Parents in Fife say delivery delays ruined Christmas for some families as people have been left waiting weeks for parcels.
Issues with deliveries by Hermes in north-east Fife led to Facebook groups being used for customers to air grievances.
Laura Rehman, 36, collated a list of undelivered orders with tracking numbers and sent them to Hermes to try and get answers for people in Leuchars.
Complaints have also been made by residents of Wormit, Newport, Gauldry and Tayport.
The mother-of-three said: “We realised from that page that none of us were getting our Hermes orders.
“All orders seemed to stop around about December 3. Some of these deliveries were next-day guaranteed, for say £7.99.”
Items ordered weeks ago undelivered
It is understood one local driver was unwell and which caused a backlog in parts of Fife during the busy festive period.
Hermes disputes this, saying sufficient cover was provided.
Laura said messages to Hermes on social media were either ignored, or people were told to go to the retailer directly for a refund.
Christmas tears for youngster
“When people are relying on deliveries for Christmas and Hermes can’t fulfil it, they shouldn’t be taking more orders on – it’s immoral,” she said.
“Tayport, Gauldry, Wormit and Leuchars seem to all be having these issues.
“For a logistics company, it’s pretty basic – don’t take in more orders than you can deliver.
“A lot of the families were cancelling their plans for Christmas because they were still waiting on their Hermes deliveries. Kids don’t believe Hermes deliver presents – Santa Claus does.
‘Santa didn’t know we were here’
“There was one woman who ordered all of her toddler son’s Christmas presents, and the whole order was coming.
“The stuff didn’t arrive and she didn’t have the money to buy it twice.
“She told me, ‘the refund’s not coming in time, I don’t have the money to buy it twice’.
“She said she was going to have to go to her mum’s with her son and he wouldn’t get what he asked for, so she would have to tell him that it was because they went to his granny’s and Santa didn’t know.”
Laura estimates at least 200 people have reported issues with Hermes deliveries in the Leuchars area since the first reports began.
Seven-year-old left in tears
One woman who asked not to be named said she had to reorder items for her children but couldn’t get her daughter’s tablet computer in time.
She said: “She’s been left crying on Christmas Day while her sister and brother got what they wanted.
“That’s not an image I will forget, seeing my seven-year-old crying on Christmas morning.
“I just had to say that Santa mixed things up and she could ask for it for her birthday.”
Retiree Caroll Finnie ordered a tumble dryer cleanser on December 9, and was told by the firm that Hermes would deliver it on their behalf “in two to three days”.
However, one month later she was still waiting.
“I tried a customer services line but it was all automated. I was on that for about half an hour. I gave my tracking number, it said it couldn’t be found.
“On January 11 I was no further forward on December 9.”
She added: “As far as somebody being disappointed for Christmas, it didn’t matter in my case.
“For the people who were waiting on Christmas presents for children, well that’s unforgivable.”
Carol said eventually, her parcel arrived on January 12, almost five weeks after she placed the order.
‘Really not good enough’
There were claims up to 2,000 parcels were lying in the Dundee depot at one stage, waiting to be delivered across Fife. However, a Hermes spokeswoman disputes this.
She said: “The information on this Facebook page is incorrect.
“Whilst we are continuing to experience some delays in the area due to the ongoing impact of Covid 19, the majority of our deliveries are unaffected.
Customers told to contact retailers
“We have a number of couriers operating in the area and are confident that any delayed parcels will be delivered in the next few days.
“We apologise for any inconvenience and thank everyone for their patience and understanding.
“We ask that people with delivery concerns contact their retailer in the first instance – and they will in turn contact us as required.”
When asked if a driver being off ill had been the main cause of delays, the spokeswoman added: “I don’t want to comment on an individual but I can confirm there are other couriers on this round.”
