Home Delivery Network/Yodel are pants AVOID!

Here is an email I sent as complaint because the last 2 out of 2 deliveries have seriously been a lot of fail, I’ll update if they respond or resolve the situation

DISCLAIMERS:

  • I mention 2 companies below, Amazon and Made.com it’s by no means their fault that I have had this experience (although the decision to use HDNL in the first place could be debated) it is solely HDNL/Yodel causing the problems. Amazon and Made.com are good quality companies and i would recommend either of them πŸ™‚
  • It’s quite possible this is a localised HDNL issue (New Cross Depot, London) however not a lot of my reading over the internet fills me with confidence that it is only localised but rather likely a systemic company/country-wide plague
  • THIS IS A LONG EMAIL – You have been warned πŸ™‚
  • REDACTED a couple of items that would be otherwise exposing personal information unneccesarily

UPDATES:

  • made.com been in touch with me due to my comments on twitter, they are chasing from there end and are doing much more than is required to help me out – that is what you call customer service πŸ™‚
  • 27/10/2011 – 8AM: one of made.com’s items finally arrived at 21:40 last night, totally missed the delivery window and…. after 9PM!!!!, still as of yet not even acknowledgement of my complaint
  • I got an actual email response from Yodel dated – 2nd November 18:32, the from name was Amazon which is slightly misleading (i might report this to Amazon), its just a generic letter of response and “assurance” that they will investigate it

To Whom It May Concern,

This is the second time in almost as many weeks that I have had a package going via Home Delivery Network (HDNL), to arrive shockingly late or not at all. So far in the case of the second time, I’d like to record a catalogue of failures from my 2 current experiences and ask you what you are going to do about it. I’d like to point out that out of around 8 dealings with HDNL, I have only ever had one package arrive within the set time on the set day, but even then the delivery driver had a lack of care for the package, but I am not referring to that incident.

1st Delivery/Order – Amazon.com

I ordered several goods via amazon prime, which entitled me to free next day delivery. One item, being sent direct from Amazon, was sent via HDNL. It was ordered on a Sunday and dispatched on the Monday. I expected to receive the package on the Tuesday and took time off work to be able to receive it. The package did not arrive on the Tuesday and at 7pm I called the call centre. I was advised that you were very busy and that delivery drivers were delivering until 9pm, despite your advertised delivery time of 7am to 7pm. I called later at just after 9pm to be told the same information, as the only information the call centre had was that it was still out on the van.

Needless to say it was not delivered on that Tuesday and I had wasted a whole day waiting in for a package I expected to arrive. I called on the Wednesday morning at about 9am once the delivery status had been updated to scanned into depot again, and they just told me the vans load until 11:30am, so they couldn’t say what was happening. They also said they would need a day to recover the package so that I could go and collect it, as I required the item I had ordered on that Wednesday (which is why I ordered next day delivery) so I said no. I also was advised that the driver “did not attempt delivery” which meant they would today, as drivers are “not allowed to ‘not attempt’ delivery more than once”. The advisor also as good as guaranteed that I would receive the package on that day.

I called up at 7pm when the parcel had still not arrived, and was advised that they were very busy and were delivering until 9pm – again your automated service still said 7am – 7pm. I also expressed my concern that I was told the exact same the previous day, and the member of staff was fairly blunt in saying there was nothing she could do about it because the depot was closed. When I asked to speak to the manager, she put me on hold and then took my contact details and advised me a manager would call back – this never happened.

I called again at 9pm as the parcel had still not arrived, and the advisor had no information and could not contact the depot or driver.

The package arrived at 22:15pm. 5 mins later and I would have actually have been in bed! Also the package was supposed to be signed for, however the driver literally just handed me the package after I opened the door and commented “its a bit late isn’t it?” and walked off, no signature taken or anything.

2nd Delivery/Order – Made.com

I ordered these packages some weeks ago and was prepared for the wait originally. I received an email from them on Friday 21st October advising that they were dispatching the goods to the courier. I received an email on the Monday 24th to say they were due to be delivered on Tuesday 25th. I clicked on one of the emails to reschedule the delivery to the Wednesday, which was more convenient for me – I wrongly assumed this was for both packages, however it looks like it was only for one of the 2 packages. Your system is obviously lacking the ability to realise that if 1 package to the same destination as the other is rescheduled, it should ask to reschedule the other.

I got an email Tuesday morning saying you were going to deliver between 4pm and 7pm, so I rush home in order to be able to receive it, however it did not turn up within that window. I called at just after 7pm, but before I did I checked the tracking status of one of my orders (at this stage I only assumed there was one order in your system and not two)

Lo and behold it says the package had been delivered. I have checked with my neighbours and they have not received a package for me, and I was also at the property at the delivery time and was no more than 3 metres away from the front door for most of the delivery window time, so would have heard someone attempting to deliver and heard a van drive up or away. I called to complain that I have not received the parcel, and they told me all they could do was email the depot because it was closed at 6pm. I asked to speak to a manager and was told I couldn’t. I asked why not and was told they were “busy dealing with escalations”, so I asked for the call to be “escalated”. The advisor took my contact details and told me a manager would be in touch – as of yet no manager has been in touch.

I called yet again this morning and was advised of the 2 parcels and I was advised such: for the parcel that was “delivered” but not i was told they have to contact the depot and interview the driver, and it can take up to 48 hours and that I should contact the seller: made.com
The second package they advised me was damaged and awaiting further advice, and the advisor didn’t really know what to advise me to do. As of yet I have not received either of these 2 packages and I actually need them for people to sit on tonight!

So from my details above, here is how HDNL/Yodel totally failed me:

  • First order arrived a day (and a half) late
  • First order management never called me back
  • First order the package arrived at 10pm despite being given two sets of information separately
  • First order didn’t get me to sign for it
  • Second order, two separate items, wasn’t made clear in emails
  • One item is supposedly damaged
  • One item was marked as delivered, but it looks like driver never bothered to deliver it
  • Advisors have no info or means to contact depot
  • Has still not arrived

I also have lost earnings as a result of waiting for packages, I am a freelance IT consultant and any time I need to stay off work and wait for a package is actual lost earnings, because I do not have things like annual leave, so to earn money I have to work. If I exclude the days when I arranged to be present to receive the goods, I have so far lost:

Order 1: 1 day
Order 2: half a day and counting

If I was to be working 9 – 5 during that lost time, based on the above figures, I have lost overin potential earnings due to the failures of HDNL and Yodel.

I also have the following questions of HDNL:

  • why do you deliver until 7pm but your depots “close” at 6pm, how is this even possible?
  • why do you have to deliver until 9pm and then not actually update your automated systems to advise of this?
  • why do managers not call back customers despite being told this would happen?
  • how are you going to repair your reputation with myself?
  • how is it acceptable to deliver packages after 10pm when your stated delivery time is 7am to 7pm?
  • how is it even possible for your drivers to take too many packages to deliver that they are not able to complete there delivery round within the delivery day?
  • is it acceptable to provide so little information to the customer?

Until I actually get a satisfactory response, I will be advising friends, family and other acquaintances to immediately cancel orders from suppliers that send via HDNL/Yodel, and/or to get their suppliers to choose alternatives to yourselves. I will also be forwarding trimmed down versions of this email to made.com and amazon.com and suggest they find alternative providers.

For your reference, my delivery address is:

Regards



13 comments on “Home Delivery Network/Yodel are pants AVOID!
  1. Alan says:

    Did they ever get back to you? It’s been a while now!

  2. Anthony says:

    I got a generic response of:

    Good Evening Mr Somerset,

    I write in response to your email dated 26th October regarding your dissatisfaction with our services. Please accept my apologies that you have felt it necessary to contact us regarding this matter and for the delay in response.

    Please be assured I am going to investigate this matter fully with both our Contact Centre and the New Cross Depot were your parcels were being delivered from. I will update you as soon as possible once I have completed all the necessary investigation.

    On behalf of Yodel, please accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused

    but nothing since, got that on 2nd November exactly 6 days after sending my complaint in.

  3. Anthony says:

    i just also did some digging to how i can take this further if i need to, apparently i could complain to the Postal Redress Service which apparently and i quote from there website

    The law requires that all regulated postal operators be a member of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme approved by Ofcom. Launched on 1st October 2008, POSTRS is currently the only approved scheme.

    however Yodel/HDNL are not listed on which may or may not be breaking the law (they could be members but not listed)

  4. R Bines says:

    They do not answer the phone,

    They do not respond to emails I have sent them,

    The parcel number they left on the card is not recognised on the telephone or website parcel tracking

    A complete nightmare to use…

    This is also the New Cross Depot…does anyone know the address of the new cross depot?

  5. p carter says:

    hi i world for homedeliverynetwork/yodel and we can only deliver what the supplyer sends us 9 times out of 10 it is the supplyers foult for not sending us the package on time or late during the day littlewoods are the worst for this

  6. Anthony says:

    yeah right, sorry that’s just a lie, every issue i have experienced has not been this, if it was that, then Yodel/HDNL lied to me in the tracking status and in the many phone calls to customer services, because they shouldn’t have said it was out on the van for delivery if the package still hadn’t been received… sorry but your comment is just invalid especially as it wasn’t the reason to at least 2 out of 2 times mentioned in the post πŸ™‚

  7. Gareth says:

    That’s the 3rd or 4th Yodel worker I’ve seen claiming that the problems aren’t caused by Yodel, when the problems clearly are caused by Yodel. I’m in the midst of trying to get a package from them. Once it’s in my hands I am going to be complaining to anyone who can affect them. Their treatment is criminal ; they behave with no intention of fulfilling their promises. The call centre staff seem to be as helpful as they can ; in my experience the problems are with the depots and drivers. If the company are forcing them to do unreasonable amounts of work, they should unionise rather than pass the ill-treatment onto the customers who’ve acted in good faith. Whatever the cause, Yodel do not deserve to exist as a business.

  8. Gil says:

    😐 Hi , same problem , this is endemic of this company Yodel , it is not a localised problem they are loosing hundreds of parcels all over the country every week , the customer service is a joke , they are employing muppets and their distribution logistics are rubbish , I appreciate that some things get misplaced but it seems to me that the employees know there is no follow up by the mangement and who knows what happens to the goods

  9. Bart says:

    This is my complaint I sent to them. Most probably will hear nothing from them either. But I informed amazon as well and they are looking into it for me.

    I ordered a product off of amazon a few days ago and was informed it would arrive to me no later than Saturday. I followed the tracking using myHDNL throughout the day. From 11:00 it was said that my package was in transit from Yeovil which is about an hour away from me. I sat in all day waiting and still nothing. I tried calling to see if any info could be received on the location of my package but it kept asking for my missed parcel number and no other options. At around 19:30 i decided to check again on the myHDNL site and to my surprise it said my parcel was delivered to the “customer” at 18:55. I have no parcel, no missed call note or any neighbor bringing me my package. So in a nutshell my whole Saturday had been wasted (could of been at work doing overtime or just be out enjoying myself with friends), the postage i paid for 1st class delivery was pointless (expect that back) and it’s to my belief the company has either made up the tracking of my parcel or that the driver decided to pocket it? I checked reviews on both HDNL and yodel and have read nothing but outrage and can’t believe you can operate like these. I now have amazon looking into this but I would like an explanation from your company.
    Yours Sincerely,
    MYNAME

  10. P.off says:

    Why do people keep blaming hdnl it’s down to amazon they use the stupid company how much negative feedback do they need before they stop using this useless waste of space. I’ve been waiting for a parcel since 28th dec 20 phone class layer 15 emails lots n lots of calls to hdnl and the pathetic van driver who has his phone on answer machine still no parcel what do amazon say when I call (get this) don’t worry mam we are confident it will be with you on the stated delivery date 3 times they told me this on three different delivery times .well pissed off getting more pissed off will not use amazon again : πŸ˜₯ : πŸ™ : 😑 : :mrgreen: ::mad:

  11. Anthony says:

    I totally agree with you there, and i called Amazon every single time i had a package delay and complained – i was a prime customer on guaranteed next day delivery, HDNL only delivered 1 parcel within the next day window out of about 10 compared to 100% (over 10 parcels) record for any other delivery company that got used Amazon didnt really care about it even when i asked for the complaint to be escalated, all i got on one particularly bad case was a month of prime for free. they just dont get enough people complaining about it for it to be an issue to them

  12. Simes says:

    Yodel have got no better.

    They carded us onaa delivery, so we specified a delivery date; they delivered on a different day and carded us again; so we specified another day, and they came again on the wrong day and left a card saying they had delivered to a neighbour. The address they gave is an empty property.

    Tried to complain: “Nothing we can do – contact the supplier.”

  13. Kate says:

    Have spent all day trying to find a parcel that Yodel claimed on their parcel history was delivered at 10am this morning. It finally arrived at 4.30pm, but as I needed it at 10am this morning for business purposes by the time it arrived it was useless.

    I’m saying nothing about their claim that they attempted delivery and left a card at 5.05pm yesterday. It wasn’t possible to get to the building at the time they claimed as all yard doors are locked at 5 and a security guard is posted.

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