Tourist, 25, who tried to send his suitcase to the Philippines using Evri says he could see it sitting in a depot for FIVE weeks using his own tracking device – despite being told it was lost
- Jack Smethem, 25, claims his luggage was in the Evri depot for five weeks
- The firm claimed they lost the parcel, but AirTags revealed it was at their facility
- Mr Smethem visited the depot twice in attempt to retrieve his suitcase
- His luggage has been returned to him but he says he will never use Evri again
A plane passenger was told his couriered suitcase was lost, but said he could see it sitting in an Evri depot for five weeks.
Jack Smethem, who was taking three flights to the Philippines, sent his belongings ahead via the courier after it worked out cheaper than paying airline baggage fees.
But before the traveller dropped off his bag, he put an Apple AirTag inside to track it.
Mr Smethem, 25, says the courier – which rebranded from Hermes earlier this year – insisted it lost his luggage despite the location marker showing the bag sitting in Evri’s depot off the M6.
He sent the suitcase on August 30 through parcel delivery comparison website Parcel2Go, which acts as a middleman for people wanting to send parcels within the UK and abroad. The firm works in partnership with almost 20 couriers.
Mr Smethem took two 370-mile round trips from his East Sussex home to the parcel terminus near Rugby, Warwickshire, to try and get his gear back – begging staff to let him in so he could find his case.
Mr Smethem’s luggage has since been returned to him and he claims was refunded his £80 carriage fees as a goodwill gesture.
But the jet-setter, who is due to be travelling this weekend, still does not know how he is going to get his clothes to the Philippines in time for his holiday. He fears he will instead have to pay the airlines’ extortionate baggage fees.
Jack Smethem, 25, (pictured outside Evri’s Rugby distribution centre) as told his couriered suitcase was lost, but said he could see it sitting in an Evri depot for five weeks
Before he dropped off his bag, Mr Smethem put an Apple AirTag inside to track it. He said Evri insisted it lost his luggage despite the location marker showing the bag sitting at the firm’s depot off the M6
Mr Smethem’s luggage has since been returned to him and he claims was refunded his £80 carriage fees as a goodwill gesture. He is pictured at home with his returned suitcase
Mr Smethem, of Eastbourne, East Sussex, decided to send his suitcase to a friend’s house in Manila in advance of his October 23 flight.
But Evri reportedly lost it weeks before he was set to fly.
‘They were declaring it lost and I just find that hilarious,’ the traveller said.
He claims the ‘lost’ item never moved from the courier’s huge sorting centre at Cosford just off the M6 motorway until it miraculously reappeared at his front door on Tuesday, October 11 – after weeks of Evri insisting they no longer had it.
Mr Smethem made the 370-mile round trip twice to the Rugby depot to try and retrieve the case but Evri staff have told him both times the suitcase wasn’t there.
His latest trip was on October 7. He was accompanied by his mother, but even she couldn’t make staff see sense.
Mr Smethem took two 370-mile round trips from his East Sussex home to the parcel terminus near Rugby, Warwickshire, to try and get his gear back – begging staff to let him in so he could find his case
‘I told them where it was in the depot but they couldn’t find it,’ Mr Smethem recalled. ‘I was like, ‘I know where it is.’
‘I told them where it was in the depot but they couldn’t find it,’ Mr Smethem recalled.
‘I was like, ‘I know where it is.’
‘I even told security I can go into the depot and show them where it is but they said they can’t do that.’
An Evri spokesperson told MailOnline Mr Smethem’s luggage has ‘now been returned to him.’ The firm could not confirm reports that he was refunded his carriage fees.
‘Mr Smethem booked this delivery through an independent third party reseller Parcel2Go who holds all of the information about this customer and delivery and is responsible for any compensation claims,’ the spokesperson said.
‘We asked Parcel2Go to contact Mr Smethem to support him. His parcel has now been returned to him as it had failed security checks. ‘
MailOnline was unable to reach Parcel2Go for comment.
He sent the suitcase on August 30 through parcel delivery comparison website Parcel2Go, which acts as a middleman for people wanting to send parcels within the UK and abroad
Evri lost Mr Smethem’s luggage weeks before he was set to fly to the Philippines on October 23
Evri allegedly sent an email to Mr Smethem denying the parcel was at its facility
Evri told MailOnline that Mr Smethem’s luggage ‘had failed security checks.’ An email allegedly sent to the customer from Parcel2Go reflects a similar tone
Mr Smethem is flying from London to Bucharest with Ryanair, then Bucharest to Dubai with WizzAir.
For the last leg of the journey, he is hopping on budget airline Cebu Pacific from Dubai to Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
He decided to try Evri as his international courier for the first time as they were only charging £80 to send the suitcase to southeast Asia from the UK.
Mr Smethem says he will never use Evri again after their gaffe
‘I’m jumping airlines when flying because it’s cheaper,’ Mr Smethem explained.
‘So I decided to send my general essentials to the Philippines in advance.
‘I’ve done it before and it was fine.
‘I just wanted to keep the prices down.’
But now he says he will never use Evri again after their gaffe.
The jet-setter is also disappointed because the Justin Bieber concert he was travelling for has been cancelled.
He booked the trip earlier this year to see the pop star in the flesh and visit some friends who live in the southeast Asian country.
Justin Bieber was due to be playing on October 30 at CCP Open Grounds venue in Manila.
But the superstar’s world tour – including the concert Jack was due to attend – has been officially postponed due to Bieber’s health.
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