A customer in Ikeja pays for a cake, your rider collects it, and two hours later the customer sends a photo of a box that has been flattened on one side. The rider says it was like that when he picked it up. You say it wasn't. Nobody wrote anything down, so nobody can prove anything, and you end up refunding from your own pocket.
Most delivery disputes for small sellers come from the same few gaps: no agreed terms, no proof of condition, and no plan for when the customer doesn't answer the phone. This guide covers how to set those up before you send your next parcel. It applies whether you use a company, a freelance rider you know, or a delivery app.
Choose the right delivery set-up for your volume
There are three common ways small businesses deliver. Each shifts risk differently.
| Option | Best for | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| One or two freelance riders you know | Under about 10 orders a day in one area | Everything depends on one person; no formal recourse if goods go missing |
| Registered dispatch or courier company | Regular volume, several areas, higher-value items | Slower to resolve complaints; you may deal with a call centre instead of the rider |
| On-demand delivery apps | Occasional same-day orders | You don't choose the rider; handling quality varies; rules set by the platform |
| Your own salaried rider | Steady daily volume in a small zone | You carry fuel, repairs, bike downtime and staff responsibilities |
If you're just starting, a small pool of two or three trusted riders usually works better than one. When one is sick or his bike breaks down, your orders don't stop. For high-value goods, a registered company with a receipt trail is usually safer, even if it costs more per trip.
Vet a rider before you hand over goods
Do this once, then keep a record.
- Collect his full name, phone number, home area, and a photo of his ID. Ask for a guarantor (a person who will vouch for him) with a working phone number, and call that person.
- For a company, ask for its registered name and office address. Visit if you can, or at least check it exists and see how other sellers describe their experience.
- Save the bike's plate number against his name in your contacts.
- Start with low-value orders. Raise the value of what you give him only after several clean deliveries.
Don't use an ID or guarantor collected from someone else's list without confirming it yourself. And never let a stranger who "just happens to be around" collect a parcel on behalf of your regular rider.
Write simple delivery terms and send them in a message
You don't need a lawyer for a small arrangement, but you do need it in writing. A WhatsApp message the rider replies "agreed" to is far better than a verbal understanding. Cover these points:
- Pickup and drop-off: expected pickup time, and the time window for delivery.
- Payment: who pays the fare (customer, you, or split), and when the rider is paid (per trip, end of day, weekly).
- Cash on delivery: if he collects money, when he must hand it over, and how (transfer to your account is easier to track than cash).
- Condition of goods: that he checks the packaging at pickup and tells you of any problem before leaving.
- Damage or loss: what happens if goods arrive damaged or don't arrive (see below).
- Failed delivery: how many call attempts, how long he waits, where goods go afterwards.
- Communication: he sends a message at pickup, when he's near, and after drop-off.
Keep it short. A rider is more likely to follow six clear lines than a page of legal language.
Handle damage and loss before it happens
The fight is almost never about the damage itself. It's about who was holding the goods when it happened. Fix that with proof at each handover.
At pickup
Take a quick photo or 10-second video of the sealed package with the order name or number visible, and the rider next to it if possible. Send it to the customer too, so they know it left in good condition. Then pack properly. Our post on packaging and labelling homemade snacks and sauces covers sturdy containers and seals that survive motorbike rides.
At delivery
Ask the customer to open the package in front of the rider, or at least to photograph it immediately and report problems within a stated window, such as the same day. A complaint two days later is almost impossible to settle fairly.
Who pays when something goes wrong?
Decide this in advance. Common arrangements:
- If the package was visibly damaged at pickup and the rider accepted it, he carries the responsibility.
- If it was fine at pickup and damaged on arrival, the rider or company covers it, fully or partly. Some sellers deduct from the rider's pay over time for small amounts.
- If packing was poor, that's your cost. Be honest about it.
For goods that are expensive or hard to replace, consider asking the courier company whether they offer insurance or declared-value cover, and read exactly what it excludes. Many small-parcel services do not cover everything by default. Don't assume.
Plan for failed orders
A failed delivery happens when the customer's phone is off, the address is wrong, or they refuse the parcel. Perishable goods like food make this expensive within hours.
- Confirm before dispatch. Message the customer: "Your order will leave at 2pm. Please confirm address and that you'll be reachable." Skip dispatch if there's no reply on high-value orders.
- Get a landmark and a second number. Nigerian addresses often don't match maps. A nearby bus stop, church, or shop helps the rider more than a street name.
- Set a calling rule. For example: three calls over 15 minutes, then the rider messages you. You decide whether to wait, reschedule or return.
- Charge for the failed trip. State in your order terms that the delivery fee is not refunded if the customer is unreachable or refuses a correct order. The rider still did the work.
- Know what happens to the goods. Returned items go back to you, not to the rider's house. Log them on return.
For prepaid orders, be careful with refunds when the customer says "I never got it." Check the rider's drop-off photo, the customer's phone location if you share it, and the message trail before deciding. For payment confirmation, look at your own bank or app balance rather than a screenshot sent to you. Our guide on fake transfer screenshots explains why.
Cash on delivery: the point where money disappears
Cash on delivery is common because many customers don't trust paying first. It also puts your money in a rider's hands for hours. To reduce the risk:
- Have riders transfer the money to you immediately after each delivery, not at the end of the week.
- Keep a one-line log: order, amount, rider, time collected, time received.
- Match this against orders daily. A shortfall caught on day one is easy to settle; one found after a month is a quarrel.
- Limit how much cash any rider carries before settling up.
If a customer prefers to pay at the door, a transfer to your account while the rider waits, confirmed in your own app, avoids the cash problem entirely.
A hypothetical worked example
These numbers are invented to show the method. Get current quotes from riders and companies in your area before you plan around any figure.
Imagine you sell packed meals and a rider charges a fare you'll call F per trip within your area. Assume the following for a month:
- 200 delivered orders, with the customer paying the delivery fee on 160 of them and you absorbing the fee on 40 free-delivery promos.
- 10 failed deliveries, of which 6 were the customer's fault and 4 were because your order was late.
- 2 damaged orders, which you refund and replace.
Your delivery costs are not just 200 × F. They also include the 40 promo trips (40 × F that you pay), the 4 failed trips that were your fault (4 × F plus the wasted food), and the 2 replaced meals (the food cost plus a second trip, 2 × F). If the 6 customer-fault trips are charged to the customer under your terms, you recover that. If they aren't, that's 6 × F more out of your pocket.
The lesson: before you offer free delivery or promise refunds, count promo trips, failed trips and replacements as a real line in your costs. Add a small buffer to your prices for them. If you're unsure how, see our guide on selling food products online in Nigeria.
Permits, rules and legal basics
Rules differ by state and city. Some Nigerian cities have restricted areas or times for commercial motorcycles, and rider requirements such as licences or registration can change. If you employ riders directly or run a delivery company, check with your state's transport authority and the relevant licensing bodies. Ask the rider for a valid driver's licence and make sure the bike is roadworthy. If you carry food, health and NAFDAC rules for your product apply to you, not to the rider.
If a rider is in an accident while working for you, you could face questions about responsibility. A direct employee is treated differently from an independent courier. For anything beyond a casual arrangement, get advice from a lawyer or your local business support office rather than guessing. In Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, licensing and rider rules differ again, so check with your local authority.
Why delivery arrangements fail
- No written terms. Every dispute becomes one person's word against another's.
- Underpriced delivery. Sellers promise free delivery without counting failed trips and refunds.
- Relying on one rider. One illness or a broken-down bike halts the whole business.
- Weak packing. Leaks and crushed boxes blamed on the rider when the cause was the packaging.
- Delayed rider pay. Riders who aren't paid on time tend to take other jobs first, and your orders wait.
- Ignoring complaints. A customer who gets no reply posts publicly instead.
None of this guarantees a smooth operation, and a delivery service can still cost you more than you expect. Track it separately from your sales so you can see whether it's helping or draining the business.
Frequently asked questions
Should I make the customer pay for delivery?
Usually yes, at least in part, unless you've built the cost into your product price. Free delivery works only when your margins really cover it, including failed trips.
Can I deduct damages from a rider's pay?
Many sellers do, but agree it in advance and in writing, and keep it fair. Deducting large amounts without agreement leads to disputes and lost riders.
What if the rider says the customer collected the parcel?
Ask for a drop-off photo, the name of the person who received it, and a call to the customer. Make "photo at drop-off" a rule from the start.
Is a company better than a freelance rider?
For expensive or fragile goods, often yes, because there's a business behind the rider and a record. For small daily orders in one area, a trusted freelancer can be quicker and cheaper.
Your next step
Today, write your six-line delivery terms, send them to your riders, and ask each to reply "agreed". Then start taking a pickup photo of every parcel for the next week and see how many disputes it prevents.
This article is for general information only and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Prices, rates and rules change quickly, so check current details before making money decisions.