‘You would not want a delivery driver’s job’ – Evening News readers react to tales of bungled package deliveries

Shoppers have told how botched parcel deliveries are risking ruining Christmas in Edinburgh – and readers were keen to share their own stories, and some sympathy for drivers
Waiting for deliveries to arrive can be stressful. Picture: GettyWaiting for deliveries to arrive can be stressful. Picture: Getty
Waiting for deliveries to arrive can be stressful. Picture: Getty

Meanwhile we all (me included) seem to be quite happy to get our parcels “delivered free” by self-employed drivers making pennies per drop. Trust me, you would not want their jobs. Only buy items from merchants who use a “proper” courier service and charge you for it accordingly and you will get a decent service. Like so many other industries, the courier industry has been a race to the bottom to offer the cheapest possible rate for home deliveries.

Guillaume Pacteau

I‘ve had problems – I was left two parcels BEHIND my wheelie bin, both in cardboard wrapping, It was absolutely pouring with rain and they were ruined! I had to pay for returns.

The cranes have become a fixture on the Edinburgh skyline. Picture: Lisa FergusonThe cranes have become a fixture on the Edinburgh skyline. Picture: Lisa Ferguson
The cranes have become a fixture on the Edinburgh skyline. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Abbey Kane

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East Lothian shopper tells how Hermes left her husband’s Christmas present in a ...
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What some folk don’t realise is that in many of these companies staff are paid commission, so if a package is undelivered they don’t get paid – leading to these types of tactics. I’ve had a package put in my bin, another saying it was delivered when it wasn’t and damaged packaging.

Caroline McGhee

I have never had any problems and think they do a great job in trying to leave your parcels in a safe place when you are not at home.

Olivia Nicoll

Happy to report that Hermes deliveries to our difficult-to-find house are all doing fine! I think problem lies with system not delivery staff – they have impossible targets to meet, it’s often dark, traffic is unpredictable and they must occasionally get desperate.

Jenny Mollison

I had a message saying a package was delivered and signed for by me and after speaking to my husband I realised my signature was forged and there had been no delivery. An hour later the delivery arrived.

Abbigail Van Zyl

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Perhaps if people realised the pressure and stress delivery drivers are under at this time of year they could maybe understand why some parcels get left. 12 hour-plus days seven days a week and the threat of getting laid off if all parcels don’t get delivered.

Greig Ward

I had a message saying my parcel had been delivered and yet I’d been in all day and no-one had rung the bell. I checked their online tracking and it also said delivered. The parcel had been left outside and anyone could have stolen it

Laura Macaulay

I must have the best Hermes driver in the world then. He is polite, considerate, and always smiling. I am informed by Hermes when my parcel is being delivered and if I am out, the parcel is left in the designated place which was requested by Hermes. Just try not to tar them all with the same brush!

Margaret Nicolaou

Have the same problem with Hermes. I track the parcel sit in all day waiting no chap or ring on the doorbell. Then I get txt that its been delivered and signed for wen really its been dumped on my doorstep

Amanda McGrath

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I had a parcel wthat as delivered to a completely different address on Saturday. The lady did not take the parcel but did tell the driver where my house was. The parcel did not arrive at my house yet was marked ‘handed to resident’.

Barbara Samuel

Not all drivers are equal – some genuinely care about doing their job correctly, I’m sure.

Stace Fairhurst

The amount of people that shop online knowing they will not be in to accept a delivery and no arrangements made would surprise you..

Derek Thorburn

Go out on a high

The biggest of nine tower cranes at the Edinburgh St James Centre site will be taken down next week by a huge mobile crane. They’ve been a fixture on the city’s skyline for a while now, so were readers sad to see them go?

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I’ve loved seeing them every morning driving down Kirk Brae at 5.20 going to work. They’re like red stars in the night.

Sharron Dunn Greenhorn

As a fan of Brutalism I was rather sad to see the previous building taken down.

Scott Reid

Why would you be sad to see the back of these monstrosities? Stupid question.

David Edwards

But what crane did they use to build the giant mobile crane though?

Alan Brown

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People will miss a few cranes but not miss Jenners? What a strange a world we live in.

Valerie Thornton Hunter

They look great all lit up at night. I had got used to them.

Dave Winning

They make for a fine ballet on the skyline.

Roger Leslie Paige

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