UK’s best and worst parcel delivery companies named following new research

Some eye-opening new research has revealed the best and worst parcel delivery companies in the UK ahead of Christmas.

With the festive season fast approaching and many already in the process of Christmas shopping, Citizens Advice has released its annual parcel league tables, ranking the UK’s five major delivery companies in order from best to worst based on their overall performance.

From chasing missing parcels, and battling arduous complaints systems, to even having accessibility requests ignored, Citizens Advice found through its latest research that more than a third (37%) faced issues with their most recent delivery – which works out to roughly around 15 million people, a new record.

The research – which was carried out in a ‘snapshot’ one-month period – reveals that the rate of parcel problems remains at the highest levels seen in half a decade.

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Now in its fifth year, the charity’s league table looks at the top five delivery companies by parcel volume and measures their performance against criteria to determine who is the best.

The criteria each company is measured against includes customer service, delivery problems, and how well they meet accessibility needs, such as people needing louder knocking or longer to answer the door.

This year’s parcel league table shows Royal Mail scored the highest with 3.25 out of five stars overall, while Yodel slips to the bottom with just two out of five stars.

UK’s top 5 parcel delivery companies

1. Royal Mail – 3.25 out of 5 stars
2. Amazon Logistics – 3 out of 5 stars
3. DPD – 2.5 out of 5 stars
4. Evri – 2.5 out of 5 stars
5. Yodel – 2 out of 5 stars

Citizens Advice found through its new research that accessibility was the worst performing area overall, and this is despite Ofcom’s new condition requiring firms to give disabled consumers the opportunity to report their accessibility needs.

There was also customer service failures, with almost half (47%) of the people who had a problem with their initial delivery going on to have further issues trying to resolve the problem.

Research found that the most common problems customers faced with their last delivery include the driver leaving before they had time to get to the door (29%), their parcel being left in an insecure location (24%), and parcels arriving late (24%). 

“Ofcom has passed the parcel of responsibility for long enough,” commented Dame Clare Moriarty, who is the Chief Executive of Citizens Advice.

“We’ve been doing the work of the regulator for five years now by holding parcel companies to account and speaking up for consumers who are bearing the brunt of persistently poor service. 

“Our league table has tracked parcel problems from warehouse to doorstep. We continue to see millions of people chasing lost parcels, having their accessibility needs ignored and hitting a brick wall when they try to complain.

Read more:

• Royal Mail fined £21m by Ofcom for failing to meet its delivery targets
• Tesco unveils Britain’s favourite Christmas meal deal – is yours on here?
• Co-op launches 24-hour grocery delivery service in Manchester city centre

“The question now is whether the regulator will take tougher action to improve the parcel market once and for all.”

Featured Image – Amazon (Press Picture)