Evri has been named as the UK's worst parcel company for a second year in a row amid calls for regulator Ofcom to consider fining companies if they cannot improve their service.
The company formerly known as Hermes - alongside Yodel, DPD and Amazon Logistics - failed to secure a three-star overall rating in the second annual parcel league table by Citizen's Advice, which found that all parcel companies are "failing" consumers.
This is the second year running in which Evri landed at the bottom of the table despite an overall improvement, earning just 1.75 stars out of five. Royal Mail achieved the highest overall score, but still only managed three stars.
The firms were scored against criteria including customer service, parcel problems, and accessibility needs, such as people needing longer to answer the door.
Yodel received the lowest score on a single criteria of all the firms, achieving just 1.7 stars for customer service.
Almost half of Yodel customers polled by Citizens Advice (43%) reported a problem with their last delivery, compared with just over a quarter (28%) of Royal Mail customers.
Citizens Advice also revealed that its online advice page titled 'If something you ordered hasn’t arrived' had been viewed almost 211,000 times in the last 12 months - and 52,000 times in the three months leading up to last Christmas.
The organisation measured the performance of the top five companies by parcel volume using data from its Consumer Service, consumer polling and social media complaints.
Citizens Advice chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty said: “One year on and parcel firms haven’t got their act together, with nobody delivering a four or five-star service.
“Behind the figures are shoppers seriously let down when parcels go missing or are late. The needs of those who rely most on online shopping, such as disabled people, are being forgotten.
“Our findings show there’s more for Ofcom to do to protect shoppers, and if these firms don’t up their game, it should be fining them.”
An Ofcom spokesman said: “We agree that some parcel companies are failing their customers when deliveries go wrong. So we’re strengthening our regulations next year to make sure people are treated fairly by parcel firms.
“We welcome research that shines a light on their performance, which we are monitoring too. If we’re not satisfied with how companies respond when our new protections come into force, they may face enforcement action or tighter rules in future.”
A Yodel spokesperson said: “We are fully committed to continuously improving and have invested heavily in customer service infrastructure over the last year, including the launch of a new app and proof-of-delivery images which provide customers with greater transparency.
“We disagree with the methodology and findings of this report. Our own parcel data and Have Your Say feedback programmes show that 84% of our customers had a positive experience with us over the last six months.”
An Evri spokeswoman said: “As the UK’s leading dedicated parcel company, Evri delivers over two million parcels each day and we pride ourselves on offering a fast, reliable, sustainable service which doesn’t cost the earth for consumers and businesses alike. “
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