Evri has most dissatisfied customers of all parcel firms – but courier says it is ‘listening’ and improving

Evri customers are the most dissatisfied with their experience of contacting customer services for help, according to an annual ranking of parcel firms. 

Some 39 per cent of Evri customers are dissatisfied with the contact processes of the firm, according to Ofcom’s annual Post Monitoring Report. 

This is despite the firm having improved on customer satisfaction over the past year. 

The second worst performer was Yodel, with 31 per cent of customers reporting their dissatisfaction. 

Last year, Evri saw just 26 per cent satisfaction in its customer services, with the score having risen to 32 per cent in 2024. Customer dissatisfaction has also dropped from 46 per cent last year.

A spokesperson for Evri told This is Money: ‘2024 has been a year of significant investment and listening to our customers to improve our service. 

‘We recognise there remains more to do, but Ofcom found that we are making year-on-year improvements and our rising parcel volumes are proof that customers and retail clients are voting with their feet and trust us with their deliveries.

‘Evri handles 730 million parcels a year with 99 per cent successfully delivered on time – and is committed to instilling a culture where every parcel matters. We have invested £32m to develop our customer service options and improve the customer experience at the doorstep.’

The report assessed the performance of parcel firms in handling complaints relating to missing or damaged parcels.

While 78 per cent are generally satisfied with parcel firms, 67 per cent have had a delivery issue in the past six months, with the most common problem being delivery delays, affecting 27 per cent of cases.

Amazon proved the best performing courier, with as many as 56 per cent of customers satisfied with its customer service, and just 15 per cent dissatisfied, with the dissatisfaction rate falling by one per cent year-on-year.

The second-best rated firm was DHL, with a 55 per cent satisfaction rate and 17 per cent dissatisfied.

While FedEx also had 17 per cent dissatisfied, the firm slipped from a satisfaction rate of 58 per cent last year to 52 per cent in 2024.

On average, some 45 per cent of customers were happy with the contact processes of parcel operators, but one in four were disappointed with the level of service.

UPS and Parcelforce also saw more than half of their customers report that they were satisfied with the customer service of the firms, while Royal Mail and DPD both had a satisfaction rate of 43 per cent.

Both couriers also had more dissatisfied customers, with 27 per cent and 28 per cent of users unhappy with the service respectively.

Ofcom said it is concerned about the long-term sustainability of the Royal Mail’s universal service, with he firm continuing to make a loss and fail to meet its productivity expectations in spite of improvements.

While letter volumes fell by nine per cent from last year, some 3.9billion parcels were delivered in the past year, an increase of 8.3 per cent from the previous year and almost reaching the peak pandemic level of 4billion.

Strengthened regulations are paying off

Ofcom said parcel operators have improved their complaint handling processes as a result of upgraded regulation, including improved website information and better phone lines and live chats.

While it said it expects these improvements to continue, it noted that disabled customers are more likely to encounter difficulties, with 71 per cent affected compared to 63 per cent among other people.

Evri’s spokesperson added: ‘Earlier this month, Evri announced a range of doorstep delivery improvements for people living with a condition or impairment. We have also launched a major three-year partnership with disability equality charity, Scope, to work together to help disabled customers have a better parcel delivery experience.’

Ofcom’s new guidance indicates that parcel firms should explain to customers who they should contact with complaints, what the complaint process will be and that the staff who deal with the complaints should be properly trained to do so.