The five worst courier delivery fails

Missed Delivery
Missed Delivery


How many times have you found yourself stuck in the house waiting for a delivery that never arrives?

It happens to the best of us, with TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp taking to Twitter yesterday to complain that a £900 Amazon package had failed to turn up - despite the fact that Amazon, DHL and Yodel all claimed that it had been delivered.

But what can you do if this happens to you?

The first thing to know is the fact that, under the Consumer Rights Act, it's the company that you ordered from that's responsible for the package.

This means that, even when it's clearly the delivery company's fault, it's the retailer that needs to put things right. While it doesn't do any harm to contact the delivery firm too, it's the seller that holds legal responsibility.

You can call their customer service number - or, like Kirstie, use social media, which will often get you a much quicker response.

Delivery driver appears to have been caught faking delivery of iPhone

As for how long you should be prepared to wait for a delivery, this depends on the original estimate - anything up to 30 days is legal. If you pay for express delivery and don't get it, you should be entitled to get the extra cost back.

And if the item arrives damaged, you're entitled to a replacement.

Unfortunately, dodgy deliveries are on the increase - indeed, over the last couple of years we've seen some corkers. Here's a round up of our top five delivery fails.

Courier delivery leaves customer climbing the walls

Left on the roof
Back in 2014, Benjamin Ward, of Hove, East Sussex, arrived home from work to discover a card telling him that he'd missed a delivery. But instead of explaining that the parcel was with a neighbour or back at the depot, the card read: "Stuck on roof - sorry!" The package was wedged in a gutter some 20 feet up. Eventually, the company apologised - and sent the courier back to the house with a ladder.

Left in a bin
Just a few months later, Phil Norris, from Cheltenham, found a note explaining that his parcel had been left in the bin. Luckily, he was able to retrieve it - though the same wasn't the case for one woman, whose helpful neighbour put the bins out while she was away.

Throwing packages
Earlier this year, a Hermes courier was caught on CCTV hurling a £50 package over a fence in Chester-le-Street - without even ringing the doorbell first. Luckily the glass bottles inside didn't smash. And just a few months ago another Hermes courier was spotted throwing a parcel over a gate without even trying to open the gate first.

Courier caught on camera throwing parcel over fence

Failing to leave a parcel
Paul Kerswill, of Hull, got home to find a note saying that the X-box he'd ordered had been left in the bin. It hadn't. And when Paul checked CCTV, he saw the driver drop off the note, and then vanish - there was no X-box in sight.

Taking a parcel
In 2015, one courier went even further. CCTV shows him arriving at a flat in Stirling carrying two parcels - so far, so good. But when he sees a third package on the doorstep, he decides not to leave his own - but instead walks off with all three.

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