Citizens Advice sounds the alarm on parcel delivery market as ten people have parcels lost or stolen per minute

Five and a half million (one in ten people) have had a parcel lost or stolen in the last year, new research by Citizens Advice finds. 

In addition, over 20 million people (38% of all UK adults) have received a ‘Sorry you were out’ card despite being home, resulting in some parcels being left in insecure places like doorsteps and bins.

The charity, which is the consumer advocate for the postal sector, is warning that the parcels market needs an end-to-end overhaul. 

Citizens Advice found:

• In a single week, almost 7 million people (13% of all UK adults) experienced a parcel issue relating to driver pressure. This included the driver leaving before the customer could get to the door, or leaving the parcel in an insecure place like a doorstep or bin

• In a single week, almost 3 million people (6% of all UK adults) missed a parcel because they didn’t have time to get to the door. This figure rises to 8% for people who are disabled or have a long term health condition and 9% of parents with young children

Despite these high figures, redress systems - like compensation - can be difficult to access. One in three consumers who had an issue said they took no action as they didn’t think it’d make a difference. 

The majority of delivery companies receive no penalty for lost or stolen deliveries. Currently only Royal Mail is subject to fines if this happens, despite 58% of parcels being delivered by other companies. Royal Mail is also the only delivery company to have an Ofcom-regulated complaints process.

Consumers tend to have no choice over who their parcel company is, with that choice being made by the retailer. As a result, consumers face a lottery when it comes to fixing problems or getting compensated for lateness or loss.

Matthew Upton, Director of Policy, said:

“When it comes to parcel deliveries, the power of choice is in the hands of the retailers, not those receiving the parcels. So when we find our parcels under a bush or behind our bins, it's easy to lay the blame at the door of individual hard working drivers. 

“But the reality is that these failings are baked into the system. Overworked drivers, no routes to compensation and a lack of penalties for poor service equals a lack of meaningful consumer protection.

“Addressing the sheer pressure that drivers are under and holding companies to account is the real way to improve this essential service for the millions of people who rely on it.”

Citizens Advice is calling for an end-to-end overhaul for the parcels market:

1. All delivery firms should face penalties for losing parcels: Currently, only Royal Mail faces a fine if a parcel is lost or stolen. Ofcom should extend penalties to all delivery firms to make sure that they take appropriate measures to keep mail safe

2. It should be easier for consumers to get compensation for late or lost deliveries: Redress systems are complicated. Nine out of ten people (88%) that attempted to resolve an issue experienced challenges. Ofcom should extend consumer protection rules to cover all delivery companies, not just Royal Mail. This would mean all consumers received the same level of service if something goes wrong

1. Drivers need better protections: Drivers’ employment conditions are often insecure, with unstable incomes and unpredictable working hours. These can lead to poor practices like leaving before consumers get to the door. The remit of the newly announced Single Enforcement Body should be widened to include the power to determine working status. This would make sure all drivers are on the most appropriate employment contract.

Case studies

“I have a sign on my front door asking for deliveries to be left in a specific place I can access, but nine times out of ten it’s ignored and my parcels are left in completely inaccessible places.”

Charlotte, a quadruple amputee, is heavily reliant on delivery services, but drivers often ignore her pleas meaning parcels are left in inaccessible and insecure places. She says as a result she has to call one of her children to come round and pick up the parcel for her, putting them both out.

“I often felt like a kid playing knock down ginger. It was awful that I didn’t have time to wait. I’d deliver parcels to older people and couldn’t even help them put the package inside when they needed extra support.” 

Jake, 28, worked as a self-employed contractor for a delivery company to earn extra money when he found out he and his girlfriend were expecting a baby. In the advert, he was told he would need to deliver 80 parcels a day but this expectation quickly rose to 180. This gave him less than two minutes for each parcel. Jake said this meant it was impossible to help customers with their access needs.

Notes to editors

1. Citizens Advice includes the national charity; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.
2. Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer advocate for energy and post. We provide supplier performance information to consumers and policy analysis to decision makers.
3. The Citizens Advice Witness Service provides free, independent support for prosecution and defence witnesses in every criminal court in England and Wales.
4. Citizens Advice offers Pension Wise services at 500 locations in England and Wales.
5. Citizens Advice’s services are free, independent, confidential and impartial, and available to all regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
6. To get advice online or find your local Citizens Advice, visit citizensadvice.org.uk
7. For consumer advice, call the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 to talk in Welsh.
8. We helped 2.6 million people face to face, by phone, email and webchat in 2017-18. For service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.
9. Citizens Advice staff are supported by over 23,000 trained volunteers, working at over 2,500 locations in England and Wales.