Evri has been named the UK’s worst delivery service for the third year in a row after new Ofcom figures revealed widespread customer dissatisfaction over delays, damaged packages and poor communication.
According to the regulator’s annual review of the delivery market, more than four in ten people (41%) said they were dissatisfied with Evri’s service – the highest level of any major courier service. Only 31% of respondents said they were satisfied, a further decline from last year’s results.
It is the third year in a row that Evri has come bottom of the courier performance table, with Ofcom warning that delivery standards remain inconsistent across the industry despite rising parcel volumes.
Evri’s latest ranking comes just months after the company completed a merger with DHL’s UK e-commerce division, a deal approved by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in September. The combined company will deliver more than one billion parcels annually, representing a quarter of all parcels sent in the UK.
However, the boom in online shopping has exposed increasingly large gaps in last-mile delivery. According to Ofcom, a record 4.2 billion parcels were sent across the UK last year – a 7% increase on the previous year – yet two-thirds of consumers reported at least one delivery problem in the last six months.
The most common complaints included:
• Late deliveries (27%)
• Packages are left in inappropriate locations (22%).
• Drivers who do not knock loudly or do not allow enough time to answer (20%)
• Missing or damaged packages (18%)
Yodel was ranked second worst in Ofcom’s consumer satisfaction index, with one in three customers reporting poor complaint handling.
Royal Mail, which was acquired by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský in a £3.6bn deal earlier this year, also fell into the bottom half of the rankings, with 24% dissatisfaction despite modest improvements since 2024.
The postal service has sought to switch from letters to parcels, announcing plans to convert thousands of convenience stores into parcel centers and expand its network of lockers through partnerships with Sainsbury’s and Co-op.
At the other end of the scale, Amazon topped the rankings with 57% of respondents satisfied and only 16% dissatisfied, followed by FedEx and UPS.
Ofcom has tightened its rules on complaint handling and transparency with parcel companies and is again pushing for “sustainable improvements” across the delivery market.
A spokesman for the regulator said: “Customers have a right to know that their parcels arrive safely and on time. Businesses need to invest in better systems and processes that match the scale of their business.”
Responding to the results, an Evri spokesperson said customer satisfaction was a “top priority” and highlighted that £57m was invested in operations and technology last year.
“Every package is important to us. That’s why we’ve invested heavily to make deliveries smoother, faster and more sustainable,” the company said.
“We are on track to deliver 900 million parcels this financial year and, following our merger with DHL UK, we are on track to become the UK’s leading parcel delivery company for businesses and consumers alike.”
Despite the investment, analysts say Evri’s reputation problem underlines a broader challenge for the UK courier sector: balancing speed, cost and reliability in the face of record demand for parcels and increased regulatory scrutiny.
