Millions of online presents stranded

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Millions of online presents stranded as snow and ice cause huge backlog... and the weather's getting WORSE

Families are facing a Christmas of disappointment, with millions of gifts bought via the ­internet not arriving in time, warn experts.

A backlog of more than four ­million parcels is sitting in the warehouses of private courier firms across the country because the snow and ice has made ­deliveries impossible.

The predicted second Big Freeze this week is likely to make the situation even worse for couriers, who are struggling with their most difficult situation in 30 years.


Backlog: Four million items are sitting in warehouses of firms accross the country - with couriers unable to deliver them to certain areas because of the bad weather

Many online retailers, such as the big supermarkets, have already cancelled deliveries to the areas worst hit by the snow.

As of 1.30pm yesterday, the parcel backlog with private courier firms stood at some four million items.

At the same time, another four million new parcels are going into the delivery system every day, according to Global Freight Solutions, which works with all the major couriers.

While the situation is worst in Scotland and the North East, the problems are spreading, GFS confirmed last night.


Big freeze returns tonight with 8in of snow and temperatures of -10C on the way - and forecasters say it could last until MID-FEBRUARY

Couriers are so overwhelmed that they are telling internet stores to stop taking new orders for delivery to the North East, South Yorkshire and the East Midlands.

They warned that these restrictions are likely to be extended to other regions if the extreme weather does materialise.

Overwhelmed: Private courier firms have told online retailers to stop taking orders from certain parts of the country because of the huge number of undelivered presents

Legal obligation: The Royal Mail must deliver to the nation's 28million addresses, although the reality is that many homes go for days without post

GFS director Simon Veale said the delivery problems were the worst he has seen during 30 years, adding: ‘No one in the industry likes the prospect of not making collections or deliveries and everyone’s working around the clock to do what they can to ensure that items arrive on time but the reality is that some will not.

‘We are being told by certain of our carrier partners that things are so severe in Scotland that they’re running out of ­vehicles and trailers in the rest of the UK, impacting on deliveries in England and Wales. If there are additional falls of snow, as the weather forecasts are suggesting, the unhappy situation will be compounded further still.’

Royal Mail has a legal obligation to deliver to all 28million addresses in the UK. However, the reality is that homes in some areas have not had deliveries for days.

The firm has taken on 3,000 extra staff specifically to deal with the mail delivery backlog. It will also be running an extra delivery this Sunday.

A spokesman said: ‘The weather has been very challenging, but the large majority of deliveries are going ahead. It would be helpful if people post as early as possible.

‘It remains very much the goal to deliver the Christmas mail on time.’

Ready for delivery: The Sainsbury's warehouse in Waltham Abbey, Essex, is packed with products, but the retailer has halted deliveries to many parts of the country

Suspended: Asda has stopped non-food deliveries in Scotland, the North East and Kent as the company cannot guarantee delivery before Christmas

Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda have all halted or suspended non-food deliveries in Scotland and some other areas because they can no longer guarantee delivery before Christmas.

Sainsbury’s suspended deliveries for Scotland and parts of the North East, while Asda Direct warned it was unable to deliver large items, such as furniture, to Scotland, the North East or Kent before Christmas.

Marks & Spencer said it was not accepting any home delivery orders for Scotland because its warehouses were full of a backlog of parcels.

Long queues: The Royal Mail is expecting post and sorting offices to be busy as shoppers chase down their internet purchases

The problem with deliveries handled by the Royal Mail is expected to lead to long queues at sorting offices as internet shoppers chase down their purchases.

The extreme weather of recent weeks has also hit the number of shoppers able to get out to the shops.

An estimated 30 per cent of gifts have not yet been purchased.

The chaos is also a disaster for retailers, who generate more than 60 per cent of annual profit in the run-up to Christmas.

Visa said total spending on its cards last week was actually down by £100million on the previous week, at £7.7billion, adding: ‘Overall transaction values also decreased both online and offline, showing that consumers may well be planning for an austerity Christmas this year.’




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