Delivery company collapses as customers face parcel delivery delays

The courier company has ceased trading without notice, causing disruption to Evri deliveries

Britons are experiencing significant parcel delivery disruptions lasting several weeks after a major courier company went under.

Pedal and Post announced it is “ceasing trading without notice”, creating a domino effect for Evri customers. The delivery giant had relied on Pedal and Post for collections within Oxford’s Clean Air Zone, leaving locals now grappling with substantial hold-ups.

Carol Leonard, a Grandpont resident in Oxford, reported that numerous parcels she’d ordered towards the end of January failed to arrive. The packages included specialist cat food and litter, and despite being dispatched for delivery, they sat gathering dust at the distribution centre.

Her items finally arrived on 10 February – a full fortnight after she’d placed her orders. A spokesperson for Evri commented: “We successfully deliver more than 900 million parcels each year, with industry-leading on-time delivery rates.

“We were disappointed to learn that our e-cargo bike delivery partner in Oxford ceased trading without notice, which caused some temporary disruption for a small number of customers in the local area.”, reports the Mirror.

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“We have quickly re-organised deliveries in the area, and our local team are working hard to resume normal service. We have spoken to Carol to apologise for her experience and are pleased to confirm her parcel has been delivered this afternoon.”

Pedal and Post has announced its closure following the loss of a significant client earlier this year, leading to the shutdown of both its Oxford and London locations. As reported by BirminghamLive, CEO Christopher Benton confirmed that all 60 members of staff, a combination of self-employed and employed individuals, have been made redundant.

In an interview with Zag Daily, Benton acknowledged the challenges of maintaining ethical employment practices in a predominantly self-employed industry, stating: “Trying to be an ethical employer in a primarily self-employed industry is difficult,” but added, “Lower operating costs of cargo bikes really helped enable this to be able to pay better.”

He emphasised that the company’s closure was not indicative of the viability of cargo bike use or logistics, explaining: “Our closure isn’t a reflection on cargo bike use or logistics. With simple, small businesses that are reliant on five to six major clients, it happens sometimes that you lose one and can’t sustain moving forward.”

While Benton refrained from disclosing the identity of the client involved, he assured that they had “met their contractual terms”. He also stated that no financial details could be shared at this point due to ongoing discussions with liquidators.