FOR WEEKS, residents across Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch have been reporting missing, damaged and undelivered parcels, with some saying they have lost hundreds of pounds as deliveries from courier company Evri fail to reach their doors during the busiest shopping period of the year.
With Christmas fast approaching, the situation has left many frustrated, out of pocket and increasingly distrustful of delivery firms they once relied upon.
‘With Christmas coming up, some of these parcels have sentimental value’
At a block of flats in Poole, one resident found herself at the centre of the chaos after discovering parcels dumped in an unsecured garage.
It comes after Evri took action to remove a courier in Poole after a surge of complaints about missing and misdelivered parcels.
On December 12, Sharon Faber, who lives at Nile Court, returned home to find around ten parcels dumped in the building’s underground car park.
She said: “I looked and they dumped all of the parcels in our underground garage, which is unsecure at the moment.
“ I just thought well somebody's just going to steal those I brought all the parcels into my address and sorted through them and then obviously posted on the community group.”
Fearing the parcels would be taken, Sharon carried them into her flat and began sorting through the labels.
She then posted details on local Facebook community groups in a bid to reunite them with their rightful owners.
Sharon added: “I don't drive so I can't go around delivering them so I thought as a safeguard I would bring all the parcels into my home knowing that they are all.”
Her posts quickly got famous on Facebook. Sharon said she received hundreds of messages from people who had not received their deliveries, many of whom believed their parcels could be among those left behind.
Sharon said: “So many people are complaining about losing parcels.
“With Christmas coming up, some of these parcels have sentimental value. They were just dumped in an alleyway.
“It’s not just happening in Poole. It’s not just happening in Bournemouth. It’s happening everywhere.”
‘It’s just not a reliable service anymore’
Just a few miles away in Westbourne, Gill Kraunialias, 66, was waiting for her parcels and received an image and notification showing her parcel has been delivered.
However, the house in the picture did not belong to her; it was located a few doors down on the same road.
Gill said: “The picture they showed me wasn’t of my house.
“It was further up the same road, and I recognised the door.”
Gill and her husband walked to the address and were shocked by what they found.
Gill added: “At least 20 parcels were just left there. Sephora (which was a small box) was dumped among the 20 boxes at the end of my road instead of my house.
“Two of them were for our road, but the rest were for places like Westcliff Road and Mildenhall – blocks of flats in surrounding areas.
“It’s absolutely awful.”
Gill said the situation has completely eroded her confidence in parcel delivery services.
“It’s reputational damage for everyone involved.
“It’s just not a reliable service anymore. I won’t order anything from anyone who uses Evri again. I’ll always choose an alternative.”
According to Ofcom's best and worst parcel firms for customer service satisfaction 2023/24 report Evri customers are the least satisfied with their experience when it comes to contacting parcel firms for help.
The company has highest level of dissatisfaction among customers scoring 41 per cent.
‘It’s an absolute nightmare working there’
While residents continue to share stories of lost deliveries, a part time delivery driver with more than 15 years’ experience working for Evri says the problems run far deeper than customers realise.
The part-time driver and have managed Evri depot, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Echo that what was once a manageable system has become increasingly chaotic.
“All the couriers who used to get five-star ratings were really good at their jobs. Unfortunately, I was one of them. But it’s changed. It’s basically down to greed”, he said.
He said that since Evri moved to a depot in Ferndown, many experienced couriers have stopped working for the company altogether.
“Everything now is money-orientated. They’re venture capitalists and investment companies.”
According to the driver, the scale of undelivered parcels inside Ferndown depot is alarming.
“There are pallets and pallets and pallets of undelivered items. Not just from days ago – we’re talking weeks, possibly months.
“It builds up on a daily basis. I've had enough of it. I drive around still doing the occasional deliveries and people are like stopping me. It's like, well, what's going on?”, he said.
He also disputed claims about courier pay rates, saying most drivers earn far less than figures previously quoted publicly.
“They told the government couriers earn £19 an hour. The only ones that can earn that are the ones that are in the union.
“But the union members are the only ones whose rates can't be touched at the moment. Everybody else has had pay cuts numerous times over the last three years.
“It’s really terrible.”
The driver said the breakdown of trust between couriers, management and customers has been devastating.
He also said the courier delivery company Evri does not take responsibility and that, over the years, the situation has spiralled out of control, becoming even worse during the festive season.
“And I just feel so sorry for the customers.”
He added: “When I was doing regular deliveries, we’d be out until eight or nine at night making sure people got their parcels. We built relationships with customers. That’s all gone now.
“It’s an absolute nightmare working there.”
'I’m afraid there doesn’t appear to be any real progress'
Bournemouth and Poole MPs have also criticised the Evri for what they describe as repeated failures to deliver parcels safely, with reports of items being “dumped” in public spaces across the region.
Poole MP Neil Duncan-Jordan has written to Evri CEO Martijn de Lange, raising concerns about parcels being regularly delayed, misplaced, or left in unsafe locations. Despite that, he says there doesn’t need to be any real progress.
Mr. Duncan-Jordan said: “I’m afraid there doesn’t appear to be any real progress. Constituents are still contacting me to say that they are being told their parcel has been delivered – but it’s clear that they have gone to the wrong house.
“If a delivery company can’t deliver then there are some serious failings with the company and the way it’s being run.”
Bournemouth East MP Tom Hayes also added his voice to the criticism, saying: “What should be a simple, assured parcel-delivery process has become increasingly stressful and inadequate.”
'Our priority is to handle every parcel with care'
A spokesperson for Evri said: "This is the busiest time of year for parcel deliveries. Our priority is to handle every parcel with care, and we apologise to any customers in the area who have experienced issues.
“Where deliveries do not meet the high standard we expect, the appropriate action is taken to address this with our delivery partners in the area. Anyone who needs help can get in touch with our dedicated customer service team.”
“We have an industry leading and GMB backed pay scheme for our regular self-employed couriers, which offers pensions and holiday and sick pay.
"Evri couriers generate earnings significantly above the National Living Wage, with average earnings exceeding £20 per hour, and our model was approved by HMRC after a multi-year review.”
Evri has also said Ferndown Depot is managing thousands of parcels a day in the run up to Christmas with "small numbers" of parcels experiencing a short-term delay.
Moreover, the company said new initiatives have been introduced, including geo-fenced parcel deliveries and map-pin geolocation, which ensures that the courier is at the right location and guides them straight to the door and helps improve first-time delivery rates.