A Bristol woman says she has been left feeling "confused" and "stressed" by DPD's attempts to rectify a parcel mix-up that originally left her with “rusty car parts” instead of presents. DPD eventually managed to get the correct parcel to Julia Harris’ address in time for Christmas, but she claims several of the wrapped gifts from inside are still missing.
Ms Harris, who lives in Avonmouth, spoke to Bristol Live last week to describe how her Christmas had been “ruined“ when a package that was meant to hold carefully chosen gifts from her family contained something entirely different. Her suspicions that something was amiss were first aroused by the exterior of the box, which was a different shape from the one that her family had sent, and that it was taped to indicate it had been 're-sealed by DPD with care'.
Because of her vulnerable health and ongoing heart problems, Ms Harris’ family decided not to gather for Christmas this year. So her son and his father sent a box containing several wrapped gifts they planned to open together while video chatting on Christmas Day.
Read More: Bristol mum's Christmas 'ruined' after DPD parcel of 'rusty car parts' delivered instead of gifts
Inside the box, instead of the carefully wrapped gifts that had been sent to Ms Harris, she discovered “old car parts” packed with Amazon cardboard and bubble wrap. Ms Harris and her family initially tried contacting DPD but claimed the only reply they received was a generic response that said the company would ‘look into it in due course’.
Since the story was published, a reader got in touch with Bristol Live to say he suspected the parcel was one he had sent all the way from Scotland - a dual peddle system for a learner driver car, which is due to be resent to the intended recipient in the new year.
Despite a statement from DPD saying they were trying to resolve the mix-up as “a matter of urgency” and that the company would be in contact, Ms Harris claims that after Bristol Live published an article about the mistake, the family still had to keep reaching out to DPD to try and speak to someone about how to try and find their items.
'I'm still baffled'
After receiving conflicting information about her parcel's whereabouts, Ms Harris said she was eventually able to speak to a representative. She told Bristol Live, “I’m very confused about it all because one person said one thing, that the parcel was in Hinckley in Leicestershire, and then another person said no, they’d seen pictures of it at Rumney Cardiff.
“Then they said, ‘maybe the label rubbed off the other label onto yours.’ But that’s totally impossible!” To ensure the parcel got to its destination, Ms Harris’ family say they took pains to hand-write her address on the box in addition to the DPD label.
Ms Harris said, “How can a label like that rub off when it's stuck down with parcel tape? I’ve never heard such an absolutely poor excuse in my life. I’m still baffled by it.”
Although initially Ms Harris said that the response she had from DPD was "abrupt", she said she has now received an apology - but says the situation caused her so much anxiety she had to take to bed to rest. Ms Harris said, “A five-letter word [sorry] I personally don’t believe is enough for all this stress. They haven’t even refunded the money for sending the parcel!”
Ms Harris says she was assured the correct parcel would arrive before Christmas, but when it was delivered on December 23, she claims several of the wrapped parcels were still missing. Ms Harris said, “To be totally honest, I didn’t expect anything in the parcel."
She says her address, on DPD's labels and handwritten, was clearly visible and didn’t appear to have been tampered with, nor did the box appear damaged though she believes part of the brown tape was cut and she sent a video to DPD to show them her suspicions.
Ms Harris says some of the missing items were personal handmade gifts, while a higher value parcel containing jewellery was still inside. After complaining about the missing items Ms Harris says she was told by a representative from DPD that they would check "lost property" at the Cardiff depot, but says she has not had any response since December 23.
Speaking about the experience, Ms Harris said, “They (DPD) really genuinely don't care. This has caused me stress; it's no good for me whatsoever." She complained about a lack of communication and how she had been given various different reasons to explain the mix-up, adding: "It’s absolute rubbish. That’s all I can say.”
Bristol Live has approached DPD for comment. In response to Ms Harris' original complaint last week, a spokesperson said: "We are very sorry indeed to hear about this and have launched a full investigation. From our security images, we can see that the packaging failed in transit, and we are now conducting a search to locate the missing items, as a matter of urgency. We will be in contact with the customer to resolve this issue."
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