to think that Yodel must deliver for free

[SlightlyJadedJack]

because I can't believe any company would willingly entrust them with their deliveries?

It's that time of year again where I depend on internet shopping and twice in this past week I have had the unfortunate experience of getting an email from Yodel telling me that they are delivering my parcel that day.

So first things first, telling me in an email at 12.30 that day that you are delivering my parcel is not great. I could be anywhere. Secondly, there are no time indications, I check their tracking facility and it says out for delivery. Their web chat person tells me it could be anytime up til 7pm. Right.

So you race home, checking for a note to see if they've been but no, you're safe. You wait in for the rest of the day and they don't fucking bother showing up and then at about 11pm they may, if you're lucky, update the tracking to say 'delivery not attempted' and 'your parcel needs a signature' (just to make sure you waste the next day waiting for them too).

Twice in a week they have done the same thing the bastards, like I've got nothing better to do than wait in all day for them. I can't be the only person they do this to surely? So why would any company use them when they are so unreliable? They're free aren't they?

Ah this reminds me of the time I was expecting a delivery, was home, and no knock on the door.

Just a fragile parcel (crystal candlesticks) chucked over the garden fence. Both were broken, I was passed from pillar to post complaining to get a refund/replacement.

It was a couple of years ago, so I hope it's improved. But still now unless it's something that can survive a chucking/manhandling I don't bother.

Seems that these are the two options whether you are in or out - throw it over a fence or pretend you weren't in and don't bother even trying.

I guess the delivery driver gets paid if he says you weren't in rather than just not bothering to deliver.

My new Yodel driver is great (previous ones have been a joke as per the long list of stories). He's actually mental though as he doesn't wear trousers EVER. He wears long shorts even in winter. Total odd ball but friendly and polite. Always delivers between 6-6.30 which is perfect timing as we're always home and it's before bedtime starts.

Yodel are awful. We live in one county but just over the road it changes to another. from the first part of our postcode it looks as though we're in the other county which is served by a different depot. In the past Yodel have sent parcels meant for us to the depot in the other county and every day for 10 days I have seen the delivery status updated to out for delivery then at the end of the day returned to depot despite multiple phpne calls. 10 WHOLE DAYS YOU IDIOTS!!!!!!! Sorry, can you tell it still gives me the rage?!

This is, no doubt, the kiss of death but I have be never had a problem with Yodel. They have always been efficient in my area.

UPS, on the other hand, are a bunch of incompetent wankers.

Seems that these are the two options whether you are in or out - throw it over a fence or pretend you weren't in and don't bother even trying.

Mine tuck parcels neatly in or behind the empty recycling boxes on my porch.

I think I live in a strange Yodel paradise!

Ahh yes yodel, yodel, yodel. Why do companies still use them? After all the negative stories, all the famous watchdog appearances how haven't they gone bust? Seriously don't get it...

I had one parcel go missing last Christmas with yodel, got refunded and everything only for that very parcel to turn up three months later! Three fucking months... What the fuck. Also yesterday my white company order was "out for delivery" so I waited in for it, didn't come. Today also "out for delivery" so I waited in again, got to 5.30 pm and nothing. I asked the live web chat person what was going on "oh it could come any time until 7pm"... It did arrive practically bang on 7.

Why would a company like White company dare use someone as shitty as Yodel? . Companies must lose out on so much £££ when yodel damage or 'lose' orders as well.

Which courier is decent though, seriously? I thought Hermes were ok but our local delivery driver was really cheeky yesterday and it's put me right off him. He made me sign for a parcel thinking it was my own that I was expecting, go to the kitchen to open it and it's the next door neighbours! He'd handed me it with the label on the bottom so I didn't notice. I'd like to think it was an honest mistake but I doubt it, the NDN's aren't often in during the day and I think he knew I probably would be (SAHM) so figured it'd save him coming back another day.

Parcelforce have been alright IME and city link but I know a lot of people have issues with them as well. Can't win!

I've always been desperately wary of buying anything delivered by Yodel but a couple of items slipped through the net recently. What I would say is that they were delivered correctly (and we do live in the middle of nowhere) but that the time frame for delivery was ridiculous. Who on earth has whole days to give up in order to receive something small enough to go through the letterbox?

The items were also delivered by a woman driving what I'd have thought was a less than suitable car for multi-drop deliveries and she was herself, unusually chatty in a very slightly off-putting way! It's nice to have personal service but this erred on the overly personal!

Bastarding useless yodel. I will not order from any company that uses them. It'd be quicker to walk 150 miles to the company's warehouse than to wait for them to deliver.

Hermes get knocked quite frequently, but our driver is great. He makes a note of what time you're likely to be in so he doesn't come before that. Or he could just be. A burglar on the side?

My very large box of Thorntons goodies has been 'lost' by Hermes. Hmmm....

I guess the reason that companies keep using them is that we (the consumers) like free delivery / low cost delivery....

Both our Yodel and Hermes local couriers are very good, I think that part of the delivery does depend on the local driver, both for my area are excellent, I think they both use their own cars and deliver in the morning very promptly. Fortunately never had a problem with the bit before it gets to the local courier either.

Bram yes we do like free or cheap delivery costs but I don't think signing up to that should mean never actually receiving the goods you've paid for!

So, my tracking says it's out again today - Day 3. Twitter Yodel also tweeted me after I may have complained to tell me that it's out today. The problem is that I am also out today so who knows. Place you bets here ladies and gents...

Ha! Yeah we're still waiting 29 days after our carpet cleaner we bought in the vax sale was supposed to be delivered. The cleaning solution arrived, but no machine, very odd

Spoke to customer services at Vax and she informed me they'd cut ties with yodel and are now re-shipping orders out with UPS. What they did with our carpet cleaner I have no idea...

Where we used to live had an interesting Yodel driver. In that she'd stay in the car and get her 10 year old to knock on doors for her

29 days???

Well I've had an email from the retailer saying that they have escalated things and told Yodel it has to get to me today whatever. So I expect I'll find it over the fence when I get back!!

they'd cut ties with yodel and are now re-shipping orders out with UPS.

In my experience, UPS are worse than Yodel.

TicTic We had exactly the same issue a couple of weeks ago with a carpet cleaner we ordered from Amazon which CityLink were delivering. It was a tracked parcel but it disappeared into thin air after it was dispatched and never re-appeared. Amazon refunded and I had to order elsewhere as it was out of stock with Amazon. The '2nd' cleaner was delivered by Yodel and although it was a day later than it should have been, I think that was a dispatch issue rather than a delivery issue. I wonder if there are a lot of carpet cleaners being sold cheaply down the pub by delivery drivers .

In the last couple of days I have had 2 separate deliveries brought by DPD. They text/e-mail in the day with a 1 hr time slot and the name of the delivery guy. On both days he has been spot on with the time - in fact he arrived early one day and sat in his car until the alloted time. Our Hermes chap is brilliant here too - he knows everyone, what time they do school pick ups etc and makes sure he avoids that time and knows where to sensibly hide stuff if you are out.

See now a one hour time slot would be perfect even a four hour time slot would be great to be honest. A twelve hour one? Not so much.

Still not here but I'm being promised it will be delivered today by twitter Yodel and the retailer.

our yodel man is good, today i was out and he left i card, i called the number and he just re-delivered.

Morning! Well finally my delivery came just after 8pm last night after repeated chasing from the retailer. After reading other people's experiences with them I think I should be grateful that it arrived at all. Interestingly, no signature was asked of me despite them insisting it needed to be signed for!!!

So I'm trying to breathe and relax today and let out the tension - until the next delivery....

Argh! Yodel. I had a card of doom the other day when I got home from work, said the sender had requested my parcel be delivered only to my address and signed for. I was grateful, to be honest, they'd even left a card. Yodel usually don't manage that. As I work full time and there's no one but me and no safe place (I live in a flat) I resigned myself to the fact I'd have to ask them to stash it at their specially-located in the middle of nowhere which takes hours to get to unless you have a car and requires several changes on public transport though always miles away from the nearest bus stop walking through unlit sinister streets of gloomy warehouses while carrying large unwieldy parcels because this is why we pay for home delivery, right? depot so I could collect it. The web chat with their customer services, however, said it had been delivered the next day. And sure enough, when I got home from work, there it was, safely through my letterbox, no signature required.

I guess this is one of those rare Yodel happy-endings, but why must they lie? Why?????

I was listening on R4 this morning to Yodel being slated over their delivery of Poppies from the Blood Swept Lands installation at the Tower. One man apparently had CCTV recording of the driver throwing the box over the gate to land at the doorway.

I hear a lot about Yodel not being very good etc but I run a business and one of the companies I use for stock, uses Yodel as their courier. I always get the same delivery driver from them and he's so nice. Never had anything damaged etc. if he comes when I'm on the school run, he goes to do another delivery and comes back a few minutes later to try again etc. I seem to be one of the few with a good Yodel experience!