An Evri customer whose parcel was dumped in a fly-tipping area was issued a £400 fine by his local council after he was deemed responsible for the littering.
Jakub Watemborski received a letter from Enfield Council on January 5 after they found his name on some packaging in a frequent fly-tipping area, despite Jakub having "never been to that area".
Jakub from Barnet, North London was bemused before quickly realising that a Christmas present of a pair of shoes that he was supposed to have received on December 20 via Evri (previously known as Hermes) had never arrived.
Sure enough, images provided of the 27-year-old's alleged waste offence, showed Jakub's undelivered - and seemingly empty - Evri parcel.
Media manager Jakub was falsely accused of fly-tipping in Haselbury Road in Enfield, North London, and was instructed that he must "answer questions relating to these suspected offences".
He was told to seek advice from a solicitor or advice agency before proceeding and was to reply within seven days or he'd be forced to pay the £400 based on Enfield Council's information.
Images attached to the letter show three large bags worth of rubbish and packaging that the council had collected, as well as the black bin bag that the parcel had originally been dumped in.
A separate image shows Jakub's apparently empty parcel, which showed his name, address, the date that it was dispatched and even the Evri van number that it was supposed to be with.
Jakub took to social media on January 9 to call Evri out, sharing images of the council's "proof" of his apparent fly-tipping as well as evidence that the parcel never reached his door.
Jakub said: "These jokers 'lost' my parcel and I get a letter today from a council where their depot is based, saying I'm being investigated for fly-tipping there because my name and address was found in the rubbish dumped.
"Of course, it's the Xmas present they stole."
The post has since received dozens of likes and comments from appalled users.
One Twitter user wrote: "Thieves. I hope you get this sorted."
Another wrote: "OMG that is appalling. Think you need to send a love letter to the Evri CEO..."
Another commented: "That's about right for Evri, they have lost a lot of Christmas deliveries and can't give any explanation. They need investigating by the BBC Watchdog program."
Another said: "It seems like Enfield Council don't seem to do much investigation. Presumably there were other labels as those who steal parcels don't just go for one.
"Perhaps they don't have the brain cells to think outside of the box. Make sure you seek advice before answering them."
Another replied: "Utter scum. Honest and decent people being hounded because of Evri."
Enfield Council have since dropped the investigation against Jakub and FootAsylum have refunded his order, but the issue is yet to be resolved with Evri.
Speaking on Wednesday, Jakub said: "I live in Barnet in North London, so I was very shocked to get a letter from another council.
"The lovely Mr. Brooksbank, a Litter & Waste Enforcement Officer for Enfield, who sent me this accusation based on entirely circumstantial evidence, took photos of the incident and the 'package' containing my details.
"When I took a look, I could immediately tell it's a label from Evri aka Hermes.
"I also immediately noticed the date on the parcel corresponded to a parcel that Evri unfortunately 'lost' after a delivery could not be carried out due to 'bad weather ' on a sunny Tuesday afternoon.
"Now you can imagine the absolute disgust and rage I felt when I realized this, but what placed the cherry on the cake is when I looked at the proximity of the incident's location to their Enfield Depot.
"It's a 10 minute drive.
"I sincerely doubt my parcel 'accidentally' made its way to the public and was discarded illegally by someone completely unrelated to Evri, but as it goes with these incidents: no face, no case.
"Package theft is one thing, I can get that refunded, but getting someone into legal trouble is a whole another deal.
"I'm luckily now cleared of charges by Enfield Council after some stern emails that I sent, but I'm still sorting this with Evri - who have arguably the worst customer support I've experienced.
"It's just a barrage of automated email responses and customer service reps who are promising to look into this depot, and get back to me with more information.
"I think we all need to stand up to these sub-par companies delivering products we pay hard-earned money for."
A spokesperson for Evri today (WED) said: "We have been in contact with Mr Watemborski to apologise and reassure him that we will cover any costs associated with this.
"We have also launched an investigation to understand what has happened."
