CURRYS PC World and John Lewis shoppers have been left fuming over Royal Mail delays delivering Christmas presents.
Many retailers, including PrettyLittleThing and Boots, rely on the delivery service to bring online orders to customers from warehouses.
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But some customers have complained they’ve waited days and even weeks for orders that still haven’t turned up.
Royal Mail had warned of “delivery chaos” earlier this week.
The delivery service blames “exceptionally high volumes” for the delays, despite “extensive planning” for what was expected to be an even busier period than normal.
It’s estimated an extra 200million parcels are being processed this year as customers turn to online shopping amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Which retailers are affected?
MOST online retailers use third-party delivery companies to get your orders to you.
Many of the big retailers use multiple companies, such as Royal Mail, Hermes and DPD, so not all deliveries will be affected if one company is experiencing an issue.
These are some of the shops affected by the Royal Mail delays:
- PrettyLittleThing
- Very
- GAME
- Dr Martens
- Currys PC World
- John Lewis
- Boots.com
Pandemic restrictions also mean millions of Brits are relying on the postal service to send gifts to family members they won’t be able to see over the festive break.
But the delivery system is struggling to cope with the influx, despite huge recruitment drives from services such as Post Office, Amazon, Yodel and Hermes.
On Twitter, customers are complaining they haven’t even received their orders from the shops, let alone getting them to friends and family.
“Ordered something from Currys PC World a couple of weeks ago,” one person wrote on Twitter. “Posted Royal Mail 48hr tracked – still waiting.”
Another shopper wrote to complain to Currys that their order is six days later and the Royal Mail tracking system “hasn’t changed for days”.
Another said: “@RoyalMailHelp @jlandpartners this really isn’t good enough, John Lewis and Royal Mail. My parcels have apparently been at the Home Counties Depot for a week, nowhere near Edinburgh.
“And there was no attempted delivery yesterday as I was in all day! Exasperating!!”
“My parcel should finally be getting delivered today,” a PrettyLittleThing customer wrote. “Only 5 days late. I’m not impressed.”
“Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful. Order place on November 30th with expected delivery date December 8 (yes December 8),” one person said.
“No way to track parcel, no one answering the phone.”
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Another said: “Very unhappy, still waiting for my Delivery from Boots, not answering emails, phones always busy, money taken out of my account though! I need to talk to someone urgently @bootsuk.”
Simon wrote: “I made an order with Boots with a delivery date of December 2 – the money for my order has left my account but nothing has been delivered.”
Boots issued a statement on Twitter blaming the delays on Royal Mail.
It said: “Royal Mail is experiencing an issue, which is affecting the delivery of some orders from boots.com.
“It has reassured us that it is processing these orders as quickly as possible.”
It’s not just Royal Mail that has struggled to cope with the influx of parcels, driven by lockdown restrictions preventing shoppers heading to the high street.
Can I return a Christmas order that arrives late?
IT can be really frustrating if you order a Christmas present and it doesn’t arrive on time.
If you want to return your gift, for example, because you had to buy something else, we explain your rights.
For presents ordered by the store’s last delivery date – the one it advertises online – you will be entitled to your money back if you no longer want the item.
You’ll need to have proof of when you placed your order, such as an email confirmation.
The retailer will also expect you to return the item. According to Resolver, the store you purchased the product from will usually be responsible for covering return costs, but this does depend on its terms and conditions, so read carefully.
If you want to keep the gift, you may be able to claim back some cash from the delivery costs. Contact the retailer to see what it can offer you.
If you paid extra for specific-day delivery, and it arrived after this date, the retailer should off you money back on the delivery cost.
Or at the very least, you’ll get the difference in price between its standard delivery and premium delivery.
We reported how hundreds of Boohoo.com customers have been left waiting days for orders to arrive, despite paying for next day delivery. The online fashion store uses Hermes.
Scores of Matalan customers are also fretting over missing orders, made worse by the retailer switching off customers service phone lines.
A spokesperson for Royal Mail told The Sun everyone at the company is “working hard” despite the challenges it faces.
A huge recruitment drive saw the company employ 33,000 temporary workers to cope with the Christmas demand.
But “despite [our] best efforts… some customers may experience slightly longer delivery timescales that our usual service standards.”
They said: “We always endeavour to keep our customers as informed as we can of any changes to our services.
“We have a dedicated section on our website. Throughout the pandemic, every decision we make puts the health of our people and customers first.”
A John Lewis spokesperson said: “We work with lots of different courier companies and spread our deliveries across all of them so with just two weeks to go before Christmas, we’re confident that we can get our customers what they need.”
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A Currys PC World spokesperson said it was “disappointed” that packages wouldn’t arrive on time and that it has contacted customers who have been affected by the delays.
They added: “We have a number of contingency measures in place and all affected customers will receive their tech in time for Christmas.”
The Sun has contacted all retailers mentioned in this piece for comment.
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