A furious customer has slammed parcel giant EVRI after a gift for his girlfriend went missing, only for him to track it down to an auction house over 200 miles from its intended destination.
The Lost Parcel Journey
Jordan Brough, from Meir in Stoke-on-Trent, had sent a package containing Apple AirPods and a protein shake to his girlfriend's home in Newcastle Upon Tyne. However, the items never arrived. Growing concerned by a lack of scans on the EVRI tracking system, Jordan used the 'Find My' app linked to his own AirPods to locate the parcel.
He watched in disbelief as the signal showed his package travelling to depots in Crewe, Barnsley, and Rugby, before finally coming to a stop in Cradley Heath, Sandwell. The parcel sat there for days. Despite providing EVRI with screenshots of the precise location, he said he received only repeated assurances that they were "looking into it."
A 200-Mile Recovery Mission
After ten days with no resolution from EVRI, Jordan and a neighbour decided to take matters into their own hands. They drove from Stoke to Cradley Heath, where the tracking app led them to a John Pye Auctions site.
"The workers at the auction house told me they’d had 125 pallets delivered by EVRI in the past week," Jordan explained. For health and safety reasons, he was not allowed inside, so a manager used Jordan's phone with the tracking app to locate the AirPods. They were found, but the other items from the parcel were not with them, as auction house staff said items are catalogued and stored separately.
Apology and Boycott
Following intervention by StokeonTrentLive, EVRI issued Jordan with a refund of the postage costs, a £20 claim settlement, and a £30 goodwill payment. The company has apologised, noting the earphones were wrapped in a jumper, making them harder to identify.
An EVRI spokesperson stated: "We handle almost 900 million parcels a year and the vast majority are delivered successfully on time. Unfortunately, a small number of parcels can’t be delivered... We have a dedicated team who work hard to repatriate these items." They added that sending items to auction is a last resort to avoid landfill.
Despite the refund and apology, Jordan remains unimpressed. He has vowed to boycott EVRI and warns others to be cautious. "It’s shocking. I’ll never use EVRI again," he said. "For the people who are thinking about using them, I would tell them to be very cautious. Make sure you get an AirTag or something to keep track of your parcel."
