A Christmas parcel containing make-up and other items, valued at approximately £500, was sent in December by a reader to two teenagers through the delivery company Evri. The reader purchased a £12.70 label at a Post Office counter for the shipment.
Two days after sending, the reader received a text message indicating the driver was unable to locate the address and that delivery would be attempted the following day. The parcel never arrived. Following up with Evri via email in February, the reader was informed the parcel had been delivered to the 'doorstep' on December 30. However, in March, Evri stated the parcel had been 'returned back to sender due to damage caused throughout the process,' though the sender never received it.
Consumer champion Helen Crane, writing for This is Money, investigated the case. Crane noted Evri's history of customer service complaints, referencing an Ofcom report that named the company the worst among nine investigated for customer service.
Initially, Crane sympathized with the reader, who had sent gifts to the teenagers through a charity they volunteered for, as the teenagers had lost their parents. However, Evri explained that the parcel was undeliverable because the reader had provided an incomplete address, missing a line that would have specified the building number on the street. Evri stated that this issue could have potentially been flagged by the Post Office when the label was purchased, but the responsibility ultimately lies with the customer.
The parcel was returned to the sender's address, which was provided on the label. As the reader was on holiday over Christmas, the parcel was left in their designated safe place. Evri provided photographic and geo-tagged evidence of this delivery to the sender's address. Crane noted that while leaving parcels outside can be disappointing, Evri had limited options given the incomplete recipient address and the sender's absence.
Evri acknowledged that its customer service agents could have explained the situation more clearly. However, a turning point in Crane's assessment came when Evri reported that the reader had verbally abused its staff on the phone, a detail the reader had not disclosed when seeking assistance. The reader denied speaking to Evri on the phone, stating all contact was via email.
Evri stated that staff attempted to contact the reader again after Crane's intervention to offer further support, but received no response. The reader disputed this, claiming Evri had not attempted further contact. Crane concluded that, given the parcel was returned to the sender and the reported conduct towards Evri staff, she did not believe Evri should be liable for the £500 contents.
An Evri spokesperson stated that the company handles over a billion parcels annually with a high success rate. The spokesperson confirmed the parcel was returned in December due to missing address information and that Evri had made attempts to contact the customer for further support without receiving a response.