I have been sending and receiving parcels by Hermes for years with previously only one major problem. But Hermes is showing itself unable to cope with the volume of parcels resulting from COVID and the increase in online shopping. I have had seven experiences of parcels disappearing or being delayed since mid-October. What makes it worse is it is impossible to speak to a real person at Hermes if the parcel has been sent by a retailer and if you get a message to a real person via 'Holly' the email responses are composed of standard paragraphs. I am now filled with foreboding when I see a retailer has sent a parcel by Hermes and parcels I would have sent by Hermes now go by Royal Mail at extra cost. I have noticed some eBay sellers are making a point of stating that they don't use Hermes. My worst experience was with a parcel from Amazon which had stalled at the Plymouth depot. The second email response to my query via 'Holly' told me that the parcel was deemed lost. When I phoned Hermes I was blocked from speaking to a real person and told to contact Amazon. That I did and Amazon re-sent the items (not by Hermes!). But then the "lost" parcel was delivered nine days late with the box squashed as if it had been stored at the bottom of a large pile of other delayed parcels. The one positive was that Amazon had sent me an email telling me I could keep the items if the parcel eventually arrived. One of the lost parcels contained an item I had bought from a charity shop in Sheffield. The parcel was collected but neither the label nor the receipt card bar codes were scanned by the driver and the receipt card wasn't signed. The parcel never entered Hermes' system and disappeared. I got a refund but I suspect the charity shop will struggle to get compensation with no proof the parcel was collected.