A MAJOR parcel firm is battling a festive meltdown, leaving desperate shoppers sweating over their Christmas deliveries.
Furious families fear their Christmas presents will be stuck at Yodel's warehouse.
Emails seen by The Sun reveal Yodel is grappling with a "higher-than-normal number of parcels", leading to major delays and tracking chaos.
The firm admits deliveries are taking "slightly longer than usual" and urges customers to use their app for updates.
However, angry Brits have take to social media to demand answers.
One person said on X (formerly Twitter): "Yodel you've had one of my parcels for five days and the other for 10 days - what the hell is going on?
"Did someone forget Christmas came around again?"
Another said: "Yodel just told me that my parcel is delayed due to 'unforeseen' high level of parcels.
"It's f*****g Christmas. Surely you can foresee that.
"Got to be the sh****t courier service going and that's saying something with Evri around."
A Yodel spokesperson told The Sun: "Due to record-breaking volumes and a surge in larger parcels over Black Friday week and Cyber Monday, we worked with a small number of clients to adapt collection schedules to maintain smooth operations.
"We would also like to thank our colleagues for their hard work and massive efforts, during the busiest time of the year."
This follows a capacity crisis that saw Yodel begging clients like New Look and Gousto to use other couriers earlier this month.
Insiders told Sky News that the firm, which nearly went bust earlier this year, was struggling with driver shortages and a mountain of Black Friday and Cyber Monday packages.
A leaked memo revealed that some HGV drivers, lured by juicy pay packets elsewhere, ditched Yodel during its busiest period.
The firm admitted that it "cannot guarantee a 24-hour service" and was facing a massive backlog.
Yodel makes more than 190 million deliveries annually from its sites across the UK and works with a host of major retailers including Argos, Asos, Gousto and Halfords.
- hich retailers use Yodel?
WE reveal the retailers that use Yodel:
Clothing and Fashion: Very, ASOS, AllSaints, 7 For All Mankind, H&M, Gap, Laithwaites, Matalan, Missguided, Jack Wills, K&Co
Home and Garden: Argos, Asda, BHS, Bedeck, Blinds 2 Go, Dunelm, Habitat, Homebase, Laura Ashley, Littlewoods, Marks & Spencer
Health and Beauty: Boots, Birchbox, Lookfantastic
Food and Drink: Gousto, BrewDog, Naked Wines, Nescafé Dolce Gusto
Books and Entertainment: The Book People, The Entertainer, ELC (Early Learning Centre), MyGeekBox
Sports and Leisure: Halfords, On-One Bikes
Other: Amazon, Anyfoam Ltd, Bellroy, Brand Alley, Bulk Powders, Coggles, Discount Supplements, Ebuyer, Firebox, Gardening Express, GoNutrition, Great Little Trading Co, House of Fraser, I Want One Of Those, John Lewis, Moleskine, Monster Pet Supplies, Mothercare, Myprotein, Newham Bookshop, Next, Office Shoes, Offspring Shoes, oki-ni
A third added: "Day 14 of unsuccessfully trying to contact Yodel to see where my late parcel is.
"Phone lines switched off and no replies to web chat."
What are my rights?
Millions of shoppers will be relying on delivery firms to ensure presents they have bought online arrive in time for Christmas.
However, there are several ways to reclaim your money if your item is not delivered.
We have detailed your rights below.
Claim against the retailer
If your parcel does not arrive by the date agreed, you can make a claim against the retailer.
And if you didn’t select a particular delivery date or window at checkout, you are entitled to a refund if the item doesn’t show up within 30 days.
When buying online, if there isn't an option to select a specific delivery date, try to add a note stating "time is of the essence" and that you need it before December 25.
Follow this up with an email asking the company to commit to this timeframe.
It will give you extra refund rights if something goes wrong.
Cancel and buy again
With anything you buy online or over the phone – apart from items that have been personalised such as with your initials – you have the right to a refund within a 14-day window.
This cooling-off period applies even if there is nothing wrong with your purchase. The clock starts the day after you receive delivery.
The only other exception is for electronic items where the seal on the box has been broken.
This can be a useful tool if you know that a delivery is running late and you want to go out and buy a replacement before Christmas Day.
But when refunding you for the item, companies only need to reimburse the cost of the cheapest delivery option.
So if you paid for a premium "next day" or "named day" service, you may not get all of your money back.
Seek damages
If your purchase is damaged when it arrives, it is the retailer’s responsibility to then refund you.
Sometimes if you or the courier are in a rush, you might not have time to properly remove the item from its packaging and inspect it before signing.
Most of the time you are just signing to accept delivery rather than confirm the condition of your purchase – but to cover yourself, add “not examined” when you sign.
Pay by credit card
Using a credit card gives you an extra layer of protection under the Consumer Rights Act.
Section 75 protection can help claw back your cash in the event that something you buy arrives faulty or undelivered.
A lesser-known protection offered to those who make purchases with a debit card could also help in these circumstances.
Chargeback lets you ask your bank to reverse a payment if there is an issue, like not getting what you paid for.