Placed a big order for Huel and unfortunately it came in a pretty flimsy box and arrived on doorstep like this. The box was much heavier than it looked and it’s obviously been dropped.
The cardboard feels less sturdy than that used for the two bag box. Because of this, the box looks a lot lighter than it is - prominent weight warnings on the sides would help. An entire side had ripped off the box, and the bottom itself had almost completely opened up (top had been double taped and that held). I guess the warehouse have been under a lot of pressure and unfortunately made a very bad call here.
In my Huel account it says a signature image is available but I can’t see it, doesn’t seem to be on the DPD website either. If it’s viewable somewhere I’d love to see it - no signature was actually taken. The box was just left on the doorstep and the courier didn’t knock.
I didn’t have time to go through it all when it arrived but I did just now. I didn’t think it would be good news because I could see how dusty the inside of the box was, and of course three bags had burst.
Gutted that both bags of Huel Black Chocolate had burst as I was dying to try it. First bag had huge split, second bag had smaller split harder to see here (but still leaking powder)
I’m sure it’s low risk but these could be contaminated with anything - and especially given the coronavirus situation - I’m definitely not happy to use these bags.
How do I return these split bags to get them replaced? I gather from other posts that the phone lines are down. I don’t use social media but if someone on the team - maybe @Dan_Huel as I know you are very active and helpful on here - could get back to me by PM that would be great, I can pass on the order number more pics and any other details required.
I got my latest package of Huel 3 days ago and the box arrived like yours. I too noticed the box was very flimsy, never had it packaged so badly beforem
I placed an order for 4 bags on Monday. On Wednesday two boxes were delivered by DPD however I noticed that one box had some DPD tape on it with the text “Resealed by DPD”, I also noticed one box felt quite a bit lighter than the other; lo and behold there was one packet of huel missing from the box which had been “resealed”. The weights given on the printed labels tells me that both boxes were of a similar weight at time of shipping, approximately 3.5kg each, so someone has definitely helped themselves to a bag of huel from my shipment.
I immediately emailed huel to notify them of this but, so far, I have had no response and no refund for the missing bag of huel to my PayPal account.
Signatures are no longer being taken as part of no-contact deliveries to reduce the spread of COVID-19. You can find out more here.
Your best with a complaint or order query is to send an email to our Customer Experience team rather than use the forum which isn’t a dedicated platform for this kind of thing.
Don’t worry about returning the bags just dispose of them and @Charlotte_Huel will be able to help you out with getting some new shiny bags out to you ASAP.
Thanks for the info, and apology accepted, I imagine things must be pretty manic for you at the moment.
Just to check, is the customer experience email team@huel.com ? If so I will drop them a line.
I think this is a very sensible policy, but it would be better if DPD were following Royal Mail’s new guidelines. What Royal Mail are doing is putting the parcel down, then knocking the door and waiting a short time until they see you. If they don’t see you, they don’t deliver, but there’s no contact involved.
Just received a response from Huel who will be sending me the missing pouch and contacting the courier. I’ll also be leaving a comment on the DPD app where they’ve asked for a review.
Just happy Huel have resolved the matter without fuss.
Definitely not all down to DPD - the box and the tape was inadequate and it needed more labelling to indicate the weight. The box looked so lightweight that as a courier you would naturally assume it was mostly air, which I’m sure is why it first got dropped.
Just disappointing that Mr DPD ran off rather than give me the chance reject the package. Probably has enough on his plate to be fair. The job is hard work at the best of times but I’d say right now it’s a bad time to be a courier.
Heard from Isobel at Huel today after sending in an email to the team@ address last week, replacement bags now being dispatched plus a couple of Huel bars to say sorry for the fuss.
Great customer service, and thank you @Dan_Huel and @Charlotte_Huel for the responses on here. Looking forward to trying Huel Black.
Recently received a box with 8 bags of Huel and, besides them, nothing inside to fill the gaps, to lessen a drop or rough handling by the carrier. The box was clearly not resistant enough for the travel/handling ( and mine came to Portugal) and the weight ( 14Kg ). Even the parcel tape was clearly not enough.
I sent an email to info@huel.com to report the issue and receive a reply in line with:
“Thank you for your feedback on packaging! It is really helpful. We will try to improve taping”
It´s the first time I have a bad experience with Huel, and trough DHL carrier ( with the previous carrier UPS boxes were all ok and also the packaging and handling). An month from now will see if this was a isolated incident.
Might I suggest an alternative cause for this issue?
All delivery companies, DPD included have stepped up to try and tackle the spread of the virus.
I can’t speak specifically for DPD but I know that some courier companies have started to spray all packages they receive with disinfectant.
As this issue seems to have only begun since the Covid-19 issue, I believe it could be that some boxes are being sprayed too much, and not being given a chance to dry before being handled. Then, in their damp state they are being handled which, in their wet and weakened state, could then rip at the edges, which looks exactly what has happened in the OP’s photo here.
I also received 10 bags of Huel in this inadequate type of box. Previous orders of 5 or less bags are in better boxes with no issues.
Huel, you have a problem with the boxes you are using for large orders. Just admit it and sort it out. You are an excellent company and this type of shipping is letting you down.
