To think that retailers should be forced to tell us who they are using as couriers BEFORE we commit to buying something?

[petitpasta]

Yes this is a first world problem but I am really hacked off that yet again - and for the second time in ten days - Evri has failed to deliver my parcel. I try to avoid them and these two orders were with retailers who usually use Royal Mail (also useless, but at least they have regulators who at least notice that they CBA to deliver on time), so those retailers must have switched to Evri.

Surely it can't be unreasonable to expect the opportunity to see who will be handling the parcel and say 'no thanks'?

And even retailers aren't consistent! I've just had an issue with M&S who used DPD who are awful round here. They deliver to a tota different house number and street and just shrug their shoulders as that's what the sat nav says.

Evri are actually fine here, so agree they should be totally transparent.

Sounds like a good gig for some.
I also had live plants delivered by Evri, didn't realise the company used them, and of course, they'd wilted and died when they arrived.
Got a refund at least.

My tracking info. changed this morning for the first time in two days to say it had been handed over to the airline. So could still be in China or could be in flight.

I actually placed the order on Sunday 28th June so felt optimistic when I got a message the next morning saying the warehouse was processing my order. But 9 days on it is potentially still 5000 miles away. This is all before Yodel/ RM even get to do their worst.

We are actually on holiday this week so I asked my neighbour if they would keep an eye open for a parcel left on the doorstep. At this rate I will probably be back myself before it turns up.

100% agree.
This past week Evri have failed to deliver 2 parcel to me. Yes that's correct 2.
They "lost" both parcels.
The first one had ETA tracking to deliver between 20.00-21.00 so I knew that wasn't going to happen. Nothing arrived. When I woke the next morning I had a notification to say it had been delivered. On further investigation, the app had a photo taken in the dark of a hand holding a parcel at 23.45, no GPS location and it was marked as delivered.
The second parcel was "lost" and Evri were very sorry for the inconvenience !! It was eventually left on my doorstep (I was in) and it appeared that the driver must have run it over. Of the 12 items of make up and skin care that was supposed to be in it, there was 3 items and they were all mashed up. Evri's advice was to contact the seller for a refund.
This was all in the same god damn week.
Ive been left out of pocket because the second parcels order was considerably more than I actually paid due to promos and vouchers which the company won't honour. In all fairness I don't blame the company as it was a special event purchase.
I would never had ordered if I knew they used Evri. But a lot of companies will use multiple couriers depending on size/cost etc.

I agree with the OP although if I’m able to choose a pick up point I’m not too fussed who the courier is because deliveries there seem quicker and more reliable
Living where I do I would never choose Evri for home delivery but my Vinted and eBay sales show that no matter which part of the country they go to Evri are as good and often more speedy than Royal Mail which is my own courier of choice other than a timed DPD delivery
More often than not items that I buy online and come by Royal Mail have tracking which provides advance notice of delivery and the option to pick up from the delivery office. Pick up isn’t a problem for me as I live just up the road and is preferable to having parcels just dumped on the doorstep if I’m out.

Business owner here. I think the question you have to ask yourself is how much are you prepared to pay for shipping? A customer recently asked why he should pay for next day delivery when he can buty for free with Amazom Prime. I had to point out he paid a £90 annual charge for Amazon Prime. He had completely forgotten this detail
Courier prices have risen exorbitantly recently, with multiple surcharges. We don’t use Evri. We send everything tracked with Royal Mail or DPD. Overseas orders go by DHL. DHL costs are exhorbitant even if you are a decent sized business and negotiate annually. We subsidise shipping cost by £40k to £50k a year as free shipping is expected in the UK. We advertise our couriers on our website in several places. We ask customers to tell us if the preferred Royal Mail or DPD. Nobody ever does.
DPD charges are v high for anywhere outside the central part of the country. We’re also experiencing more customers claiming tracked parcels have not been delivered if there is no photo showing it actually being handed over to a verifiable human, even if we have photographic and GPS proof of delivery. Often we can match the exact location of the parcel photo with Google Street View so we know exactly where it is. We now have a polite message to all couriers on the outside of our parcels asking the courier not to leave the parcel unattended but to take it back to the depot and redeliver. (Customers can override this if they give the courier permission to leave it in a designated safe space.) This has cut down the issue of “missing” parcels. I’m my experience, the Royal Mail personnel on the ground are pretty good. As are DPD but there are pockets of poor service everywhere. The trouble is, retailers don’t know where they are.
As for opting for the courier in a drop-down menu as per Vinted, this is great but most small to medium size businesses in the UK are hosted on Shopify and Shopify does not give the option for modifying the checkout which is where the shipping option is. There are good reasons for this but it is a limit of the technology.
If you are not prepared to pay for shipping, it’s difficult to argue that you should have a choice of courier.

Yes! Our Gusto order was delivered by DPD who were great and would give you an hour slot, it’s now changed to evri who don’t give you any idea when they’re turning up which for stuff kept on ice in this heat left on the door step it’s shit. I’ve cancelled the subscription as a result

Free shipping isn't the norm in the UK. I nearly always pay for it, unless the order is over a certain amount.

Also if your order is damaged you are entitled to a full refund, and in my view that includes replacing the vouchers that were used or at least giving you an equivalent discount on another order. I don't see how their choice of courier and poor service should remove your rights.

We’re also experiencing more customers claiming tracked parcels have not been delivered if there is no photo showing it actually being handed over to a verifiable human, even if we have photographic and GPS proof of delivery

That happened to me with an Ebay purchase. Ebay did give me the money, but they also refunded the scammer which really annoyed me.

Absolutely. I tend to avoid Evri, but sometimes Yodel can be as bad

I've not had too many issues with Evri, but InPost!!! Hate with a vengeance!

The worst these days in my area is royal mail
My letters come weeks later unless its tracked for which is very cheeky.
Evri in my area is really good, same guy all the time!

Some retailers use different couriers depending on the item.

Or simply google (retailer) uses which couriers