58 percent of Christmas shoppers face delivery problems

Almost three in five UK shoppers (58 percent) who received deliveries over the Christmas period last year experienced a problem, according to a survey by consumer group Which?, with only a third (32 percent) of people feeling like deliveries went completely as planned.

The most common problems were deliveries which arrived too early (29 percent), or too late (19 percent). One in five (20 percent) of those who had a problem with their delivery said that their package was left in an inappropriate or unsafe place, while one 9 percent said couriers didn’t follow instructions, and the same percentage said their delivery was left with a neighbour who they do not get on with or who they didn’t trust.

“My delivery was dumped in my recycling bin and in my neighbour’s shed,” one unsatisfied shooper told Which?. “My neighbour said they hadn’t received it when Amazon said it had been delivered to them. It was low cost so Amazon sent another,” another said.

Commenting on the findings in a statement, Which? managing director of home products and services, Alex Neill, said: “We’ve all experienced the utter frustration of waiting in all day for a parcel that doesn’t even end up arriving. If you face a delivery issue, remember that you have rights and should contact the retailer as soon as possible.”

Which? Found that, despite so many people having problems with deliveries, more than half (55 percent) didn’t complain, with just a third (31 percent) contacting the retailer when they had an issue with their order.

Which? asked approximately 2,000 people about their online shopping between November 2017 and January 2018.

Photo credit: monicore, Pexels. Infographic credit: Which?