I currently find that when I have a parcel delivered the driver rings the bell steps back and when I appear he or she takes a photo and then as Steve put's it does a Logan. Some deliveries from Amazon have been pushed through the letter box and I have not received any notification that they have been delivered.

H

Hi All just had a lost item claim refused by Hermes, item was a Butchers Bone Saw, securely wrapped with the blade in several layers of cardboard.

Claim refused on the basis that item was on the Prohibited Items list.

Here is the list which as far as I can mkae out is damn near EVERYTHING!:

• Aerosol
• Aftershaves
• Air Bag
• Alcoholic Beverages
• Ammunition
• Animals of any form (alive or dead)
• Any Item Containing Petrol (Liquid, Gas Or Fumes)
• Aromatherapy Oil
• Bathroom Suites
• Batteries
• Biological Samples
• Camera
• Canoes / Kayaks
• Car Panel
• Cash, Credit Cards, Debit Cards
• Chainsaw
• Cheques
• Christmas Crackers
• Concrete
• Confectionery
• Counterfeit Currency
• Credit/Debit/Cash Cards
• Dangerous Goods
• Documents (Outside The EU)
• Driving Licence
• Drugs (including prescription)
• Engines
• Filth

Second part in next post

• Fire Extinguisher
• Fish (live or dead)
• Food
• Food Items (Perishable Goods)
• Fragrance
• Gardening And Household Tools - Gardening And Household Tools, Unless Properly Protected
• Gearbox
• Gun
• Hazardous Goods
• Human Remains
• Infectious substances
• Item Described As "Unknown"
• Jewellery
• Juice
• Kitchen Appliances – White Goods/Coffee Machines/Microwaves
• Knives
• Ladders
• Leather (Landmark)
• Lighter
• Lights/Lighting/Lamps/Chandeliers
• Liquids/Creams/Oils
• Lottery Tickets
• Mattresses
• Meat
• Medical Equipment
• Milk Powder (restricted in China)
• Minerals (Landmark)
• Mobile Phone with or without Sim to any Residential address in Turkey/Pakistan
• Money/Cash/Currency
• Nail Varnish
• Oil
• Paint
• Paintings/Canvas Prints
• Passport
• Perfumes

• Perishable Good
• Perishable Goods (all)
• Plant
• Printer Toner
• Protein/Health Shakes (myHermes, Landmark)
• Replica Weapons
• Seatbelt Tensioner
• Settee
• Sharp Instruments - E.G. Knives Scissors And Axes.
• Sinks/Basins
• Slush Syrup
• Soap (OCS, Landmark)
• Sofa
• Spectacles / Sunglasses
• Stamps (unless Franked)
• Steering Wheel
• Tea (Leaves, Bags etc.)
• Telescopes
• Tickets
• Tobacco And Tobacco Products
• Toilets
• Unboxed Furniture
• Vehicle Bonnet
• Vehicle Bumper
• Vehicle Door
• Water
• Weapons
• White Goods (Fridges, Ovens, Freezers, Cooker Hoods, Etc)
• Window
• Windscreen
• Wooden Items (Myhermes, Landmark)

Regards, Martin

This makes me wonder why anybody would want to send anything by Hermes.

I am due to receive an article from Lakeland which I was told was despatched yesterday. I wonder if it might be described as a "Kitchen Appliance" or "Household Tools" - and whether Hermes will open the package to discover the contents!

This just reinforces my long held view that Courier companies are a Wart on the Backside of Humanity!

Your view may differ

MC Black

Had many parcels delivered by DPD and no problems. You can track all of the way and see where the courier is on their app and get notification by message when it is being delivered . Last week ordered from a supplier in Birmingham about 3.30 pm and it was delivered at 8.15 am and could follow it all the way. The driver is always smiling and will put in greenhouse if I am not in.

David

Interesting, last year I purchased a 4lb hedgelaying axe. It was shipped via Hermes. The way the seller packed it left absolutely no doubt as to the contents and it was delivered fine. Our local Hermes agent (who is excellent btw) even commented that it was an axe.

I wonder if delivery problems relate to where people live rather than the Courier? They all perform well here and it's over ten years since we had a problem. My daughter has stuff delivered most days.

Could be because I live in a village with good roads and there's no difficulty parking and there are plenty of places to hide parcels or neighbours to take them. Coming here must be low stress compared with central Bristol were parking is a major problem, roads are choked, and many people live in flats. And deliveries to my outpost of civilisation must be straightforward compared with seeking out the truly rural villages lost deep inside Somerset's dark interior! My good service is due to drivers being able to stay on time and reduced irritation on the road, not to the badge on the van.

Another thing I dislike about the modern world is the absolute need to read Terms and Conditions. It can't be assumed Broadband, Insurance, Couriers, Energy or any other deals are sold on identical terms or provide the same service. Deregulating the postal service enables competition to keep prices low. Unfortunately it also means providers are forced to compete and cost-cutting often means poor service when things go wrong.

Ideally, competition results in a race to the top in which customers get the best possible service at minimum cost. Doesn't always work that way. Competition can also trigger a race to the bottom, where suppliers stay profitable by hacking everything back to a bare minimum. That's what's behind Martin's list: courier's exploiting the gig economy can't deal with 'difficult' items. They profit by moving large numbers of straightforward packages in the simplest possible way. Other couriers deal with awkward items and charge more.

Access to the statistics is needed to rank courier performance. Individual experiences don't count for much: what's needed is numbers like each firm's annual percentage of undelivered packages and percentage of dissatisfied customers.  What customers say on the internet might be a poor indicator.   Complaints get more air time than good reports because we only get excited when something goes wrong.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 06/09/2020 11:27:26

Had several parcels delivered by DPD No problems. email to give time slot, always on time, email after to say it's been delivered.

Another thumbs-up for DPD from me.

Would you believe it? I got an e-mail from Herpes the other day, asking me "how did we do". I didn't have enough time on my hands to reply.

The list of prohibited items is all encompassing there’s hardly anything that they will carry

i can imagine if you sent a glass item and it got damaged then that’s ok you lose. But if they lose the item what was in the package is immaterial...they lost it

Although Martin won't get compensaton does he get his fee back? They undertook a contract and failed to complete it. Where is the item? Either it was stolen - a criminal offence Hermes should be reporting to the police even if the latter do nothing about it, or delivered to the wrong place - their Quality Assurance manager should be looking into it, or it is lost still somewhere in their system - again a QA matter. Although a pain for Martin to follow up I'd suggest asking for a full exlanation and if none forthcoming it's a job for Trading Standards,

Hermes should be assessing every singe failure. I work in a business with five million customers, many thousand field operative and every one for every job is monitored and customer problem reports brought to the attention of the local 'foreman' and put right. Plus people like me are looking at the bigger picture for 'hotspots'. No excuses, a parcel just shouldn't disapear without trace.

I had only the second ever delivery last week from Hermes to my obscure end of road location with no house name displayed ('cos I only put it up when I'm expecting something), same guy as before so it seems to be his 'patch'. The extra time getting to the village, trudging up the path etc probably makes it a loss for him relative to doing half a dozen in the same road in town. At least it was a bit lighter for him this time. Luckily the exclusions don't include 'mixed box of obscure bits off several lathes'.

Edited By Bazyle on 06/09/2020 13:59:05

Ah, but Martin was party to the same contract. It matters. Hermes position no doubt is that Martin broke the contract first by failing to abide by the Terms and Conditions.

Hermes interpretation of their rules as applied to a Bone Saw is debatable in my opinion, but I haven't read the Ts & Cs either. There may be a 'the company is always right' clause.

We live in a world where the small-print matters when things go wrong. However, polite persistence pays off. If the customer appeals, and then escalates by writing to the executive in charge of customer relations, and Chairman of the Board, and non-executive board members and your MP, then someone senior is likely to get fed up and pay the complaint to go away. By the by, ranting and raving at customer services has little effect and might well put you at the end of the queue. They've heard it all before and the polite approach works better. As gangster enforcer Jack Carter put it, 'You're a big man but you're in bad shape. With me it's a full-time job. Now behave yourself.'

Get Carter is the best British film ever made. Discuss!

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 06/09/2020 16:08:21

I'm getting the impression that Hermes have done a deal with Ebay and it's sellers. Most of my recent purchases have been delivered (more or less) by Hermes.

In the race to the bottom, everyone loses, customers, employees, 3/4 empty vans burning diesel trekking up an down motorways

, its all bad for customers and the planet. Doesn't matter whether its that bargain Android or cheap laptop, there's only one reason they are cheap, corners have been cut and margins to the bone. Unless you pay a premium, nothing is made to last. The Post Office posties round here are life savers, delivering prescriptions, daily papers and the post. So when you wonder why so many Post Offices have shut, here's why: Unfettered unregulated competition. Parcels are profitable, if you have enough volume. Take the volume away and any business becomes unsustainable. Simple economics. So services and costs have to be cut. Yes the Post Office was slow and lumbering like any UK organisation that needed a wake-up. It's changed.

Hermes up here deliver when they can probably find a van or a driver i.e. when they feel like it, so stuff arrives, eventually. All the other parcel delivery companies offload the problem to Menzies so on a busy week I might see Tom, the guy that does this patch, three or four times, local knowledge being essential, as number 48 is nowhere near number 43, or 46 and so it goes..

Edit: term with alternate slang meaning removed.

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 07/09/2020 11:03:37

I was recently sent a packet from Luton by DHL

Although Luton is only 45 minutes drive from my home the packet was sent via depots at Heathrow and Docklands.

The driver failed to comply with the instruction on my door to leave with neighbour so had to return the next day!

When the Royal Mail had a monopoly, the service was magnificent. One could send a letter locally and receive a reply the same day!

I think you might be correct. I have noticed a definite increase in things being delivered by Hermes et al that would have previously come by Royal Mail.

Peter

Because of all the problems that I have experienced with couriers, I always ask sellers the cost of delivery by Royal Mail Letterpost and look for another supplier if the seller is determined to only despatch by courier.

MCB

Hermes are used for delivery because they are comparatively cheap.

If an item gets to 'out for delivery' status, the quality of the driver is key.

S O D's theory on competition is just that ... a theory, nowhere near universal in practice.

With some notable exceptions, profiteering trumps (unfortunate terminology) customer service.

The Post Office works better because it employs, rather than hires staff.

Wasn't 'Get Carter' to do with somewhere North of the Watford gap - almost not British at all?

rgds

Bill

Just had a parcel delivered by Hermes, it was an Amazon item but suspect came from China. The date on the package was 27 August, should have arrived 3 September, and Pilot was listed as original carrier. All in all not too bad.

My query is though, my Hermes parcels were often delivered by a pensioner in his electric buggy. The actual Hermes agent was his daughter, how are they insured (or not). Does Hermes actually check that their agents have buisness insurance on their vehicles, not the buggy. To me they cut as many corners as they can at the local level so what is it like higher up the transport chain, I cant say I have every seen a vehicle with Hernes name on.