Parcel problems reach record as 15 million people are let down on the doorstep | UK | News
People in the UK are facing some of the worst parcel delivery experiences in years; new figures show nearly 15 million people experienced problems with their latest delivery. The findings come from Citizens Advice, which says the state of the parcel delivery market is “broken” and that many firms are “consistently failing” the public.
A survey for the charity found 37% of parcel users encountered an issue the last time they received a delivery. The most common complaints included drivers leaving before customers could reach the door (29%), packages being left in unsafe locations (24%) and items arriving late (24%). Citizens Advice has also published its latest takeaway league table, ranking the top five firms by volume.
Royal Mail came out on top with 3.25 out of five stars, while Yodel came in last for another year with two stars, failing to improve on last year’s performance.
The charity said scores in the sector had remained virtually unchanged over the past five years and warned that the number of people reporting problems was at the highest point in half a decade.
Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Ofcom has handed over its responsibility package for long enough.
“For five years, we have been doing the job of regulators by holding parcel companies to account and speaking out on behalf of consumers who bear the brunt of persistent poor service.
“Our league table tracks package issues from warehouse to doorstep. We continue to see millions of people chasing lost packages, having their accessibility needs ignored and hitting a brick wall when they try to complain.
“The question now is whether the regulator will take tougher steps to fully improve the parcel market.”
The report also highlights serious accessibility issues. Despite new conditions introduced by Ofcom in 2023 to ensure disabled customers can share their access needs, nearly three million people (37%) with accessibility needs said they still couldn’t tell firms what support they needed.
Citizens Advice said accessibility scores in the league table had worsened this year.
Almost half (47%) of people experiencing delivery issues said they encountered other challenges trying to resolve issues, such as slow responses, automated chat systems that were unhelpful, and having to contact the company multiple times.
Citizens Advice is now calling on the regulator to step in to monitor performance more closely and punish the worst offenders.
A spokesman for Ofcom said the regulator had a “strong track record” of holding parcel companies to account.
They added: “Under these rules, postal operators must have a simple and transparent complaints process and have clear and effective policies and procedures to ensure that disabled customers are treated fairly.
“While overall satisfaction remains at a very high level of 78%, people’s experiences may vary depending on which courier company delivers their package and we continue to pressure operators to make further improvements.
“We will also continue to work with Citizens Advice as the postal legal consumer advocate to achieve our shared goal of ensuring consumers receive a reliable service no matter which company is used.”
The research was carried out by Opinium, which surveyed 8,000 British adults between 29 August and 27 September.
All participants had received a parcel from one of the following companies in the previous month: Royal Mail, DPD, Yodel, Amazon Logistics and Evri.
