Consumer Scotland: 29% of consumers affected by missing parcels

New research by Consumer Scotland has found the majority of consumers (60%) experienced at least one problem with their parcel deliveries over a twelve month period. Problems ranged from lost or damaged parcels, delivery practices such as leaving parcels in insecure or inaccessible locations or with an unknown neighbour, delayed delivery and poor information provision.

The survey, conducted by YouGov, showed that over a twelve month period 29% of consumers in Scotland reported missing parcels – equating to 1.3 million never arriving. The report – which covered experiences of all parcel operators – uncovered a range of other issues including:

• delivery delays were the most commonly experienced problem with 37% reporting this • nearly one third (32%) of people do not complain when an issue with parcel-related services occurs
• of those who made complaints to the parcel operators 61% reported that they found the process difficult
• of those who complained nearly two in five (39%) reported satisfaction and just over a third (35%) reported dissatisfaction

Regulator Ofcom has issued guidelines for parcel operators, which came into force last year, seeking improved complaints processes and a better service for consumers. The findings act as a benchmark to monitor the impact of the new guidelines.

Consumer Scotland Director of Policy and Advocacy Douglas White said: “Our research has shown parcel delivery services in Scotland appear to have significant room for improvement.
“Our evidence also suggests a significant lack of understanding amongst consumers about who is responsible for ensuring safe delivery of parcels and where to direct complaints and low overall satisfaction with the complaints process.
“New guidance for parcel delivery companies on complaints handling came into force in April last year and our research will serve as an important baseline to measure the effectiveness of this change in improving consumers’ experience in the parcel market.”

Consumer Scotland has made a number of additional recommendations for the regulator Ofcom, parcel operators and online retailers including:
• Ofcom to set out in more detail clear success criteria for parcel operators and what actions it will take if improvements are not achieved by April 2025
• Ofcom to consider publication of more regular, detailed complaints data specific to Scotland to support improved transparency and awareness for consumers here
• parcel operators to review complaints procedures and publish the steps they have taken to improve processes along with complaints data and actions taken to address them
• online retailers to ensure they explain the sender’s legal liability to ensure safe delivery at the point of purchase including clear information about complaints

The Lost in the post report sets out the findings from a Consumer Scotland commissioned survey of 2,000 adults in Scotland about their experience of receiving parcels during the 12 months prior to spring 2023.

Consumer Scotland used the survey results to conduct in-house analysis to understand the experience of Scottish consumers in the parcels market.