For the second year in a row, Evri, formerly known as Herme’s was named the worst-performing parcel company
The organisation, originally known as Hermes, received the lowest star rating from Citizens Advice out of a potential five stars.
After being evaluated based on factors such as customer service, package delivery issues, and accessibility requirements, such as people having to wait longer to answer the door, four of the top five companies were unable to get even a 3-star overall grade.
According to Citizens Advice, no parcel delivery service has a perfect score of three stars for accommodating the needs of customers with disabilities and anybody else who needs special considerations when receiving packages.
How did the other couriers rank?
DPD received the highest rating (2.4 stars), although across all delivery services, customers who need extra assistance were more than twice as likely to experience delivery issues (54% vs. 26%, respectively).
With a customer service score of 1.70, Yodel has the lowest overall rating. Yodel customers who were surveyed by Citizens Advice were more likely (43%) than Royal Mail customers (28%) to report a problem with a recent delivery.
Nearly half (46%) of customers who had a problem with their most recent delivery encountered additional issues while attempting to find a solution, such as difficulty locating the appropriate contact information or failure to hear back. Yodel (52% of offenders), Evri, and DPD were the worst
Despite it’s bumpy issues, customers gave the delivery services higher trust ratings than the previous year, with Amazon and Royal Mail each receiving 4.33 stars. According to the charity, this may reflect consumers’ generally low expectations of delivery services.
Additionally, Citizens Advice disclosed that its web article titled “If something you ordered hasn’t arrived” had nearly 211,000 views in the previous year and 52,000 views in the three months preceding Christmas 2021.
The Scores – Chart
The top five delivery companies by parcel volume were measured against four criteria using data from Citizens Advice Consumer Service, consumer polling and social media complaints.
Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:
“One year on and parcel firms haven’t got their act together, with nobody delivering a 4 or 5-star service.
“Behind the figures are shoppers seriously let down when parcels go missing or are late. The needs of those who rely most on online shopping, such as disabled people, are being forgotten.
“Our findings show there’s more for Ofcom to do to protect shoppers, and if these firms don’t up their game, it should be fining them.”
Right of reply…
Evri disputed the data used by Citizens Advice in compiling the table, a spokesperson for the company 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 business alike,” they said.
“Evri is rated great on Trustpilot with a score of 4.2, based on over three million independent reviews and we have a loyal client base, including over 80% if the high street and we have long-standing and loyal clients who have worked with Evri for an average of ten years.
“We have made significant investments to improve our services as we grow, adding dedicated customer service teams operating seven days a week in depots; building the biggest parcel distribution hub in Europe, in Barnsley; and expanded our ParcelShops and Lockers, which help customers to send and receive parcels at over 10,000 locations nationwide, improving first-time delivery rates and reducing the carbon footprint of each delivery.
“The survey from the Citizen’s Advice Bureau is based on inaccurate data and we have raised significant concerns with them about their survey methodology which uses historic volume data, is overly reliant on Twitter and includes references to fake and incorrect handles.”
Citizens Advice Consumer Expert, Jane Parsons, gives her top tips to help combat parcel delivery issues:
- Check delivery information – Before you place an order, find out the delivery times, costs and returns policies for the items you want
- If you’re out of the house during delivery – Consider asking a neighbour or friend if it can be delivered to their address if you think it may be a time or date you’re not home. But beware, if you do provide details of a safe space or nominated neighbour and something goes wrong it’s not the seller or courier’s responsibility
- Online trader or online marketplace? – Make sure you know if you are dealing with a trader or a private seller on an online marketplace as dispute processes may vary. If you have an issue with a trader, a dispute can be raised directly with them, but if it’s a private individual it may be easier to go through a marketplace’s dispute process
- Check reviews – It’s always worth taking a careful look at reviews to gain an insight as to how reliable the company is and how well they deal with missing parcel complaints and refunds
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