Footage shows Hermes couriers moving parcels about a depot to save time. A manager also told an undercover reporter to “act stupid” if customers complained.
An employee at the delivery firm is seen chucking deliveries against cages, walls and onto the floor in the video secretly filmed at the site in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, earlier this month by The Times.
Mark, the depot manager admitted at one time that Christmas orders have risen so fast that next-day delivery deadlines are not met every day despite the fact that customers paid for it.
It’s hard this time of the year, he says. The volumes rise. The depot should be empty every day. This depot is supposed to remain empty. It never happens.
The manager offers advice about how to handle customer complaints. He says: “All you can do it is act completely stupid. Say: I really apologize.”
The newspaper’s investigation further found that couriers joke about throwing deliveries over fences, refer to customers as ‘c***s’ and leave parcels in the rain.
It has been claimed that Hermes is being sued by hundreds of customers for lost and damaged orders.
The reporter said he earned £8.08 per hour on average – in addition to a £25 new-starter earning – while the national living wage is £8.91 for those aged 23 and above.
Company said that it was conducting a thorough investigation. Senior members of the delivery team are currently undergoing an “urgent review” – however, they added that the site has been performing well and there have not been any problems relating to service.
It also strongly refuted the claims regarding minimum wage payment, saying the average courier is paid £14.88 per hour after expenses.
Meanwhile, shopping giants that deliver items through the company – namely Next, Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and H&M – have expressed their ‘alarm’ at the footage and urged the firm to ‘urgently’ investigate.
The secret video of the High Wycombe delivery location earlier this month shows an employee of the company chucking deliveries on walls, hard cages and onto the ground.
The depot manager admitted that despite paying customers for next-day delivery, there was an increase in Christmas orders.
One employee suggested that customers complain to the video clip. The manager agreed and said: “First day today, you’ve been lumbered.”
You can say “Yeah, that’s all I have to say,” or “Look, look, I’m terrible sorry. It’s my first ever day.”
While discussing being kept waiting to deliver an order in another part of the video, a courier says: ‘You’ve got f***ing big houses to go to.
‘They’ve got massive gates, you’ve got to ring the f***ing bell. You’ve got to wait for the c***s to open it, you know what I mean?’
‘Best thing to do is just f***ing chuck it over the gate mate, but you don’t know how to do it.’
Hermes stated in a statement that they don’t claim to be perfect, and that there are always issues to address.
“We’re determined to accomplish this, and we’re confident that many of these claims are false and not true to our business and standards.
“We have, however, acted quickly and initiated a thorough investigation. They are currently meeting with the Delivery Unit to conduct an urgent review.
Shopping giants that deliver items through the company – Next, Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and H&M – expressed their ‘alarm’ at the footage and urged the firm to ‘urgently’ investigate
Hermes said it is conducting a full investigation and that senior teams at the delivery unit are undergoing an ‘urgent review’ – but added the site is performing well with no issues relating to service or damage (file photo)
“This unit works well. There are no service issues or damages.
We strongly reject his claim regarding minimum wage payments. All courier rounds pay above National Living Wage and the average courier pay is £14.88 per hour after expenses.’
Responding to the investigation, John Lewis told the newspaper it was ‘alarmed’ and had asked Hermes to ‘investigate urgently’, while Next and H&M said they were discussing the footage and Marks & Spencer took the claims ‘very seriously’.
The revelations follow Hermes and Yodel performing the worst in a league table released by Citizens Advice last month.
It compared top-rated parcel companies to criteria like customer service, accessibility problems and customer service. The results showed that only three delivery firms received more than five out of five stars.
DPD also scored the lowest in consumers being asked about their previous delivery problems, with just 2/5 customers reporting one.
Citizens Advice raised the alarm about urgent actions needed in order to improve parcel delivery.
These revelations come after Yodel and Hermes perform the worst in a League Table (pictured above), released last month by Citizens Advice.
Online, the message read: “If you order something that hasn’t yet arrived”, which has been viewed nearly 160,000 times this year. This represents a 69% rise over the time period before 2019’s pandemic.
Four criteria were used to determine the top five parcel delivery companies based on their parcel volume: accessibility, quality of service and trust.
The study found that Yodel and Hermes performed worst with scores of 1.5 and 1.75 stars, respectively. Amazon Logistics scored the highest overall, however with only 2.75 stars.
DPD’s score was lowest among consumers who were asked about any issues with their previous delivery.
Citizens Advice found that 41% reported having a problem with the delivery of their previous order, while only 22% of Amazon Logistics customers had reported issues.
Respondents were only 48 percent able to find the assistance they needed when trying to resolve problems. Yodel saw this rise to 56%, and Amazon Logistics at 43%.
The data was also sourced from Citizens Advice Consumer Service and consumer polling.
Are your parcels lost or damaged? Email katie.weston@mailonline.co.uk