Christmas delivery disasters: From tarantulas stuck in transit to parcels in the pond
Imagine buying tarantulas online only to find them stuck in traffic or come back home and realise your parcel is floating in the pond. Might sound strange but these are just a couple of examples of Christmas delivery disasters shared by customers.
Two in five online shoppers experienced at least one issue with a delivery last Christmas, according to research from Which?.
DHL came bottom of Which?’s survey with just 64% of respondents saying they were satisfied with the delivery. One in 10 (10%) said the condition of their parcel was poor when it arrived.
At the other end of the scale, Amazon Logistics and Royal Mail were top of the survey with 89% and 86% saying they were satisfied with their delivery. Amazon scored highest for communication about deliveries and condition of the parcel when it arrived.
Of those who had a delivery in the period covered by the survey, one in seven (14%) reported their parcel was late, one in 10 (11%) said it was left outside without their permission, and 8% said their parcel was not delivered at all.
One respondent said they had a pair of slippers thrown over the fence and into the neighbour’s pond – despite being home at the time.
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Shoppers also reported cases where laptops and other electronics were being left on doorsteps in the pouring rain and parcels in bins.
That one customer that ordered some pet tarantulas saw the delivery delayed and held for an extra night.
One in four respondents (26%) who nominated a safe place for a delivery had something go wrong, with some saying their instructions were ignored altogether.
One shopper who named their enclosed front porch as their safe place instead found the parcel in the middle of the garden in torrential rain.
Cheriece Gordon, a teacher from Nottingham, had to resort to drastic action to get refunded after her Amazon package was delivered last month without the contents inside.
After reporting the missing item – an iPad intended as a Christmas present for her son – she was told by an Amazon customer service representative to contact the police. However, Cheriece was not given a crime reference number as she was not considered the victim – it was for Amazon to file the police report.
Frustrated after days of getting nowhere, Cheriece emailed senior Amazon employees to get a resolution. Thankfully, her appeal for help worked. Cheriece has now been refunded the £679 she paid for the iPad.
Still, Amazon Logistics ha come out on top of the survey regarding courier firm satisfaction.
In a separate survey by the consumer body, a quarter (26%) of people said they had avoided shopping with a retailer because of its choice of courier.
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“With postal strikes looming, many consumers will be understandably worried about whether presents will arrive on time,” Lisa Webb, Which? consumer law expert, said.
“Unfortunately, the festive season is peak time for late, damaged or missing parcels and we have heard about scores of delivery disasters.
“It’s important to remember that if something goes wrong with your delivery this Christmas, it’s the retailer and not the delivery company that you need to ask to fix the problem,” she added.
If a delivery fails to arrive, Which? recommends customers immediately contact the retailer, which should either help track down their order or send a replacement.
Customers may also get a refund from their retailer if they paid extra for a special delivery that then arrived late.
