'My parcel was stolen after Evri dumped it'

Parcel couriers need to take more accountability for their deliveries, says a woman whose birthday present for her daughter was stolen after being left on the doorstep.

Krystal Selmi, from Lincoln, said her parcel was delivered by Evri but was taken soon after it had been "dumped" in full view of the rest of the street.

"It's just carelessness. They don't care. It's not theirs, is it?" she said.

Evri said: "We've apologised to Krystal that her daughter's birthday present didn't arrive and offered a goodwill gesture as her experience fell short of the high standards we expect."

Doorbell camera footage shared with the BBC shows a man taking the parcel from the doorstep on 8 May.

Ms Selmi, 36, said she believed that if more care had been taken when it was delivered, it would not have been stolen.

"They had just dumped it on the doorstep," she said. "A few hours later, it was gone. It was stolen."

The parcel contained a pair of shoes for her daughter.

"I was really angry, really upset. I'd saved my money over a couple of months to pay for these shoes she desperately wanted," she said.

"Now we haven't got them, and I can't replace them."

Ms Selmi said the courier told her she should contact Vinted, where she had bought the shoes, for a refund.

"It's like Evri are trying to pass the buck on to the senders," she said.

Two weeks after the incident, Ms Selmi said it nearly happened again.

She said an Evri courier failed to ring her doorbell while she was in and left another package in plain sight on her doorstep.

"What if I had not have been here? Would it have gone again?" she said.

A spokesperson for Evri apologised for Ms Selmi's experience, and said her first port of call should be with the retailer.

"In line with the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the retailer or sender is responsible for the parcel being safely received," Evri said.

"Any issue should be raised directly with the retailer or sender. If there is an issue with a delivery – as there was in this case – we work closely with the retailer to ensure the matter is resolved, whether that is a refund or a replacement."

A spokesperson for Vinted said: "Members can contact Vinted for any issues with their parcels and we can contact the shipping provider on their behalf to investigate.

"We're sorry to hear that the parcel was not delivered to a safe place. As the parcel was ultimately not safely received by the member, we have processed a refund."

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.