The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Father fumes over parcels caught up in delivery limbo
An Inverness father has questioned why Hermes keeps accepting delivery jobs in the Highland capital despite its depot facing a backlog.
Last month, a shortage of drivers across the country was “being exacerbated” by staff absences caused by Covid, according to the courier service.
This came as hundreds of Skye and Inverness residents were left frustrated waiting for deliveries ahead of Christmas.
Mike Kendrick is waiting for five parcels currently sat in the Inverness depot.
One parcel from Amazon containing sticky labels, hand soap, fabric conditioner and coconut milk has sat in the depot since December 3.
He said: “I’m waiting for five parcels and all are showing they are at Inverness depot.
“The longest one there for me has been since the beginning of December.
“What makes it worse is that I’ve ordered from companies in the past couple of days and Hermes are still accepting and shipping parcels to Inverness.
“Yet they are not being delivered.
“I would be willing to be pick them up from the depot if I had to.
“My son Ben is also waiting for five parcels which vary from a suitcase to gifts for people he is seeing when he departs for the USA on Friday.
“I appreciate they may have real issues due to a lack of staff, in which case they should no longer be accepting deliveries for Inverness until they’ve sorted the mess out.”
The 51-year-old said he has tried several times to contact Hermes to solve the problems.
He added: “I have tried to contact Hermes on a number of occasions.
“There is no contact details for the Inverness depot and you struggle to find a number.
“You get an automated service which isn’t helpful.
“They also say there is a major backlog so I’m not sure when the parcels will arrive.”
A spokesman for the courier said they are still working to address delays.
He said: “We are continuing to experience some delays in the area as a result of the impact of Covid but the vast majority of our deliveries are unaffected.
“We apologise for any inconvenience, our team will contact Mr Kendrick.
“Anyone experiencing delivery issues should contact their retailer in the first instance who will in turn contact Hermes.”
I’m waiting for five parcels and all are showing they are at Inverness depot