Evri dumps parcels for multiple customers miles away on driveway

A pile of 14 Evri parcels has been discovered on a driveway in Coalisland, County Tyrone.

The addresses on the parcels span parts of Mid-Ulster and County Londonderry, with some of the packages being for shoppers 45 miles away.

A courier driver for the company said that disruptions are happening due to "the sheer volume of parcels Evri have taken on".

A spokesman for Evri told BBC News NI that they are "urgently investigating" the incident to understand what has happened.

Evri has apologised to those impacted and said it will take appropriate action and support customers.

Speaking anonymously to BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme, the courier said: "This time last year I would have been delivering 200 parcels myself daily, this year it's up to over 300, well over 300."

For some people that are still awaiting deliveries the courier claimed that "it could be January [when they're delivered] and it'll still not be sorted to be honest".

He added: "At the end of the day they're [customers] paying for the parcels, some people need money more than other people and can't afford to be waiting on a refund and I don't blame them one bit, the closer you get to Christmas the more they start to panic about it and rightly so."

One of the parcels dumped was addressed to Niamh McDaid's husband who lives in Magherafelt.

Ms McDaid told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme that she had placed an order on 4 December for three items from Sports Direct for her seven-year-old son for Christmas.

The items included a football, a set of goalkeeper gloves and a Manchester United jersey.

"It was actually the jersey that was the last of the items outstanding. And that was what I expected in my delivery yesterday," Ms McDaid said.

She added that she received emails to say parcels were to arrive on Wednesday.

"It took me some time to realise that it was two different parcels. But the second parcel arrived on time at lunchtime," she said.

Another parcel, originally due to arrive to Ms McDaid on Wednesday morning, had not arrived with that driver.

"I went out to do the school run in the evening time. I got an email to say 'your parcel has been delivered from Sports Direct via Evri', so I thought 'that's great'."

Ms McDaid brought that parcel into her house when she got home but thought "this doesn't seem like the right parcel".

After investigating her email again she said that picture provided was not of her house but of the house in Coalisland.

She added that her delivery drivers on Wednesday were "wonderful" and "couldn't have helped more".

"When I realised the parcel was not where it should have been, I tried contacting Evri, I've tried contacting the original sender, Sports Direct, but these companies you're met with, 'just leave an email, we'll come back to you'.

Ms McDaid said that when she realised her delivery was from Evri she was "nervous".

She said she was happy to travel to get the parcel herself, but luckily for her we were able to reunite the parcel with the McDaid family.

Evri said they are "taking all possible steps to get parcels to customers.

"For customers who need support, we offer multiple contact options and continue to enhance our systems to make it easier to resolve queries."

It added: "We have an industry leading and GMB backed pay scheme for our regular self-employed couriers which offers pensions and holiday and sick pay.

"The small packet banding aligns to movements in the market and is designed to achieve better service for consumers as well as supporting increased income for couriers."

Ms McDaid's husband Paul, was delighted that the parcel was returned and thanked all who helped.

Councillors and the local community are now working together to ensure the parcels are delivered.

The discovery follows days of headlines for the courier firm, in the run-up to Christmas when online shopping footfall has increased.

Last weekend, Evri issued an apology to customers for lost or delayed parcels.

On Tuesday the company said it was actively tracking service levels in Northern Ireland following multiple complaints.

The courier firm was also at the centre of a BBC Panorama investigation looking at the service.

The company is a market leader, but a recent customer survey of the 11 biggest delivery firms by industry regulators suggested Evri had the most issues for parcels not being delivered and the highest level of customer dissatisfaction.

Evri disputes the regulator's findings.

Paul Devlin's family has been helping to reunite people with parcels.

"Santy Claus [sic] must have come early because he left 14 parcels," he said.

He added: "It's not fair" on those expecting their packages for Christmas.

When asked about the good in the world with communities coming together to return the parcels Mr Devlin added: "Especially round Coalisland."

Independent councillor Dan Kerr said someone had contacted him by social media about lost parcels and asked could he help.

"Most of the local parcels, the owners have come forward through the power of social media."

He said it is going to be "quite a headache" to get some of the parcels back to their owners.

"We'll try and figure something out and try to get them back before Christmas Day."

He said some owners have been "confused and angry".

He said people are finding the lack of customer service "frustrating".