“Extremely disappointed with DHL’s service. My package was scheduled for delivery between 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM. The driver came to my area but never delivered it. When I contacted DHL, they couldn’t give me a clear answer and just told me to keep tracking the truck. I ended up wasting the entire day at home, unable to go out or do anything, just waiting for the package. Very frustrating and unacceptable service.”
“I never received delivery from America. No requested updates came through. I received a customs charge 12 days after receipt at the Coventry depot which had a different tracking number which i paid. There are no human beings to answer my enquiry. I have totally given up”
“Tenho uma encomenda em atraso há mais de 20 dias. Todos os dias recebo a informação de que a entrega será feita, mas nunca acontece. A cada nova atualização, a promessa é a mesma: "será entregue hoje", mas a realidade é completamente diferente. É extremamente frustrante depender de um serviço que se apresenta como “expresso” e não cumpre com o que promete.
Além da demora, não há clareza ou apoio eficaz para resolver a situação. Esperava muito mais seriedade, profissionalismo e compromisso de uma empresa como a DHL.”
“I sent an express parcel from Japan, paying around €200, (now€400) expecting fast and reliable delivery. Unfortunately, my experience with DHL Express was the exact opposite.
The parcel was returned to Japan without any notice, without proper delivery attempts at the correct entrance, and without my consent. I was never informed, never asked for confirmation, and the package was simply sent back as if I didn’t matter.
I contacted DHL Express customer service several times. I was passed from one department to another, and eventually referred to a team that was dissolved on the exact day my parcel was returned. Since then, I have followed up multiple times over several weeks and have received no response whatsoever.
Despite being the paying sender (the freight payer), and having followed all procedures correctly, DHL refuses to take responsibility. No explanation. No compensation. Just silence.
For a company like DHL, this level of service is completely unacceptable. I strongly advise against using DHL Express – if something goes wrong, you’re on your own.”
“Probably the worst delivery company in the world. Every time I end up waiting much longer than the promised delivery time, regardless of whether it’s Express or regular shipping. I even avoid ordering from some stores simply because they offer no other delivery option than DHL. This is not 0 out of 10, it’s –10 out of 10. On top of that, the customer service is terrible.”
“The worst company to deal with
The worst company to deal with. Scammers, totally incompetent. I thought that I would save myself $400 when I had my holiday in NZ and buy the product online rather than in the shop. Unfortunately they used DHL to courier it.
It was randomly stopped at Border Security and it should never have been stopped at it ticked all the boxes. It was a very specific jar of honey. It was less than 2KG for personal use, commercially packed, sealed, UMF factors clearly written and from a qualified business which only exports honey worldwide. So it ticked all the boxes.
This is when all the DHL lies started. They told me that the honey was in quarantine and could not be released because it needed different paperwork. They told me that they had sent the new paperwork and that each time they did, quarantine wanted something different. After 12 days I threatened to sue quarantine. They never answered any of my emails. I then phoned them. DHL lied as quarantine did not have the honey, DHL has it and they actually do not hand anything over but store it in their facilities and I wasted my time sending emails to quarantine which never answered my emails as they did not know what I was talking about.
They told me DHL was lying and that they never sent any of the paperwork requested. On each email they kept lying to me. The last one said that they sent the paperwork on the 8th. Not true. I talked to quarantine today on the 11th and the man as we spoke sent them a remainder email. So now they have ruined my product as they failed to store it in proper conditions. I assume that the sent the paperwork when reminded.
Now they send me another email saying that quarantine want to do a visual inspection. Talking about that. First of all not true as the man from quarantine told me that as soon as they get the paperwork they will release the product. It is a recorded phone call so they would be pretty stupid to say that and then ask for something else.
They also told me that DHL should have known that if they could not provide the paperwork they could have requested a visual inspection which gets done in less than 24 hours and I could have had my product 10 days ago and not have been through all this stress. It is a very rare honey and there are only 1080 jars in the world and costs a fortune. I bought it as it is medical grade.
Now miraculously in the middle of the night quarantine has been to inspect ( I think) and I get an invoice for DHL confirming they are going to keep my product and continue to steal from me unless I now pay import duty.
I am not paying a cent for something that has been delayed through their lies for 12 days and which is no doubt ruined by now. They also say that my product has arrived in the country and to pay the duties. Well DHL, it arrived in the country 14 days ago by now and you are only sending me the duty notification now. You were supposed to deliver within 3 days.
Off course another lie as no invoice or proof that they have paid anything accompanies this fake money grabbing scam. They owe me the cost of the honey which has been degraded due to their actions along with huge amounts of compensation. I am certainly not paying for something I will never get. I will see DHL in court as I am not losing $2500”
“I have never experienced such a horrible service from anyone. They are basically harassing me now. I am struggling to cope at the moment. Avoid at all costs.”
“Poor service, you can’t speak to anyone to arrange the issues, come before the selected delivery slot and leave no call back card , I had someone at home and they saw the delivery driver walk up my path take a picture and walk back down the path they never even carried the box to my door but it’s impossible to do anything with them as they don’t accept phone calls”
“Asking unnecessary documents which was given to DHL earlier with the shipment process. Again asking the same thing. My parcel is on hold for 1 months. It’s still on hold.”
“I’m writing to express my disappointment with a recent customer service experience in Australia. I had an interaction with a staff member named Brian (online chat), and unfortunately, it was quite negative.
I found Brian’s approach to be unprofessional and lacking in basic customer service skills. He was rude, dismissive, and did not demonstrate the patience or respect expected in a customer-facing role. It was clear that he was either inexperienced or not trained adequately in how to communicate effectively and supportively with customers.
I believe all customers deserve to be treated with courtesy and understanding, especially when seeking assistance. I hope this feedback can be used to support training and improvement in service standards.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my concerns.”
“Ordered an item that was to be delivered by DHL. Tracking shows that it was placed in our mailbox but, sadly, nothing was there. Emailed DHL to confirm the delivery address-no response. Based upon the overall feedback, I don't think I will ever get one. Had to reorder the same item with explicit instructions to ship USPS, not DHL. Don't want to order a third time.”
“Absolutely appalling experience! It has been 9 days since I shipped my DHL Express packet from Johannesburg SA to Windhoek Namibia, which, on me delivering the package to them, they told me it will be delivered at the destination the next day. The communication has been lacking to say the least. I tried emailing them and calling the customer service line to no avail. Eventually I had to go in to the branch that I originally dropped the package off at to find out why my package is late. The lady at the counter was very sweet, but was stuck on the customer service line for 20minutes before getting transferred to 3 different people and after all that no one could tell me why my package has not been delivered yet. This was 3 days ago and my package is still not delivered. DHL, what the hell?”
“Four out of 4 deliveries went wrong so waited in and they were late or didn't deliver that day or claimed a package was damaged after failing to deliver it and the sender investigating
Seem to have taken on the mantle of the worst courier in the UK”
“I would give 0 stars to this company if I could. This place is so awful it absolutely blows my mind. I had a package that was sent out over a month ago for a person’s birthday that was filled with homemade goods, cards, and a birthday gift that took me a lot of time and effort to find. Ended up getting put on hold for weeks saying it needed extra info. After at least 15 calls, 4 emails, and asking to find out what info was needed, they never got back to me and only told me what was needed when the package was already sent back as a return. It also had went off the grid too. Now my person will never receive their birthday gift before their move and I’m going to have to discard almost everything inside as it may be no longer good to even keep. Dhl should be ashamed to call themselves a company . I’ll never do business with this company for as long as I breathe.”
“So bad it hurts, ordered a parcel from japan which arrived in 3 days to the uk, then got in dhl hands and never delivered, 2 attempts deliveries and the driver never came, i only had a message to say we have missed you, but no delivery attempt ever made, dhl has got lazy drivers who just want to slap your things in the collection point and go and chill under a treee, not good.”
“I took a full day off work to receive a time-sensitive international passport delivery from DHL. They sent me a message confirming a delivery window of 4:00–6:00 PM. I stayed home all day, called customer service multiple times (including to tell them my doorbell wasn’t working), and even waited outside during the delivery window.
At 8:41 PM — nearly 5 hours late — I received a text saying the courier was still 14 stops away. Then, at 9:04 PM, I got a message falsely claiming that delivery was attempted and no one was home. No one rang, knocked, or left a tag. I was standing right there.
This was not just poor service — it was dishonest and disrespectful. I missed a full day of work for nothing and had to chase them down for something that should have been handled properly the first time. DHL showed no accountability, no urgency, and no care for how their failures affect real people.
Avoid them if you have any time-sensitive or important deliveries. They cannot be trusted to meet their own commitments or tell the truth.”
