Evri couriers: Wiltshire customers report parcels going missing

Customers of the parcel delivery company EVRi have reported packages going missing or taking weeks to be delivered.

Messages sent to BBC Radio Wiltshire included a report the company had lost a roof box, and items sitting in depots for "weeks".

Several also claimed not to be able to contact the company about their issues.

EVRi, formerly known as Hermes, apologised to customers for "short delays in receiving their parcels."

One of the company's delivery drivers, who wished to remain anonymous, told BBC Radio Wiltshire there will be "horrendous" backlogs this Christmas, because of high demand and low staff numbers.

They said: "Middle management is nigh-on non-existent and the number of experienced couriers who have left appears really high this year.

"I know couriers in their 60s and even some in their 70s…some getting less than minimum wage despite promises".

EVRi refutes this, saying: "All courier rounds (including ad hoc couriers) pay above National Living Wage - the average courier pay rate is £15.77 per hour after expenses and includes a time allocation for collecting and scanning parcels."

One of the messages sent to the BBC, from Tris Simpkins, said: "I've had a couple of parcels go missing now, including a roof box! Yep you didn't misread that."

Another sender said her husband was an EVRi driver in Wiltshire: "For the last few weeks he has been overwhelmed every day, with tonne upon tonne of extra parcels, exceeding all previous Christmas volumes...they cannot physically clear each days load, before the next load arrives," she said.

But one message defended EVRi: "Where I am in Wiltshire they are the most reliable service. They don't send a 'delivered' message then it turns up the following day, which happens often with DPD here."

Suzanne Wigmore from Citizens Advice Wiltshire said it is not up to the customer to contact the courier when there is a problem with delivering a parcel.

"A lot of the companies are overwhelmed at this time of the year," she said.

"The responsibility actually lies with the seller, not the courier, so we would advise going back to the seller, even if they tell you they have a courier company."

She added that in the event of a parcel going missing "the protections (for the customer) are really really strong".

In a statement, EVRi told the BBC: "We have invested over £60 million in our network infrastructure so our service remains strong and we are successfully delivering over three million parcels every day with no delays or backlogs in the majority of our network.

"Customers can contact us directly via our chat bot for support with parcel queries and parcel recipients can get tracking updates via our website or app.

"They can also use our chat bot to triage a number of issues and our CS team will call them back once they have investigated the issue."

It added: "Should they need further support and have any concerns they should contact the retailer or sender as per the advice on our website."

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]