Until recently I had all positive experiences with Hermes, both sending and receiving. But when things go wrong.... I sent my mother a Bosch cordless vacuum cleaner a fortnight before Christmas, but the tracking stopped at my local depot. I started to chase it immediately, but customer service were unable to phone the depot, and they took days to reply to an email requesting they look for the parcel.By the first week of January I was eligible to submit a compensation claim, as I had taken out cover for £139, the amount I paid at a Currys sale. I was told I had to wait fourteen working days before a decision was made, this equating to nearly three calendar weeks. I had to make several calls to the claims department before they finally transferred the insured sum, plus shipping refund. Of course I can no longer buy the vacuum at the sale price, the cheapest is £189. You cannot over-insure your parcel because the claims department want to see receipts for everything. I believe my vacuum cleaner was stolen at the depot- foolishly I sent it in its original carton, with photographs of the contents. Considering my parcel had label envelopes there is no way it is 'lost' in their warehouses, if that were the case they would be knee deep in lost parcels, every week. I am now looking for alternatives to Hermes, even though it will mean a longer trip to a drop-off, or pay for collection. Before my bad experience I would have given four stars, but I can't forgive the appalling level of customer service, and the amount of my time the whole episode has taken.