boxes.

Items marked "Douglas Partner" can be delivered by the partner rather than by Douglas, in a parcel of their own.

Austria. DPD or Austrian Post deliver in 2 to 4 working days, and the terms also name Atalogic.

Switzerland. Douglas doesn't name its carrier. It doesn't deliver to PO boxes, post offices or parcel lockers, and its deliveries arrive with duty and tax already paid.

Belgium. DHL or Budbee deliver, and a small order can come as a letterbox parcel. You can also choose a Budbee parcel locker or a bpost pickup point. Items from Douglas's partners come separately, by bpost.

1. Douglas's warehousePartner items can ship from the partner
2. DHL in Germany1 to 3 working days
3. A DHL PackstationCode in the DHL app
4. YouFree from €34.95 in Germany

Where is my Douglas tracking number?

Look in these places:

• The shipping email. Douglas emails you when your order ships; under its terms, that email is also when it accepts your order. Its order confirmation says each parcel gets its own shipping confirmation with a tracking link.
• Your Douglas account. Under "Meine Bestellungen" (my orders), you find each order, its invoice, how many parcels it comes in and their shipping status. The "Bestellübersicht" (order overview) also shows whether you can return the order in a store.
• Pickup codes and messages. For a DHL Packstation, the Post & DHL app shows your pickup code. A Hermes parcel shop sends an email or a text, and a Douglas store emails you when your Click & Collect order is ready.

Other shops: find your tracking number. Not sure whose number you have? Type it here:

Why is my Douglas order late, or why isn't tracking moving?

When nothing moves, it's usually one of these:

• A fresh shipping email. Douglas's shipping email warns that the status can take up to a working day to show online.
• A split order. Douglas can split an order into several parcels and pays the extra shipping itself, and partner items can ship separately. One parcel can arrive days before another, so check each tracking link.
• Express after 14:00. In Germany, an express order placed Monday to Thursday after 14:00 arrives 2 working days later; one placed on Friday after 14:00 or on Saturday arrives on Tuesday. With PayPal, these times can vary.
• A public holiday. In Germany, a holiday can push delivery back by up to 2 working days.
• Another country's times. Austria: 2 to 4 working days. Belgium: 1 to 2 working days for items Douglas ships, 2 to 4 for partner items, and bpost's busy periods can add more.
• Switzerland. The shop announces 2 to 4 working days, but its terms and French help page say 3 to 5. Give it 5 working days before you chase it. Customs clearance can also delay a parcel in exceptional cases, and holidays in Germany and Switzerland both count.

When waiting is still normal: tracking not updating and delivery times.

Douglas delivery options and costs

Germany. The order total is your subtotal after discounts, partner items included.

For a Packstation, you need your DHL customer number ("PostNummer"), and you can't pay by invoice or direct debit.

For Click & Collect, collect within 5 days with your order confirmation and ID. Someone else needs an authorisation you've signed ("Vollmacht") and their own photo ID. After 5 days, Douglas cancels the order and refunds you. Items marked "Douglas Partner" can't be collected in a store.

Other countries. Free delivery starts at a different amount in each shop:

In Austria and Switzerland, you can also have the order sent to a Douglas store; it waits there 6 days. More: parcel lockers and pickup points and uncollected parcels.

Douglas parcel damaged, missing or marked delivered: what to do

Look first, then report. In order:

1. 1Check the trackingOpen the tracking link in each shipping email. A split order and partner items come in separate parcels, so check them all before you report something missing.
2. 2Look around and askMarked delivered but not there: check the Packstation, parcel shop or store you chose, and ask neighbours and anyone at home whether they took it in.
3. 3Contact DouglasGermany: [email protected] (allow at least 48 hours), 0800 690 690 5 (free from German landlines) or the chat assistant on the help pages. Austria: [email protected] or 0800 50 05 90. Switzerland: [email protected] or 0840 00 33 44. Belgium: [email protected].
4. 4Make a complaintDouglas's German help files this under "Reklamation" (complaint) and "Mein Paket ist nicht vollständig?" (is my parcel incomplete?). Say what's missing or damaged, and keep the box and photos of a broken or leaking bottle. Switzerland: report wrong or missing items and defects in writing within 8 days of delivery. Belgium: within 2 months, ideally by email.
5. 5Refund or new itemFor a faulty item, Douglas sends a replacement or fixes the fault, and it pays for the return. If that fails, you can cancel the purchase or get a price cut. In Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, these claims run for 2 years from delivery.

Douglas also warns that very hot or very cold weather can affect the quality of some products. More: parcel marked delivered but not received, lost parcel and damaged parcel.

Returning a Douglas order

Germany. You have 14 days from receiving the goods to withdraw; for a split order, from the last parcel. Send the items back within 14 days of telling Douglas.

• By post. There's no return label in the parcel: request a return slip ("Retourenschein") under "Meine Bestellungen" in your account, or a prepaid return label from customer service at [email protected] or on 0800 690 690 5. With Douglas's prepaid label, the return is free; without it, you pay the postage.
• In a store ("Click & Return"). Bring the items to a Douglas store within 14 days, with the delivery note ("Lieferschein") or invoice ("Rechnung") from your email. It's free, and the refund goes to your original payment method. Partner items and orders paid with PayPal or Klarna can't go back to a store: check your order overview first. Partners put their own return label or return instructions in their parcel; if there's none, contact customer service.

Refunds. Douglas refunds within 14 days of your withdrawal, to the payment method you used, but can wait until it has the goods or your proof of sending them. What you paid with a gift card, or in a Douglas store, comes back as a PDF voucher by email.

Austria. 14 days. The return sticker ("Retouren-Aufkleber") makes the return free; keep the post office receipt. Without it, you pay the postage. Stores take returns with the invoice, but check your order overview first, as in Germany.

Switzerland. 14 days, at your own cost, with the return slip from the parcel, to MS Direct AG in Oftringen. If the return breaks an offer's conditions, its free gift goes back too. Douglas refunds within 30 days.

Belgium. 14 days. The return is free with the return form at a bpost pickup point or a Budbee locker, and you can also return to a Douglas store, except partner items. Douglas refunds within 14 days.

To follow a return: returns tracking.

Can I track a Douglas parcel in Peek?

Yes, with the carrier's tracking number: paste it into Peek. Peek recognises these by their shape alone (made-up examples):

DHL's 12-digit numbers, DPD's 14-digit numbers and Austrian Post's 22-digit numbers share their shape with other carriers' numbers. Peek asks the likely carriers and shows the one that knows the number. If several know it, press "Choose"; if it shows the wrong one, press "Change" and pick the right carrier. Budbee has no number shape in Peek: paste the number, press "Change" and pick Budbee. For Atalogic, a Swiss delivery or a partner's carrier, paste its number all the same: Peek follows more than 3,500 carriers. If your order comes in several parcels, add each number.

If a parcel changes carrier on the way and the first carrier names the one taking over, Peek keeps the history from the start and follows the new carrier. Peek shows what the carrier publishes. Claims, refunds and returns stay with Douglas.