Hermes Parcelnet review: They don't deliver! 136

Agree with comments about Hermes. I have had an upsetting and unprovoked altercation with one of their couriers who has now sent me a blank text message and I cannot even find a number to complain to. Avoid this company and if you have issues ensure the company you bought from know you are unhappy with the service you receive.

I agree, have now been waiting over a week for goods from a high street clothes retailer to be delivered ( ordered goods on 16/10, delivered to courier 21/10) they havent responded to any communication from the retailer for the past 2 days - why do stores continue to use this company? they are useless, this isnt the first problem i have had with them either and i doubt it will be my last

rubbish rubbish rubbish - avoid Hermes at all costs!

I'm glad I'm not the only poor sod having problems with these cowboys!

Over a week ago I ordered a book from The Book People for my young nephew's birthday (which is today).

The Book People duly sent the item the next day via Hermes where it has been sitting in their depot for a whole week! Having checked their rather poor online tracking service every day since, it has apparently been 'Out For Delivery' every day for 4 days yet still no sign of it!

They are very difficult to get hold of and tell me that the problem lies with TBP, even though the parcel is clearly in the hands of Herpes (sorry, Hermes!).

I am tempted to contact BBC Watchdog about this as with the current Royal Mail problems, private courier companies should be eager for the business.

Incidentally, this week I ordered a DVD from Amazon, it was delivered by Royal Mail in 2 days!

Please, please, if you are considering using Hermes, avoid them like a case of Herpes!

If you order goods from The Book People, you can request that your order is sent via a different courier.

Request that they do not use Hermes, eventually they will have no option but to dump them!

Regarding delivery from The Book People, it does state on there delivery pages, FREE delivery is 5 to 7 working days. If you wish to PAY for delivery you will get it quicker.

I had a bad experience too. They put cards through my door with a contact no to ring, for re-delivery. when you call you only get voicemail, and no confirmation from anyone. I called the head office when eventually i got the number, and they said they cannot speak with me i have to call the people i ordered from. Awful service from start to fnish and the person who delivered was rude too. If i come across these again, i would rather order elswhere!

completely agree... ordered an 32g ipod touch for mrs for xmas paid for next day delivery...now 5 days later still not bloody ipod...they state " they sent it out with the wrong courier". the steadfast promised it would be here to day...its not gone 7pm and no sign of it...

Ordered Wii console from simply be with hermes as courriers, tracked order online said courriers recieved on 9th, catalogue were useless, finally got hold of hermes who were also useless, finally found someone from group of catalogues who contacted them only to be told that the item has gone missing and will not be delivered. Why they did not inform the catalogue of this I dont know.. this was supposed to be our daughters xmas present and now we are unable to get hold of one anywhere, no credit terms available anywhere, and no money before xmas, thanks hermes as you have completely ruined a little girls xmas that was expecting something that one of your staff have stolen. The tracking of it placed it with the firm's courrier and now it is nowhere to be found...

Awful service, the worst of any courier firm I've come across (and that's saying something) and I've now missed a delivery of a package for Christmas, which was due to be delivered over a week ago. Their tracking service says they attempted to deliver three times - I hadn't been aware they'd tried once, even though I was present for two of them! My doorbell was rung, and by the time I reached the front door (no more than a minute), no-one was there. I assumed it was a prankster, until I contacted the retailer, obtained the order number and realised it was Hermes. If they'd left a calling card on any of those occasions, I might least have known the name of the firm, depot or contact details, but they didn't. This represents extremely incompetant, inconsiderate and impatient behaviour on behalf of a courier firm, and has left a very sour taste in my mouth for Christmas.

I ordered a large number of presents for Christmas, and the company assured me they would arrive by Dec 23rd. Nothing arrived, and the company told me the courier definitely had the goods and would be sure to deliver.

What a surprise! It's 6.30 pm on Christmas Eve, nobody has attempted to deliver anything and I'm left without presents for people I care about.

Thanks Hermes. Thanks for the lack of note saying you'd tried to deliver (someone has been in 24/7 for 2 days!), and thanks for the lack of phone call to let me know you couldn't be bothered to deliver my parcels.

Hurrah for your Christmas spirit.

Buzz words: Hermes, complaint, useless, non-contactable, service, beware, incompetent

Might have known there would be complaints about this lot. Ordered a load of stuff from Next who usually use the HDL who are fab in this area. For some reason they have used this shower of eejits over Christmas and my experience is the same as everyone else's. Apparently been out for delivery every day since the 28th, calling cards left each day. Don't know where this is all happening as someone has been at home every day since then and not a courier or a card in sight. They won't talk to me, Next can do nothing as they no longer have the items. Avoid these cowboys like the plague.

HERMES COURIERS HAD A PARCEL OF MINE SINCE 21/12, "3WKS" NOW & NOT DELIVERED TO MY CUSTOMER, IVE SENT ABOUT 5 EMAILS ASKING FOR A TELEPHONE CALL, NO RESPONSE ?! ###S WORKING THERE I GUESS?
WILL BE LOOKING FOR ANOTHER RELIABLE, QUICK COURIER ME THINKS !

I am glad and sad that so many people have been let down by this courier company, they are a complete shambles and are very very economical with the truth. Ordered an item from Tescos on the 9th, told by Tescos on the 14th that because of the weather was delayed but item left Southhampton on the 13th for transportation to Bridgend and that it would be with me on the 14th or 15th. Guess what, no delivery, contacted tescos on Saturday16th told by them that the courier had called to deliver on the 12th 13th and 14th! and there had been no one at home not on any occasion did they leave a note. This an absolute untruth because of the weather my wife and I did not leave the house from the Monday until the Saturday. You cannot contact them by phone. Why Tescos a premier organisation put up with such a rubbish company when their own reputation will suffer beggers belief.
Dic Price

"MY HERMES"
One of the worst companies we have ever had the misfortune to deal with and would definately never recommend to any other business. And as for those who are already using their services would be advised to use that of another more reputable company with a better customer service and delivery couriers.
Whilst the Royal Mail have the occasional problem with strikes etc, they are by far the best there is.
We decided to try and trust "myhermes" with 4 parcels to four corners of the UK. It took over 6 days for 2 out of the 4 to arrive and the other 2 were left in a safe secure location(outside the front door) there idea of safe is most certainly not ours. This is not good for any business, but a fantastic oppurtunity for thieves!
We also sent the same day 2 identical parcels to 2 other customers, although it cost us £1-10 more in Royal Mail fee's, the parcels actually arrived the folowing day (well done Royal Mail)
The reason for trusting this company was just in case the Royal Mail had more problems like that in 2009 with industrial action. It was an alternative carrier for our business, one that we wish we never experienced and will never again in the future.
IN OUR OPINION AVOID THIS BUSSINESS LIKE THE PLAGUE, TOTALLY UNTRUSTWORTHY, UNRELIABLE, POOR CUSTOMER SERVICES, VERY UNPROFESSIONAL, EXTREMELY POOR DELIVERY COURIERS...ETC ETC

("Hermes" incidently is a God Of Commerce, Speed, travel and "thieves")
Commerce = You pay for what you get (crap)
Speed = 6 days is hardly fast and a tortoise could do far better..
Travel = nothing but shipment delays and poor lame excuses from their customer services.
and as for Thieves...NO COMMENT!

Just had a delivery from this compnay, the driver was incredibly rude and sarcastic - definitely not the kind of person I'd like as a representative of my company.

I phoned up their head office and unsurprisingly they refused to give me the Edinburgh Depot's details. The young girl on the other end of the phone was unhelpful to say the least and could not even offer a decent explanation as to why I could not get the Depot's number. When I asked to speak to a manager, they'd all conveniently left for the night - what a surprise.

I was told to put my complaint in writing, which I will, along with a copy of this page as I think the owner of this shipping firm needs to have a closer look at the 'service' which this company does NOT DELIVER.

As far as I'm concerned, I can't even believe that this company still makes enough money to be running. They should be shut down.

concerned .after signing for delivery to which the courier said he had just put round the back of house, i looked for parcels and could not find any.i phoned imediatly to the company who the courier said had sent the parcel to explain what had happened and they said they would look into the situation.because of the time limit they cannot say they might have been stolen.meanwhile i am left wondering what this particular courier did whith my parcels!

tracking on web site said with courier. When it didn`t arrive tried to contact them only received an automated response to contact my retailer. Why should I do this when they have my delivery: eventually, after surfing the web extensively, I found their number in Leeds. The lady seemed helpful, telling me it had been tracked to their other depot ready for delivery. I await delivery with baited breath. Anyway to cut a long story short here is there number [protected]. When all is said and done, I will not use them again. I have been lucky in never having had problems to this extent previously with other companies. This senario looks bad for small business trying to get on when they post in good faith and a company such as this don`t deliver. I will look in future to see who the sellers delivery agent is. I wont use Hermes again.

I have the same problem with Hermes, they are unprofessional, impossible to contact them, a total waste of time and when i think that i payed for delivery just to end up having a head egg is just outrageous...
AVOID HERMES !

Hermes are fantastic :-)))) Never had a probolem with them. Order stuff from Next Directory & Topman Regulary and items allways come on time. This company always deliver. Not surprising Next and Sir Phillip Greens - Topman use them. Really recomend them. :-)))))

like so many others i to am unhappy with hermes. was sat at home allday on the 5th july and surprise surprise i checked the online tracker which said customer has signed for goods well that a crock of bull.
1, i was in
2 my doorbell never rang
3 no card to say they had called
now that to me is what i call a heck of a lie. i live in a block of 14 flats and i spent time knocking on every 1 and yes you guessed it no parcel.
to make things worse the clothing ordered was for a holiday which is in a weeks time now we shall have to go shopping for more which is more expense and to make matters worse i am on the sick with a slipped disc so there you have it

I work for hermes and I be will quite honest I have done this so called job for 4 years. If your in answer the bloody door, you must know its coming so listen out for the door stop blaming the courier the customer is not always right they are usually wrong ! People who order online goods do have deliveries attempted - I always leave a calling with my number on it but with regret I would say 50% of customers cannot be bothered to call until you leave your last card on the 3rd and final attempt saying it will be returned to depot. I will just stress that all us couriers are self employed, we own our own vehicles which we have to maintain, we pay for our own fuel which we continuously keep wasting for people who are never in ! (dont order parcels if aint there to receive them) our houses are like warehouses because anything left from that days deliveries are stored in our houses. Also we get paid 50p per parcel so returning on a evening when you are home from work and we still are working cos of you ! costs us money out of our own pockets.

It should be compulsory for all people who order parcels should have a safe box for all deliveries so the couriers arnt backwards and forwards all the time. Ive seen the problem 1st hand and decided to buy one YOU NEVER NEED TO BE IN AND YOU ALWAYS GET YOUR PARCEL!

So if cant appreciate why we are fed up sometimes with the so called 'customer' go to the shop for goods and stop wasting our time and fuel its a crap job to do because of all the people that cant be bothered to reply to cards left, we get no help from herpes sorry Hermes they just wash there hands of everything and always blame the courier ! I let my field manager know with 8 weeks notice that I am holiday in August and the reply I got was I had was find cover to do the round whilst away they are your parcels ! sorry the parcels are the responsibilty of Hermes not the courier I said in reply - they stated again I must find cover whilst away so I told them it your problem to sort out permanantly because Im F****d off with Herpes sorry Hermes and Ive quit ! So please have some sympathy for those couriers its a crap job. But head my advice dont use Hermes for your parcel delivery the problem is not the couriers its the white collar workers that run the business there is no contact with the couriers at all we are just the puppets who take all the SH**. So long hermes you useless set of W**K**S. With best regards one happy retired courier, I will never have to knock on another door where a fat, smelling, smoking, lazy women (still in bed at 11.00 am while hubby is working his nuts off !) when the door opens you gip with the smell off stale dog sweat thats beside the dog SH** on the floor says whats in the parcel ? how the F**K should I know you ordered the f******g thing. So long and good bye :-) TO ANYONE WHO THINKS THIS CANT BE RIGHT EVERYTHING I HAVE WRIITTEN HERE IS TRUE ESPECIALLY GIPPING AT THE SMELL OFF STALE DOG SWEAT THAT I WILL NOT MISS.

Well said to the above, also a courier for Hermes. As a rule, everything is attempted delivery on a daily basis and if your not in, it's not the couriers fault. Calling cards are left with numbers on with answering machines on it for you to leave messages but I refuse to answer my phone to customers calling me after 8pm that think they have the right to interupt my out of hours time and expect me to deliver them there and then because they are now home! You are unable to speak to other courier firms i.e royal mail, TNT, DHL in local areas and to the actual courier who is attempting your delivery so why do you expect to speak to hermes couriers. I already work 6 days a week so refuse to back on my journey because your not in the first time.

Some people expect the world from the couriers, SIMPLE - If your not home when you have ordered something and haven't told anyone where to leave a parcel safely, you will be tried another 2 times then it goes back. Why should we keep trying you eveyday for a week until you can be bothered to contact us to let us know what to do with them. If you are expecting a parcel, we are not mind readers, if you not going to be in - LEAVE DETAILS OF WHAT TO DO WITH IT. If you are not gonna be home, why would you expect us to attempt delivery without further instruction? If you are ordering something for someones birthday or christmas -GET IT EARLIER! come on, you know its coming! The amount of people who complain to me that it's bert's birthday tomorrow and they haven't recieved his present yet that they only ordered yesterday. It's not my bloody fault, tell next not me. I don't store everyones parcels for days on end, I want shot on a daily basis cos parcels come everyday to me.

I want to repeat that christmas is 25th December every year just for those who don't know, so order your presents earlier! it takes many a journey to get the end courier - customer result through various depots and vehicles so to provide the service that we do so quickly, i think is a job well done and I for one am proud to call myself a consciencous and considerate courier who does my job to the best of my ability. So if you aren't happy with the service, it aint the courier and if it really is a problem, go to your local town centre instead.

I have had hermes try to deliver a parcel to me for 2 days running, but i have been at work, i have phoned up the courier and got voicemail.
So left a message to re-deliver between 4 - 4.30pm when i will be in.
Up shot is i don't know who has sent me the parcel, so i can't contact who sent it, to tell them that i am having difficulties with this company.
Never had these people b4, won't again.
I don't think it's my club as they usually come by Royal Mail, and my book club also comes by Royal Mail too.
The only other thing i can think of could be Afibel. But can't remember ordering from them. Will be pissed off if they don't deliver tomorrow.

Shocking service. I ordered an item to my work address, I tracked the parcel and it said it had been delivered yet I was in my office at the time of "delivery" and so was an whole lot of other people and our office is right opposite the front door so can't be missed! I contacted Hermes and said they can't speak to the recipient about any order... why not.. I only wanted to check where the "ahemm" my parcel got delivered to.. a simple question but ultimately too hard for a simple person!
Is it too hard for the courier to come in to the office and say "I've got a delivery for you".. God knows where my parcel was dumped!

Thanks for the phone number. Been patiently waiting for my Topshop order, and then following the tracking link see that Hermes say they have tried to deliver and are going to send it back! They haven't left a card or anything so how was I meant to know!? They don't give a phone number on their site to rearrange delivery which would be the logical thing to do, so I emailed them and they told me to contact the retailer. They should be able to arrange delivery with me (but telling me they have the parcel would have been a start!)

As a Hermes courier I completely agree with the lousy service everyone is complaining about.

Consider this though ...

Your Hermes courier is self employed (what a laugh!) and is paid 45p, yes, 45p per parcel for delivery and collection. From that 45p they are expected to provide their own vehicle, fuel, repairs, tax and insurance, business insurance, workwear, home telephone for collection requests, storage for parcels and catalogues etc... etc ... etc ... plus the time required to deliver your tat, AND they are expected to make THREE delivery attempts if you aren't in. All out of that wonderful 45p!

The saying is, 'If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.' While I wouldn't consider myself or my colleagues monkeys, I certainly couldn't care less about the service I provide. To cap it all, I haven't had a parcel rate increase in over 10 years. It was 45p in the year 2000!

Yes Hermes employ local people without much backup on pathetic per parcel rates to sometimes try and deliver a package. Point is of course, if the people doing this are so hard done by (which I'm sure they are) why are they are taking it out on the customers trying to get their goods? Quit and get a real job, you lazy ****ers. As the cheapest option out there you will find most big internet retailers are now using these jokers. Your only hope is to check the delivery details before choosing the outfit - if you see the words Parcelnet or Hermes anywhere, save your money and spend elsewhere. It's the only way to avoid this sort of problem. The only consolation is that the internet search engines now show more complaints about the Hermes muppets than advertising for them and a few companies will eventually take notice of the sheer, endless pounding of bad publicity.

Lazy? Quit and get a real job? you to**ser, you obviously have not a clue what the job involves and neither do the majority of people on this forum. Perhaps claiming dole would be a better option, oh sorry, I would rather work.
IT REALLY IS THIS SIMPLE... if you order a parcel, either wait in for the delivery or leave instructions to put it somewhere safe or with a neighbour, we can deliver then!
Unless you PAY more money for a next day service, you will have to WAIT a little longer, a standard courier delivery is usually 3-5 WORKING days (this doesn't include Saturdays).
You cannot have a time slot and no you can't have an evening delivery, most of us are part-time couriers with other part time jobs in the afternoon, so when you are sitting down for your tea watching 6 o clock news, so are we, our working day is over too!
If you have a birthday or xmas is coming up, don't frigging order it at the last minute, it's common sense, go to a frigging shop and buy it!
When things go wrong, it's not always the couriers fault.

I have just received a card through my door to say I have had a parcel left outside but there is no parcel there dose anyone know how I can complain to Hermes ?

WELL what can I say... HERPES havent even attempted a delivery in 2 weeks! I've been in, no card, no attempts, they won't even call Next back every time they call the depot for a status update.

Date Time Status
25/10/2010 05:18 Out For Delivery
22/10/2010 09:16 Not Received by Courier
21/10/2010 00:00 Receipt at Depot
19/10/2010 08:50 Not Received by Courier
19/10/2010 08:48 Receipt at Depot

The status kept changing from what it currently is. According to Next, the driver doesn't even have the parcel. Its an absolute shambles. Next have great customer service but it is entirely their fault that they use such a [censored] courier service. I don't care if you are self employed, get 45p a parcel or not.

I ordered my goods just fck*in deliver them or atleast phone your customer (Next) back! NOW GO AND DIE IN THE RECESSION

2 packages damaged by Hermes in the last few weeks :-(

I ordered something last Thursday was told that it would take 4 working days. I was happy to wait as I guessed I would get them soon. WELL I clicked the tracking today when I arrived home from work at 7pm to find that they had been delivered and signed for by the household (with no card saying where left)!?
No one was home all day and no one else lives in my house sooo where are they?
I have checked with both neighbours and they do not have them. Called company purchased from and they informed me there is nothing they can do (?!?). Tried calling Hermes they have a message on saying they are open Monday – Friday 8am – 8.30pm please call during them times….i called at 8.15pm?
Whilst I understand that the couriers are badly paid and it would be helpful if we were home or had somewhere to keep it outside, at the same time I was not informed that it was being delivered today (and didn’t know when it would be), had no option to pay for a specified delivery and shouldn’t be held responsible for company directors making a small fortune whilst their drivers make nothing. Low wages is not my fault, using your house as a storage facility is not my fault, you having to use your personal number and car, is not my fault. All I know is that I ordered and paid for something and was not told when it would be delivered. No card was left and I didn’t sign for it. I have effectively lost £65 because someone is annoyed with their employer.
If you are fed up of doing the job – get a different one. The company cannot keep running without any drivers! But it is unfair to take it out on customers who are unaware of what is happening and even out and out lie about delivering something you have no intention of doing as that’s just theft!

this company is bang out of order, i missed a delivery (as they sent it to the wrong address) and they couldn't re-send it, they had no number that they could give me to sort out a re-delivery, stuck up cow on the other line that didn't even want to help me, just laid the blame with the company that i placed the order with. never use them again, or recommend them AT ALL!

I totally agree. I have placed 2 orders now with Dorothy Perkins and they use Hermes to deliver, but Hermes keep saying that they have attempted delivery but have an 'access problem' so can't get the items to me. The address I use for delivery is my work address, which on a daily basis manages to get deliveries from the Royal Mail, Parcel Force, DHL, 24Seven and many many other couriers with no problems at all. I can't understand why Hermes can't get access - the property is on a main road and has loading bays directly outside it!
This time, they have also put (very helpfully) on the tracking page online, that they have attempted delivery 2 days ago but couldn't get access, and then there is nothing else after that - so it appears my parcel has disappeared off the face of the earth!

placed an order with Miss Selfridge on Monday - delivery by no later than Fri 26th.

Tracking online states that Hermes have tried to deliver the last 2 days at 5am in the morning! What a joke.

They then tried today at 9.30 and the current status is now set again to "out for delivery" - the delivery address is a buinsess adress with 20 people in between 8.30 and 5.30pm

Emailed Hermes for an update and got an auto reply saying none of their business and to contact the catalog, emailed miss selfridge and got auto reply to say to track it online!

Well what do I do now?

My wife ordered a jacket from MandMdirect for one of our sons...2 weeks ago. They appear to be using Heremes too. She has spoken to MandM customer services...who apparently don't have a contact number for Hermes, but had information that Hermes had attempted delivery NINE TIMES. What a laugh...the delivery address was her place of work, which just happens to be open 24/7. NO ONE has tried to deliver the parcel, all that they have done is LIE to the supplier and let the customer down badly. I mean, seriously, how can you attempt delivery 9 times to an address that is open 24/7 and continually manned at the delivery point/main gate? For a couple of quid more, get express delivery Royal Mail...at least they do actually deliver items.

I'm a Hermes courier and have never pretended to deliver and send many parcels back. I find a lot of customers order with no intentions of being at home, I can't say all are story telling about no cards and not ringing a bell but know for sure I've been told I've not left cards or rung the door bell, someone's telling porky's and its not me.
Newsnight BBC2 @10.30 TONIGHT Friday 3rd Dec, couriers treated badly by Hermes. May show customers where to vent their anger, greedy companies, they know what the couriers are paid!

omg, god bless my 600+pounds order, been a week now...

I agree, there absolutely useless. I paid for p&p to be delivered on 3rd of Dec, when it got to 5pm I looked at my tracking code, and it told me they had attempted delivery at 8.27am. As i was in at this time, and there was no note left (if they actually had tried to deliver it) i phoned the company who then promised me it would be delivered before 9am the next morning. Its now the sunday and its still not here, this is the second time it has happened. They are uselesss! Avoid at all costss