Hermes driver shortage affecting Christmas parcels across Scotland

A shortage of delivery drivers for courier service Hermes has left thousands of parcels at depots ahead of Christmas.

Residents of Glasgow, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, and West Dunbartonshire have been left waiting weeks for parcels that were supposed to have been delivered by Hermes – but instead have been left at local depots.

Pictures show a number of parcels lying on the ground outside one depot in West Dunbartonshire, due to a lack of delivery drivers and distribution staff.

An unnamed resident from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire said: “The Hermes depot are taking on too much work, so they are not delivering parcels.

“There are at least seven weeks of parcels still to be delivered in the pictures.

“Bear in mind it’s probably most people’s children’s Christmas gifts among it.

“I’ve been left waiting four weeks for my delivery, it’s beyond a joke.

She added: “The manager was very cheeky and obnoxious and giving people abuse when they asked for updates.”

Furious residents from Huntly, Aberdeenshire, say there is not a delivery driver in the local area after the last one resigned, so parcels are being left at a depot.

Susan Watt, 52, from Huntly, said: “We ordered a parcel on the first of December, and it still hasn’t arrived.

“It’s been left somewhere for over a week, and no one is available to speak from Hermes.

“There is no driver delivering things in the area, so they are just sitting in a depot in Aberdeen.

“It’s quite stressful, as it was a Christmas gift and now I don’t know if I will receive it in time.

“Hermes need to take some responsibility as it is affecting the whole town.

“There’s a lot of disappointed people in the area not getting parcels.”

Wendy Taylor, 38, from Huntly, said she is unable to speak to anyone from Hermes regarding the whereabouts of her children’s Christmas gifts.

She said: “I was meant to receive a gift last week.

“It contained most of my three-year-old’s Christmas presents.

“They said they attempted delivery but I was sitting in the whole day and no one came.

“When you try and contact them you can’t phone and speak to a person.

“Our local driver resigned, and they never replaced her.

“The worrying thing is so many people are waiting for Christmas presents.”

SNP councillor Gwyneth Petrie, for Huntly, said: “A significant number of my constituents have been impacted by this disruption to the Hermes deliveries locally – and are becoming increasingly concerned at the lack of any constructive response from the company.

“Some retailers won’t refund items until they hear back from Hermes – which also is not happening.

“It’s simply not good enough and we need urgent action to ensure that deliveries arrive in time for Christmas.”

Hermes have been contacted for a comment.