Royal Mail is tackling a record rise in disappearing parcels

COMPLAINTS made by consumers to Royal Mail topped a million this year as a rise in online shopping led to a record number of “disappearing parcels”.

The number of complaints in which customers have denied receiving parcels Royal Mail has recorded as having been successfully delivered rose by 51 per cent to 134,712 over the past year.

Until last year, when a total of 89,219 “denial of receipt” cases were recorded, the category did not exist in Royal Mail’s complaints process.

The number of disappearing parcels could be rising for a number of reasons, including dishonest postmen, dishonest consumers, system errors or human error.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We acknowledge that denial of receipt is a complaint category where we need to do more. We are doing so. In the past two weeks, we have launched some major enhancements. Customers who get a tracked parcel now receive an email or text message giving them the address of the neighbour to whom an item has been delivered. Previously this was not available.

“In addition, we have stepped up the training we provide.”

The most common complaints to Royal Mail over the past year were about “lost” parcels, with around a quarter of a million claims. Cas Paton, the managing director of online shopping platform Onbuy.com, said: “The boom in online shopping over the last decade has increased the dependence of businesses and consumers on postal service and courier companies. This research certainly demonstrates that various issues and faults can occur within the various stages of delivery.

“Whilst this is unfortunate, it’s good to see established companies such as Royal Mail offer their customers the opportunity to claim compensation when these mishaps do occur.”