Parcel firms ‘still failing customers’

All of the UK’s major parcel firms are continuing to fail consumers amid calls for regulator Ofcom to consider fining them if they cannot improve their service.

Evri, formerly known as Hermes, Yodel, DPD and Amazon Logistics failed to secure even a three-star overall rating out of five after being scored against criteria including customer service, parcel problems and accessibility needs, such as people needing longer to answer the door.

Evri came last for a second year running despite an overall improvement to score just 1.75 stars in the second annual parcel league table by Citizens Advice.

Yodel got the lowest score on a single criteria of all the firms, achieving just 1.7 stars for customer service.

Royal Mail achieved the highest overall score but still only managed three stars.

Citizens Advice measured the performance of the top five companies by parcel volume using data from its Consumer Service, consumer polling and social media complaints.

A Yodel spokesperson said: “We are fully committed to continuously improving and have invested heavily in customer service infrastructure over the last year, including the launch of a new app and proof-of-delivery images which provide customers with greater transparency.

“We disagree with the methodology and findings of this report. Our own parcel data and Have Your Say feedback programmes show that 84% of our customers had a positive experience with us over the last six months.”

An Evri spokeswoman said: “As the UK’s leading dedicated parcel company, Evri delivers over two million parcels each day and we pride ourselves on offering a fast, reliable, sustainable service which doesn’t cost the earth for consumers and businesses alike.”

Royal Mail received the highest rating