Worst delivery firms revealed as parcel problems reach record high

More than 15 million people have experienced a problem with their latest parcel delivery, as a record number of consumers are plagued with problems receiving their orders, a new survey has found.

Yodel came bottom of the league table, failing to improve on last year’s ranking of two stars out of five, while Royal Mail was top of the list with 3.25 stars, Citizens Advice found.

The most common issue reported by customers was the courier leaving before they had time to get to the door, with 29% affected.

The research found 24% of people reported packages being left in insecure locations, with 24% also experiencing parcels arriving late.

Citizens Advice said its findings showed there had been “marginal” changes in scores over the last five years, but the overall picture was one of consumers being “persistently failed” by parcel companies.

The research, carried out over one month, reveals that the rate of parcel problems remains at the highest levels seen in half a decade.

The data was based on a survey of 8,000 UK adults between August and September this year.

Where are the top delivery firms ranked?

1. Royal Mail – 3.25 stars

2. Amazon Logistics – 3 stars

3. DPD – 2.25 stars

4. Evri – 2.25 stars

5. Yodel – 2 stars

The charity’s league table looks at the top five delivery companies by parcel volume and measures their performance.

Scores achieved by firms for accessibility worsened this year, despite a new condition by Ofcom requiring firms to give disabled consumers the opportunity to report their accessibility needs.

Citizens Advice’s survey suggests that three million people who have an accessibility need they would like to share (37%) are still unable to share these with firms.

Complaints and customer service rankings remained stagnant, with almost half (47%) of those who had experienced a problem with their delivery facing a further issue trying to resolve the problem, such as a slow response, issues with automated systems, such as a chatbot and having to contact a firm multiple times to get a response.

The charity’s chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty said: “Ofcom has passed the parcel of responsibility for long enough. We’ve been doing the work of the regulator for five years now by holding parcel companies to account and speaking up for consumers who are bearing the brunt of persistently poor service.”

An Ofcom spokesman said it would continue to work with Citizens Advice to help consumers get a reliable delivery service.

They continued: “We have a strong track record of holding parcel firms to account on behalf of the public. That has involved tracking people’s experiences of parcel deliveries for over a decade, and, as a result, introducing strengthened regulations on parcel firms in 2023.”