[England] Warning: DPD lost my £550 return, then said I was too late to claim
Posting this for anyone in England weighing up which courier to use.
I returned a set of blinds worth almost £600 using DPD. The parcel never arrived. For two weeks we tracked it and kept asking the chatbot for a status update, and got nothing useful.
When an actual customer service person finally replied, it was to say that unless a formal report is made within two weeks, DPD relinquishes all responsibility. So the two weeks I spent waiting on their tracking and their chatbot is exactly what they're now using to say they owe me nothing. Nobody mentioned that deadline at any point while I was chasing.
Since then they've gone weeks without replying. The blinds are gone for good and I'm out almost £600. I don't think that's fair or ethical, and they've been no help at all.
If you have to use them: file a formal claim the moment a parcel looks delayed. Don't trust the tracking or the chatbot, because the clock is running while you wait.
If you're a journalist writing a consumer watchdog piece about DPD's service, I'm happy to go on record and be quoted. I'm Juliet Kinsman, a sustainability journalist and editor, and you can reach me at u/julietkinsman on Instagram or LinkedIn.
Has anyone managed to get anywhere with DPD after being told this? Any advice welcome.