Evri sorry after 80 customers from Lincolnshire complain to BBC

More than 80 people have contacted the BBC to complain about the courier company Evri.

Customers from across Lincolnshire said they were frustrated by delays, poor customer service and parcels failing to arrive despite being marked as delivered online.

In neighbouring East Yorkshire, three MPs have raised concerns about the company’s performance, while a former Evri courier claimed he was told during training to “just chuck it behind the fence” if customers were not in. Evri said this was not the case.

The company apologised to customers whose experiences had fallen below its standards and said the vast majority of its 30,000 drivers were “hardworking members” of the community.

BBC Look North became aware of issues with Evri’s service after a number of viewers got in touch to raise concerns.

The BBC then asked people in local social media groups to share their experiences.

Some praised specific couriers and highlighted examples of excellent service but the majority of responses were about problems.

Ian Anderson, who lives in the village of Normanby by Spital, said he had problems with three parcels and the issues with the company had become so common in the area, he had written to his MP.

He said Evri had told him one package had been delivered when it had not actually arrived.

“It isn’t here,” Mr Anderson said. “The future for Evri doesn’t look bright and eventually retailers will catch on and will stop using them as a delivery partner.”

In nearby Faldingworth, four residents described problems with deliveries.

Bill Harwin, 72, accused Evri of lying after his £80 order of bed linen failed to arrive.

According to Mr Harwin, when the online seller tried to find out what had happened, Evri said the parcel “had gone through their system but had not gone out to the delivery driver”.

Mr Harwin then checked his tracking details, which said the parcel had been delivered six days earlier.

“Somebody has been telling lies to somebody and that’s just unacceptable,” he said.

Ann Oliver, 71, described Evri’s performance as “dire” after tracking details for her parcel showed it was delivered on 2 December, despite her claiming it was nowhere to be seen.

Fellow villager Karen Jones, 62, said she was now avoiding the company after three parcels failed to turn up, with one incorrectly marked as delivered.

“I’ve even felt like driving up to the CEO,” she added. “I’ve been that frustrated.”

Hannah Clark, 44, described issues with five parcels in the past few weeks. One was incorrectly marked as delivered, while two others were cancelled and refunded.

“Where are they? Have they been hidden, have they been destroyed?” she asked.

“Or have they been taken and put under other people’s Christmas trees.”

In October, a survey of nine parcel delivery companies for the regulator Ofcom found Evri had the lowest customer satisfaction level, at 31%, below Yodel on 38%. The average satisfaction rate for all companies was 47%.

The survey of 4,058 people examined the companies’ performance in handling contacts and complaints from recipients of parcels. Evri also finished bottom of the list in 2023 and 2024.

A former Evri courier from East Yorkshire, who asked not to be named because he still works in the industry, said his two months spent working for the company had been “shocking.”

During the first month he worked directly for the company, while in the second he delivered for a contractor on behalf of Evri.

“You get paid per parcel,” he said. “A lot of parcels go missing, but I think that’s primarily the depot’s fault because of how poorly it’s run.

“Every day you’d get there and it would be manic.

“You’d deliver at least 100 per shift – it’s not doable.

“If you’re rushing to get these parcels done, you’re not going to have as much care as you should.

“When I was getting trained, they literally said, if they’re not in just leave it in the blue bin or just chuck it behind the fence.”

Responding to his claim, Evri said couriers were “trained to recognise safe places, such as secure porches, parcel boxes or greenhouses, and will do their best to leave parcels somewhere appropriate and secure”.

When asked about delivery notifications being sent when parcels had not arrived, he said: “I could only assume that it’s to keep up with the record of them delivering on time, or successful deliveries.”

MPs Diana Johnson (Hull North and Cottingham) and Emma Hardy (Hull West and Haltemprice) have written to Evri to raise concerns put to them by constituents.

Fellow MP Graham Stuart, who represents Beverley and Holderness, raised the issue in the Commons on Thursday.

He told Look North: “Clearly it’s not just drivers at fault, there’s some systemic problem.

“There is something rotten in the state of Evri and that is driving this, as well as their inability to get the additional drivers that they need.”

He said many people had contacted him on social media to highlight not only the bad experiences, but to praise the “really good” Evri drivers serving villages in his constituency.

However, he added: “We do need to look at whether there do need to be regulatory changes, but of course it’s a market and I hope Evri will improve what they do, or cease to be in business in future.”

Evri said it had invested £57m in its operations over the past year, including “AI-powered tracking” to ensure parcels “arrive safely and on time”.

The company said it was delivering more than four million parcels daily nationwide, but had experienced a shortage of drivers in the East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire areas.

A spokesperson added: “Every parcel matters to us, and we’re disappointed when a courier fails to care for a parcel as if it were their own.

“Couriers are at the heart of our business and average earnings exceed £20 per hour. Our union-backed pay model guarantees minimum wages, holiday pay and pensions for couriers who choose to work for us consistently through the week.”

After the BBC contacted Evri with tracking numbers and customers’ concerns, parcels belonging to Mr Anderson and Ms Jones were correctly delivered.