Couriers come in for criticism

Complaints to consumer protection authorities point to a major increase in the number of people disgruntled with the delays in courier deliveries, a trend recorded on social media since the first lockdown.

Compared to 2019, the Consumer Ombudsman saw complaints about courier companies soar 133%, with almost half of them (45%) concerning delivery delays, according to the watchdog's data for the year up to December 21. Courier delays had accounted for 27% of complaints the year before.

In absolute figures, the number of complaints filed with the Ombudsman came to 280, against 120 in 2019 and 92 in 2018. Although that seems a rather small number, one should consider that reports to this independent authority need to be fully substantiated, cannot be anonymous, and must come with a copy of the ID of the person filing the complaint. However, the success rate for consumers...