FURIOUS residents in part of the Bradford district have hit out at Hermes over a spate of “mysteriously disappearing parcels”.

Anger has been mounting in the Cottingley area as a number of customers gave accounts of “vanishing” packages - some worth as much as £300.

At the height of the problem, it seemed to have reached the stage where “nobody was getting anything” in the village, according to one unhappy customer.

Hermes launched an investigation after which a “swift” decision was taken to employ a new courier, who started on Tuesday.

Prior to that, some residents reported receiving a confirmation email from the courier to say their order had been delivered, put in a safe place or signed for – yet no one had come to the door.

Some even checked their CCTV and found nobody was filmed at the time they allegedly handed over the goods.

Hermes told the Telegraph & Argus that it became aware of an issue with “a small number of deliveries” at the end of last week.

But it is little consolation for some residents who have lost Christmas presents for friends and family totting up to hundreds of pounds.

And while the retailer pays back the costs or resends the order, many are calling for Hermes to improve its customer service.

Susan Dwyer, one of those affected, said: “The amount of money lost in the mysteriously disappearing parcels is mounting up to a considerable amount.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. It got to a stage last week when nobody was getting anything.

“Hermes is one of the most difficult companies I’ve ever tried to get hold of. They (the customers) need to be able to speak to a person.”

Susan was in her house all day waiting for the order with her dog, who normally barks at visitors, not noticing a courier.

When she received the email, she checked her bin, shed and around the outside of the house but found nothing.

And she’s not the only one. Carrie Emmerson is missing two Christmas gifts which allegedly arrived safely one evening.

On the first occasion, she claims someone else signed for her after a squiggle was sent to her inbox as proof of delivery. Her second parcel is yet to arrive.

Now, as her third order goes missing, she says the whole process has been “extremely stressful”.

She said: “I have tried to contact myhermes by email, it bounces back; by their online contact form but I receive an error message advising my reference is incorrect and to contact the seller, commenting on their social media posts on Facebook but I don’t get a reply and my comments are deleted. I have tried to call but can’t get to speak to a human being, just their automatic answering service.

“I am currently without a Christmas present and the money paid to the seller.

“I just can’t afford to lose more money. I just feel completely frustrated. All three items were Christmas presents which I have worked hard to pay for."

Hermes said it follows trends in the industry with all its couriers self-employed and that the contract is with the retailer or eBay seller, not Hermes. Anyone affected should contact the person or company they bought from and the seller will then contact Hermes.

A spokesperson for Hermes said: “Our team became aware of an issue with a small number of deliveries in this area at the end of last week. Following an investigation a decision was swiftly taken to get a new courier in place who started on November 19.

“Since then we have been carefully monitoring services levels which are currently good. We apologise to anyone who has been affected and ask them to refer to the help section of our website: goherm.es/help.”