It’s the busiest time of year for parcel deliveries in the UK, and for millions, a knock at the door from a courier is as much a part of the holiday season as mince pies and fairy lights. But for customers of Evri—the delivery giant formerly known as Hermes UK—this festive period has been marked by a storm of complaints, missing parcels, and growing questions about the company’s treatment of both its customers and its workforce.
Evri, which rebranded from Hermes UK in 2022 and has been owned by American investment firm Apollo Global Management since last year, is now under intense scrutiny. According to BBC reporting, more than 80 customers across Lincolnshire alone have contacted the broadcaster to vent their frustration. Their stories are echoed in Hampshire, where residents like Becky and her neighbor Jonathan in the village of Twyford found themselves at the center of a local mystery: parcels marked as delivered, but nowhere to be found. For Becky, the missing item was a Barbie doll for her daughter; for Jonathan, a set of tools. Both received delivery notifications and even photos purporting to show their packages, but nothing ever arrived at their doors.
Becky’s response? She turned detective, launching a spreadsheet to track the mounting number of missing Evri parcels in her village. The effort quickly snowballed, with nearly 90 incidents reported to the police. Although a man was arrested in connection with the missing parcels, he was ultimately not charged. Evri’s legal team insisted these were isolated incidents, emphasizing that courier performance is tracked in real time and every delivery requires photographic proof. For Becky and Jonathan, the story had a silver lining: both managed to secure refunds and replacements from their sellers. But their experiences highlight the challenges faced by ordinary consumers—and the rising tide of discontent surrounding Evri’s operations.
The problems aren’t confined to Hampshire. Across Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire, customers have voiced similar complaints: delays, poor customer service, and packages marked as delivered that never materialized. Some, like Ian Anderson of Normanby by Spital, have written to their MPs after repeated delivery failures. Others, like Bill Harwin and Ann Oliver, described being told their parcels had been delivered—only to find nothing at their doorsteps. "Somebody has been telling lies to somebody and that's just unacceptable," Harwin told the BBC after his £80 order of bed linen vanished into thin air.
It’s not just customers who are unhappy. Couriers themselves are speaking out about the pressures they face. A BBC Panorama investigation, which included undercover filming at an Evri depot in the Midlands, revealed a culture of corner-cutting and relentless time pressures. "You only get paid if the parcel is delivered. Never take it back," one courier told the undercover reporter. Another described being told during training to "just chuck it behind the fence" if the customer wasn’t in—a claim Evri denies, insisting that couriers are trained to recognize secure places for deliveries.
The underlying issue, according to many couriers, is the company’s pay-per-parcel model. Dave, a former Evri courier in Hampshire, told BBC Panorama that changes to parcel rates introduced in January 2025 meant he would have been earning less than the minimum wage. "You were always looking over your shoulder, wondering what might come next in terms of reducing your rates," he said. Another courier reported earning as little as £7 or £8 an hour after accounting for fuel and vehicle costs. The introduction of a new "small packets" rate—paying as little as 35p per delivery—has further squeezed earnings, especially as some large items are reportedly mislabeled as small packets, reducing pay even more.
Evri’s management, for their part, paint a very different picture. In statements to the BBC and Parliament, the company’s legal director, Hugo Martin, asserted that couriers earn well above the national minimum wage, which currently stands at £12.21 per hour for those over 21. A company spokesperson claimed that average courier earnings exceed £20 per hour, and highlighted a union-backed pay model guaranteeing minimum wages, holiday pay, and pensions for those who work consistently. "Couriers are at the heart of our business and average earnings exceed £20 per hour," the spokesperson said. "Our union-backed pay model guarantees minimum wages, holiday pay and pensions for couriers who choose to work for us consistently through the week."
Yet, the gap between official assurances and the lived experience of many couriers and customers is hard to ignore. The BBC’s Panorama investigation found that couriers at Evri depots are under immense pressure to deliver huge volumes—sometimes more than 100 parcels per shift. "If you're rushing to get these parcels done, you're not going to have as much care as you should," a former courier explained. The result? Parcels left in bins, behind fences, or, in some cases, simply never delivered at all.
The dissatisfaction is backed by data. In October 2025, a survey conducted by Ofcom of over 4,000 people found Evri had the lowest customer satisfaction rate among nine major UK parcel companies—just 31%, well below the industry average of 47%. Notably, Evri has finished at the bottom of these rankings for three consecutive years. The survey also indicated that 7% of customers had reported a parcel not delivered in the first half of 2025, compared to an industry average of 4%. Delays were also more common, with 14% of Evri customers experiencing late arrivals, versus 8% across the sector.
Political pressure is mounting. Three MPs from East Yorkshire—Diana Johnson, Emma Hardy, and Graham Stuart—have all raised concerns about Evri’s performance. Stuart told BBC Look North, "There is something rotten in the state of Evri and that is driving this, as well as their inability to get the additional drivers that they need." The chair of the Business and Trade Committee at Westminster, Labour’s Liam Byrne, has called for a parliamentary investigation, noting that Evri had given "categorical assurances that people were not paid below the minimum wage."
Evri, for its part, points to major investments in its operations—£57 million over the past year, including the rollout of AI-powered tracking systems. The company says it now delivers over four million parcels daily, and that its systems are designed to ensure every package arrives safely and on time. But with persistent driver shortages in some regions and a growing chorus of complaints, the company’s assurances have done little to quell the unrest.
For now, customers like Becky and Jonathan in Hampshire are left to hope that their next delivery doesn’t go astray. As the holiday rush continues, the question lingers: can Evri deliver on its promises—to customers, to couriers, and to the communities it serves?
