Almost 15 million people experienced a problem with a parcel delivery in the last month
Citizens Advice’s annual parcels league table shows worrying trend of worsening customer service
Two in five people who have accessibility needs - such as needing longer to answer the door - were unable to share their needs with delivery companies
Royal Mail and Amazon rank joint first with 3 out of 5 stars
Yodel and Evri score 2 out of 5 stars - placing them at the bottom of the table
With a seasonal surge of deliveries on the horizon, more than a third of online shoppers (almost 15 million people) experienced a delivery issue with a parcel they received in the last month.
In its fourth annual parcels league table, Citizens Advice has revealed that, while Royal Mail and Amazon both achieved an overall score of 3 out of 5 stars, standards continue to slip in areas like customer service. Four out of the five firms, including Royal Mail, Amazon, Yodel and Evri, saw their customer service scores drop from last year - while DPD's score remained the same.
The Citizens Advice parcels league table looks at the top five delivery companies by parcel volume and measures their performance against criteria including customer service, delivery problems and how well they meet accessibility needs (such as people needing longer to answer the door).
Citizens Advice found:
Delivery problems continue - 14.8 million people - more than a third (36%) of all online shoppers in the UK - experienced a delivery issue with a parcel they received in the last month. Problems included parcels left in insecure locations and parcels arriving late. The worst offenders for people having delivery problems were Yodel (42%), DPD (40%) and Evri (37%).
Accessibility scores improve, but more progress is needed - A year after the parcel industry regulator Ofcom introduced new measures to ensure disabled consumers had the opportunity to report their accessibility needs to delivery firms, scores have improved across the board. However, 3.3 million people who have an accessibility requirement (39%) are still unable to share their needs.
Complaints and customer service gets worse - Of the people who had experienced a problem with their delivery, 48% had a further issue trying to resolve the problem, such as not being able to find the right company contact details, or not receiving a response. This is the highest level for three years. All providers except DPD saw their score on customer service decline in the last year.
The scores
Alyson’s* story: ‘Sometimes they dump the parcel without even knocking - it’s so frustrating’
Alyson* is a disabled woman who lives alone. A double amputee, she is a wheelchair user and cannot get to her front door quickly enough to receive parcel deliveries. To make delivery drivers aware of her needs, she informs delivery companies when purchasing items and has fixed a laminated note to her front door, asking them to leave parcels on a table to the rear of her house. Many couriers ignore these instructions and take the parcel away instead. As a result, Alyson consistently has problems receiving packages.
She said: “Some companies make it so hard. I’ve downloaded apps, looked on websites and there’s nowhere to explain why you can’t get to the front door quickly. Sometimes they dump the parcel without even knocking. It’s so frustrating.
“This summer, I ordered a parasol for my garden, and the parcel company left a note saying ‘we tried to deliver and you weren’t in’ on three separate occasions. I was in - I just couldn’t get to the front door in time, and it clearly said that on the sign on my front door. They kept taking my parcel back to the depot, then told me I’d have to go and collect it myself. How am I supposed to bring a heavy, six-foot high parasol back from the depot in my electric wheelchair?
“Some parcel companies aren’t too bad, because you can leave a note on their websites to let them know about your accessibility needs and they actually do follow it. It’s nice when delivery drivers actually understand that some people do need a little more help - and what’s another 30 seconds?”
Ofcom needs to get to the root cause of delivery disasters
While Citizens Advice welcomed steps taken by Ofcom to encourage parcel companies to improve accessibility options for consumers, including louder knocking or allowing for more time to get to the door, a significant number of consumers still can’t share their needs with their parcel company. Reasons include not having the correct app, not being aware of where to share or that they weren’t given any option when placing an order.
Citizens Advice also argues that Ofcom needs to take tougher action on declining customer service standards. The charity is calling on Ofcom to:
Start investigating carriers whose complaints processes are still not up to scratch and fine them if necessary.
Expand its guidance on accessibility to make sure people with accessibility needs are able to share them with parcel companies - and monitor the outcome.
Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:
“For four years in a row, our parcels league table shows that when it comes to customer service, poor performing parcel companies are clearly stuck in transit.
“Worrying numbers of people face having to chase lost, late or damaged parcels and those with accessibility needs are continuing to be overlooked by firms.
“With a seasonal surge of deliveries on the horizon, parcel companies must do more to protect shoppers. Ultimately we need Ofcom to get to the root cause of these persistent failings and, where necessary, fine the worst offenders if they fail to up their game.”
Jane Parsons, Citizens Advice Consumer Expert, 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 with those arrangements, it’s not the seller or courier’s responsibility.
Online trader or online marketplace - If you buy from an online trader or from a trader on an online marketplace, your consumer rights are the same as if you buy from a shop. Make sure you know if you are dealing with a trader or a private seller on an online marketplace. Check if the marketplace has a dispute resolution process - it might make it easier to solve an issue with a private seller.
Check reviews - It’s always worth taking a careful look at reviews to gain an insight into how reliable the parcel company is and how well they deal with missing parcel complaints and refunds.
Who to deal with when a parcel goes missing - Your purchase and contract is with the seller. If your parcel goes missing, you should speak to them to deal with the problem, not the courier company.
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Notes to editors:
Opinium Research conducted an online survey between 13th September and 11th October 2024 of 8,011 UK adults who have received a parcel in the last month from: Royal Mail, DPD, Yodel, Amazon Logistics or Evri. Data was weighted to be nationally representative of those that had received a parcel from one of those five companies in the last month. To create the league table, the five top parcel delivery companies by volume of delivery were measured against four criteria: delivery problem, accessibility, customer service and trust. Each rating was out of five stars, and each criteria has been weighted to calculate the overall score. The full league table and methodology can be found on Citizens Advice website.
Our full methodology, including minor changes made to the calculation of the league table, can be found here.
Top five companies by volume of delivery. Estimates taken from Apex Insight, UK Parcels Market Insight Report 2023
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