A Christmas Grinch was captured on CCTV stealing a woman’s Boohoo parcel moments after a delivery driver left it underneath a wheelie bin outside her front door.
Footage released by Nikola Howell, a recovery practitioner from Walthamstow, north-east London, shows a man clad in black entering her front yard and taking the package just minutes later.
Ms Howell had been helping her stepfather at the time of the Evri delivery and had been expecting the package for her mother who was in hospital for kidney problems.
It comes after courier Evri was slammed last week by Labour MP Carolyn Harris, who said families were facing ‘Christmas misery’ because the company was losing or delaying deliveries.
The courier from Evri dragged one of Ms Howell’s wheelie bins across the yard before hiding the package beneath it
Footage shows the Evri delivery driver passing through her front gate and immediately dragging a wheelie bin across the yard to the front door, before hiding the package beneath it.
The parcel contained four items including trousers, a jumper and two shirts totalling £35.
The delivery driver did not knock or ring the bell at any point during the video, and left as quickly as he arrived.
But moments later, a second man walks into the yard and takes the parcel from underneath the bin.
He was in and out of the yard within seconds and wore a hooded coat which he used to hide his face.
Ms Howell said of the Evri driver: ‘He did not ring the bell or knock on the door.
‘He walked through the gate, pulled my green bin, put it in front of my door and left the package.
‘That was like having a target on my door. He delivered it at 1.29pm and it was stolen at 1.42pm because of his stupidity.
‘He could have asked a neighbour to take the package or leave it behind the bin.’
Ms Howell claims that her Evri account stated the parcel had been delivered shortly after 9pm, despite her being home at the time.
Ms Howell criticised the courier for leaving the bin in front of her door, saying it put a ‘target’ on her house
Just minutes after the delivery the thief walked right up to Ms Howell’s front door, wearing a hooded coat to conceal his face
He grabbed the parcel from beneath the wheelie bin and had disappeared within a matter of seconds
Once out of Ms Howell’s yard, the man simply carried the parcel down the road as if it was his own
Sharing her CCTV footage, Ms Howell described how the man was ‘concealing his identity’ and seemed to know ‘exactly where to find the package’.
She added that Evri did not mark the package as delivered until hours after it had been stolen.
Evri, formerly known as Hermes, has been criticised by customers online in recent weeks.
Last week, Ms Harris, the Labour MP for Swansea East, hit out at the company.
Speaking at a session of questions related to the business of the Commons, Ms Harris said: ‘Many people across the UK are facing Christmas misery as online shopping deliveries have been delayed or lost by delivery firm Evri.
‘After expressing concerns about this company on social media, I have been inundated with stories of late or lost parcels, no or poor customer service, drivers earning less than the national living wage, drivers’ pay being withheld, and pathetic petrol allowance which is insufficient to cover increased fuel charges.
‘A classic case of corporate greed over staff welfare and customer service.’
After Ms Howell watched the CCTV footage, which was captured on December 17, she contacted Boohoo and Evri about the theft.
Boohoo has since refunded her order and given her a £15 voucher, while Evri gave a £30 refund as a ‘goodwill gesture’ and has taken the matter up with local courier managers.
A spokesperson for Evri said: ‘We have apologised to the customer regarding this case, and offered them a goodwill payment to cover the cost of the parcel.
‘In addition, a refund has been arranged by the sender.
‘We train our couriers on what constitutes a safe place and have followed up directly with the courier involved.
‘Evri takes security and fraud prevention extremely seriously.
‘Our teams across the country are working extremely hard to make sure parcels are safely delivered as soon as possible, and we thank everyone for their patience and understanding.’
