An online Christmas shopper revealed that the phone he had ordered was replaced by chocolate bars after he received it, several weeks later than the delivery date.
Sending an email Twitter, Daniel Carroll, who lives in West Yorkshire, explained his order for the £1,049 iPhone 13 Pro Max was delayed for two weeks, before he went to DHL Leeds to collect it directly from the courier service.
But when it finally arrived, the logistics worker said the parcel had clearly been tampered with and the box contained two £2 Cadbury’s White Oreo chocolate bars wrapped in toilet tissue.
Others took to social media to attack the delivery service. One user wrote: “Oh my goodness, this is awful!” I’m same! I have lost my parcels in Leeds, and nobody will answer me.
DHL claims they are investigating after Daniel contacted them via social media.
Daniel Carroll, who lives in West Yorkshire, claimed his order for the £1,049 iPhone 13 Pro Max was delayed for two weeks before he picked it up – to discover it had been replaced with two chocoloate bars
Online, he shared his horror and revealed that he was unable to contact DHL about the Christmas gift despite ordering it.
Daniel revealed that he ordered the phone on the Apple website on December 2, but it wasn’t available for delivery until December 17 due to stock.
DHL provided several conflictsing updates to him last Friday just before the phone was scheduled for delivery. This left him in the waiting room all day, but no news.
He explained that: “I selected the track to have the parcel picked up from their depot and was advised that it could be made available for collection Saturday 18.
“On Saturday, tracking did not change and the website indicated that Leeds depot was closed temporarily – this advice is still in effect.
Daniel (pictured) stated only automated tracking was possible when he phoned DHL. A request online didn’t receive any responses.
“On Monday, I made a round trip of 24 miles to pick up the parcel. As the tape seemed loose and the contents of the box were clearly damaged, when I arrived home I was able to feel weight gain so I decided to open it.
“Inside, there was cheap industrial toilet roll that stunk and two bars Dairy Milk Oreo in it.”
Daniel said, “The tracking updates for Friday’s parcel that was delivered to a driver were not what you’d expect.”
“The parcel moved from Friday morning through Monday morning without the need for a tracking number.
“I work in a logistics firm and I know DHL so there is no reason for the parcel not to be traced as it arrives at the depot, unless the package has been manually removed from its normal process.
Daniel stated that DHL did not have automated tracking updates when he called the company and his Monday inquiry on their website didn’t get a reply.
It took him contacting a LinkedIn customer service manager to find out that Apple was checking CCTV. He requested a replacement.
According to the logistics worker, he called Apple Wednesday. Apple informed him that they had not received any reply from DHL. They are therefore unable issue replacements until DHL has completed their investigation.
Daniel explained that DHL manager Daniel asked him Wednesday whether he could follow up today. But, it seemed like there was no urgency.
It was intended to be Christmas presents so it is really disappointing.
Daniel’s tweet received a number of responses from people who claimed that they have also had parcels arrive with missing or damaged items.
Daniel also shared his frustration on Twitter. Along with a photo: Daniel wrote, “After a long week of a brand new iPhone 13 Pro max being stuck inside @DHLParcelUK Network, failing any delivery attempts Friday to Sunday. [I]Yesterday, I finally collected the parcel from DHL Leeds. It was damaged and the Christmas present (a new phone) had been replaced by this.
Daniel’s post at Twitter drew comments from other social media users who claim they have had similar problems with courier service during this festive season.
A person said: “Same thing happened in Bradford to my family, an iPhone Christmas gift arrived. No iPhone, just chocolate bars. It made me reconsider how I would purchase my next iPhone from @Apple.
“Disgusting that people have been left out of pocket so long @DHLParcelUK must tighten security.
DHL spokesperson said, “We are investigating this case as a priority and have been in contact with the sender so that Mr Carroll is provided with a suitable replacement.”