Hermes and Amazon parcels stolen, left on front step

think

I don't understand the policy to leave the parcels on the front step, but maybe that's just because I had to deal with these thieves way too often. I'm glad that in some areas, it's totally safe to do that, and everyone trusts their neighbors, but that's not my case. I even installed a security system from Ajax because I live in a pretty disturbing area, so it's hard to predict what can happen to your house tomorrow.

Nicegranny

I’m not ordering from any company that uses Hermes for delivery because l have always had to go looking for my parcels when they are involved. I have watched Hermes go to another number in my street because they can’t be bothered to knock on the right door. Awful company check before you order that Hermes are not delivering.

I’m the same. I began boycotting them after a string of mishaps. The last straw was when I had a text message from Hermes to say that my parcel would be delivered within a two hour window. I have a ring doorbell and when there was no delivery I went through the recordings for the day just to make sure I hadn’t missed the courier - I hadn’t. When I contacted Hermes they said the parcel had been delivered at the specified time and as ‘proof’ emailed me a photo of my parcel on someone else’s doorstep !! It took an age to sort out and I vowed then I would boycott them as much as possible.

Doodledog

It’s a lottery, I think. I have often had parcels left in the step in the rain, sometimes for days. They aren’t always delivered by the same people- Royal Mail do it too. I recently had a parcel shoved in a gap between two hedges at the bottom of the garden. No card, no indication that it had been delivered, nothing. I had no idea it was there, so went online to track it, and it was showing as ‘handed to resident’.

It’s maddening, particularly as we are away a lot, and can’t always time deliveries to suit. I think it comes down to the cost though. We expect free delivery and it costs money. The drivers get 30 seconds to deliver, and if they take the parcel away they have to redeliver in what amounts to their own time. It’s a rubbish job, with low pay and no thanks, so I don’t know how we can expect a more efficient service. I don’t think this should apply to Royal Mail or Parcelforce however, as their delivery charges are expensive.

I hate paying for postage (I use Amazon Prime where possible), but think that we all need to accept that if we aren’t prepared to pay more we will get a poor service.

I agree it’s becoming a lottery and I do feel for the delivery drivers - a difficult job all round. But like you, I think Royal Mail is different, and we should expect a better level of service from them than we actually get. Their services are expensive, their claims procedures are archaic and they give the impression that they simply don’t care if customers get rubbish service.

A prime example - a couple of weeks ago, 7am Saturday morning, I got a text message saying we were out when RM had tried to deliver a parcel. We were actually up and about at that time and since no one had rung the bell and there was no card left, I checked the Ring camera footage - no attempted delivery. I arranged a redelivery on their website, the day came, the parcel did not. I rang customer services who said that the online service for redelivery ‘isn’t very reliable’ and arranged redelivery over the phone !! Again the parcel didn’t arrive.

The phone number for the sorting office isn’t available to the public, and I had no calling card to collect the item, so I had to ring customer services again. After a few phone exchanges the story seemed to be that the item came via China post and they couldn’t find any record of having received it at the sorting office - even though they had supposedly tried to deliver it and had accepted the tracking details for redelivery twice !!

Despite RM’s admission that they had lost the item, and despite the sender using a tracked and insured RM service at the UK end, I wasn’t allowed to make a direct claim for compensation because the item came from outside the UK. Instead I had to contact the sender and get them to contact their mail carrier to put in a claim to RM so that I can be compensated. I’m still waiting for it to be sorted out.

Yesterday I had my third run in with Hermes in 8 weeks. All of them involved items ordered from M&S. On each occasion I had an email along the lines of, "sorry we missed you. Our driver attempted a delivery but, you were not at home. A card has been left...etc, etc."
All a pack of lies. I was at home, nobody attempted a delivery, no sign of a Hermes driver or vehicle anywhere near my house during the 3 hours either side of the alleged attempt to deliver according to my cctv and certainly no card left.

I fired of several irate emails to Hermes and M&S and was informed that the driver had difficulty locating the property!
Funnily enough, the Amazon driver who also delivered goods yesterday, had no trouble at all. ?

I used to have issues with Hermes but for a while it seems to be the same driver and he is excellent. He arrives within the times I’ve been given, rings my bell then goes back to his van but waits until he sees me open the door before driving off.

One day I was in the garden and not quick enough to get to the door and when he did not see me, he popped round to the back to find me or to leave the parcel in my safe place by my back door. He is such a pleasant cheerful man as well.

Further to my fishbox saga. The next month it was left behind our next door neighbour's house, on top of a bin. The DPD driver would have see our gate, it has a bright pink sign with the house name in white letters, but chose to leave it next door.
I emailed fishbox uk to complain, and I gave them our what3words address. Whether or not it was passed on to the driver I don't know, but this month he brought it right to the house.