Evri Couriers Accused of Door Dropping Amid 3,200 Complaints Surge

When Becky ordered a Barbie doll for her daughter, she received a notification from delivery firm Evri confirming the parcel had arrived to Door. But when she opened her front door in the Hampshire village of Twyford, there was nothing there.

The delivery photo sent to her did not show a recognisable location. There was no parcel, and no sign of where it had been left.

Becky soon discovered she was not alone. Reports of missing Evri parcels in her area, she said, had “snowballed”.

Around the corner, her neighbour Jonathan received a similar notification for a parcel of tools. The photo showed the package sitting inside a car. Nothing was delivered. When he tried to raise the issue with Evri, he said there was no response.

“They don’t respond, it’s very frustrating,” he told BBC Panorama.

With millions of people relying on delivery firms in the run-up to Christmas, Panorama has been investigating Evri, including sending a journalist undercover to work as one of its couriers.

Evri is one of the UK’s largest parcel delivery companies. However, a recent customer survey by communications regulator Ofcom found that it had the highest proportion of customers reporting parcels not being delivered, as well as the lowest overall satisfaction among the 11 biggest delivery firms. Amazon and FedEx ranked highest.

Evri disputes Ofcom’s findings. But 30 current and former couriers told Panorama that mounting pressure to deliver high volumes of parcels is driving poor service.

“They have to deliver so much volume now for a decent pay,” one worker said.

Cutting corners to keep up

Panorama’s investigation found a clear link between working conditions and service problems. At an Evri depot in the Midlands, couriers described how they cut corners to finish their rounds on time.

One told the undercover reporter, “You can even throw the parcel at the back door.”

Others said changes to pay rates had left some workers earning less than the minimum wage. Couriers also complained about lower rates for so-called small packets, which they said were reducing their overall earnings.

Several workers said large and heavy items were frequently mislabelled as small packets, meaning they were paid less for delivering flatpack furniture, radiators, and other bulky goods.

‘It no longer made sense’

In Twyford, parcels began going missing about six months after a long-serving courier, Dave, stopped working for Evri. He had delivered in the area for six years, often alongside his wife, and the pair earned around £60,000 a year between them.

Like all Evri couriers, Dave was self-employed and paid per parcel, with rates set by the company. He said changes introduced last January meant the job was no longer financially viable.

“It would have taken me below the minimum wage,” he said.

Courier pay depends on parcel size, weight, and distance travelled. Those on Evri Plus contracts are supposed to be guaranteed at least the National Minimum Wage, currently £12.21 an hour for those aged 21 and over.

Read More: Evri Driver Sacked After 5 Homes Doorbell Footage Exposes Parcel Tampering

Dave said that after the changes, including the introduction of new small packet rates, his earnings would have dropped to around £10 an hour.

“You were always looking over your shoulder, wondering what might come next in terms of reducing your rates,” he said.

Another Evri Plus courier told Panorama that once fuel and vehicle costs were deducted, he sometimes earned as little as £7 or £8 an hour.

Evri’s legal director, Hugo Martin, told a parliamentary select committee in January that this should not be happening. He said the company’s pay-per-parcel model ensured couriers earned well above the minimum wage.

Labour MP Liam Byrne, chair of that committee, told Panorama that because of the “categorical assurances” given to MPs, Evri should now be recalled to Parliament to examine the full picture. His comments follow separate concerns raised last week by a cross-party group of MPs about Evri’s delivery record.

Evri said its couriers “generate earnings significantly above the National Living Wage”, which is currently the same as the National Minimum Wage at £12.21 an hour. It added that average courier earnings exceeded £20 an hour and said pay was benchmarked locally in a highly competitive sector.

Small packets, smaller pay

Many couriers told Panorama that the introduction of small packet rates has made it harder to earn a living. Some said they were seeing more of these parcels on their rounds, each paying as little as 35p to deliver.

Evri said it introduced the new sizing category in January to remain competitive.

Couriers, however, claimed that larger items were often misbanded as small packets and that Evri did not adequately check weights and measurements supplied by senders.

“Countless misbands,” one courier said, adding that it left him significantly out of pocket.

Evri said parcels are labelled by clients, not the company, and that 99.2 percent of parcels are correctly banded. It added that couriers can request checks through the courier app if they believe a parcel has been mislabelled.

‘There’s a safe space for everything’

A courier with 10 years’ experience told Panorama that colleagues were cutting corners because of the volume they had to deliver.

“They are not doing the job correctly. Parcels go missing. Piles of parcels are found in hedges,” he said.

The undercover reporter, who is being called Sam, worked six days in October at Evri’s West Hallam delivery unit near Nottingham. He was told by one courier that to make money, he needed to leave parcels wherever possible.

“There’s a safe space for everything, mate,” the courier said.

Sam was on a Flex contract, which does not include sick pay, holiday pay, or a minimum wage guarantee. New starters, couriers said, often struggle to earn as much as experienced drivers because they are unfamiliar with their delivery areas.

Evri said new starters receive temporary top-up payments to help them earn adequately while learning the job.

Couriers told Panorama they are not paid for the time spent scanning and loading parcels at depots. Evri said this time is factored into its parcel rates.

Drivers are only paid if a parcel is delivered and photographed. If delivery fails, Evri rules require at least two further attempts, but couriers said this was often avoided because they are not paid to return.

“You’ll make no money unless you get all your parcels out,” one courier told Sam.

Complaints and profits

Evri expects to deliver around 900 million parcels this year to almost every home in the UK. Yet Ofcom’s survey found that 7 percent of Evri customers between January and July reported parcels not being delivered, compared with an industry average of 4 percent.

Fourteen percent reported late deliveries, compared with an industry average of 8 percent.

Evri said it offers a fast and reliable service and that most couriers do an excellent job and follow delivery standards. It said low customer ratings are investigated immediately.

The company, formerly Hermes UK, rebranded in 2022 and has been owned by US investment firm Apollo Global Management since last year. In the 2023 to 24 financial year, its pre-tax profit almost doubled to nearly £120m.

“I think Evri are making a fortune off the couriers’ backs,” one courier said. “And the couriers are being totally ripped off.”

A local mystery resolved

In Twyford, Becky set up a spreadsheet for residents to log missing Evri parcels after seeing the scale of complaints on the village Facebook group. Almost 90 incidents were reported to police. A man was arrested but never charged.

Evri’s lawyers told the BBC this was an isolated incident and said the company took prompt action.

“The performance of our couriers is tracked in real time, with mandatory photo proof for every delivery,” the company said.

Becky received a refund and bought another Barbie. Jonathan’s tools were replaced by the seller.