Fetch Is the Worst Package Delivery System Ever

Stu: Josh’s buddy used to do class action lawsuits.

Stu’s wife: Uh-uh. Nope.

A few months ago, we wrote to you about Fetch, the basic concept of which is that Hell has come to Earth and it’s started its own business. At the time, I was freshly enraged, and I vowed internally to take down Fetch. Then, well, nothing that bad happened for a few months. Small pains, here and there, but no cataclysms. Until Saturday. Saturday, there was a cataclysm.

One of the many things Fetch does that pisses me the hell off is refuse to leave oversized packages in the hallway. On the surface, this makes sense: You don’t want the hallway blockaded by packages, especially in the event someone falls asleep with pizza rolls in the toaster oven. In practice, what this means is that if someone at Fetch’s warehouse enters the dimension of your package incorrectly, it can be labeled as a “large package,” so even though the neighbors across the hall have a [expletives] desk in a box leaning against their door, you have to be present to receive your dog’s prescription food delivery from Chewy.

Fetch, of course, doesn’t make this easy to do. The delivery windows you can select are four hours in length, and on weekends, there’s only one of them per day: 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Since the alternative is an hour-and-a-half round trip to Fetch’s warehouse, which has gotten better since February (spoiler: I go to the warehouse later in this story) but still sucks (spoiler: I have a bad experience at the warehouse later in this story), you’re strongly incentivized to try your luck with the delivery window. It’s a gamble to trust Fetch to bring a package during the four hours they say they’re going to bring said package, but compared to a guaranteed hour-and-a-half trip to the lair of your mortal enemy…I gambled. And I lost. At 6:44 PM on Friday, I selected the 2-6 window on Saturday. At 5:39 PM on Saturday, after I’d spent three hours and thirty-nine minutes twiddling my thumbs waiting for the package, Fetch texted and emailed me to say the delivery window was “no longer available,” which was a funny way for them to say they weren’t gonna do the thing my building pays them to do.

I was, of course, apoplectic. It wasn’t enough to reply to the “window unavailable” email using every trick I know to evade the cuss-word filter. I had to email our leasing office and ask if we could switch to a system where UPS just threw our packages in the swimming pool. I also had to google the founder/CEO, fail to find his email address, guess what his email address might be, then send an email to that email address telling him his scam is making my life worse. (I guessed wrong about the email address—as was fitting, there was a “delivery error.”) Then, I had to drive to the warehouse yesterday, ring the bell they say to ring, wait ten minutes for the employee in the bathroom to finish taking his dump, reply, “No,” when he came out and asked if I’d been helped, and wait another ten minutes while he went back into the warehouse to find someone who could help me, which turned out to be a guy who just dragged the first guy back and taught him how to retrieve my package.

I’m pretty sure, based on way too much research, that my apartment building’s corporate owner has an agreement with Fetch which applies to most if not all of their properties. I don’t know the specifics of this agreement, but as I wrote in February, I really hope kickbacks are involved. The apartment building charges us to use Fetch, refuses to allow us to receive deliveries any other way, and lied when they initially described Fetch to us, neglecting to mention that it slows down delivery and may cause you to lose your security deposit after you repeatedly smash your head against the walls in frustration. I’m guessing this isn’t grounds for a class action lawsuit, but I also kind of wonder if it is, or if it’s at least grounds enough for me to be a real pain in Fetch’s ass to repay the hardship they’ve inflicted on my own ass. If you know, please let me know. Fetch needs to be stopped. (Also if you work for Amazon I think Fetch might be indirectly stealing money from you by losing packages and taking advantage of your willingness to refund customers. Because I’m pretty sure that’s what happened to me with the first package I tried receiving from Fetch, back in February, though I doubt it can be proven.)

NIT fan. Joe Kelly expert. Milk drinker. Can be found on Twitter (@nit_stu) and Instagram (@nitstu32).
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29 thoughts on “Fetch Is the Worst Package Delivery System Ever

  1. I’d be happy to join in a lawsuit – My apartment complex makes it mandatory that we use Fetch and charges us $20/mo in our rent. That MUST be illegal, right?

  2. Hi,

    If you are willing to sue, you will have my full support. They lost my package and I don’t even have a refund and I have all the screenshots. I will be willing to take this company down.

  3. This is my first time using the service because I’m forced to use it by my apartment complex.

    They can’t seem to get in contact with their facility which makes NO SENSE. The package still says “out for delivery by 9 pm”. I have yet to be given an update or anything. They just keep saying they are “working” on it. Even they find it, this customer service and communication is HORRIBLE. I’m literally so upset because those were custom items. Wtf.

  4. I’ve experienced all of these issues. I’d join in too. They have lost a number I really high value and irreplaceable items. I once caught the driver steal my package after marking it delivered. And they constantly take my possession of my package and do not allow me to pick them or schedule a delivery, essentially withholding my mail from me when I request it.

    This habit of losing my packages, delaying my deliveries and not allowing me to schedule or pick up my packages, or simply canceling my scheduled deliveries has begun to negatively impact my business as I am business owner who works from him and receives a lot of work related packages needed to run my business.

    They once lost my wedding invites, rsvp cards, and vow books. Three separate packages in one weekend.

    I’ve tried to contact fetch about all of the issues above but have never been able to reach out. I find this particularly unsettling after caching their driver red handed stealing my package. I would like ensure the issue was addressed with the driver but emails are getting nowhere because they responding about something related to the theft.

  5. If you or someone is seriously considering a lawsuit, I am more than happy to help in any way I can. I have evidence that they are purposefully “losing” a certain percentage of packages. I also have multiple e-mails and chat logs of them being caught in a lie. What I don’t have proof of (yet) is where these packages ultimately end up. Are they being sold to a third party for profit? That is my suspicion, but it’s just speculative at this point. If we could coordinate together with Apple AirTags, we could figure out where these packages are ending up. These packages are not being returned to the sender (the tracking #’s would confirm this if so), they are not being stolen from the Fetch facility or from residents, and they are not being misdelivered. What else could possibly be happening to these packages if they are not being sold or profited from in some way? Perhaps they are conducting some sort of insurance scam? One way or another, this company is not conducting business legally and it would be my pleasure in taking down or permanently stunting this company’s growth.

  6. Yes by all means sue. Sue fetch on behalf of senior citizens and for people with disabilities and on behalf of care givers. No one has the time to hunt for a package loss by a company that makes it extremely difficult to contact customer service.

    Frankly I don’t see how this third party vendor can intercept USPS Mail and FedEx packages when extra money was paid for expedited delivery. This must be illegal.

    Fetch provides a service to the property owner and manager. The tenant is left out of the contract. Seemingly Neither fetch nor the property owner/manager gives a damn about the rent paying tenant. Fetch considers the property as the customer/client. The tenant is the actual paying client/customer. No one seems to realize that.

    I wish the property manager would have given tenants several options to choose from. And an opt out option and no service /no fee charged.

    First course of action: email complaint letter to fetch corporate office and copy property manager/ owner corp office. Request a refund and immediate opt out release. Would help perhaps to copy the government agency: Consumer Protection Agency and maybe FTC along with a copy to post master general. This is very time consuming but it is the right thing to do. And yes I totally agree that customer service is non existent. The chat box Scott does not function well. Does not work at all.

    In any event, yes count me in on the class action lawsuit. It’s unfortunate that this seems to be the only way to get a Neglectful perhaps even deceptive entity to pay attention.

  7. Happy to join as well. I’ve complained about a large package that they’ve been rescheduling on their own without asking and not even delivering. They did deliver a package today, the box was open even in the picture they took of the delivery. I later took the contents out and there was a cigarette butt in there with ashes everywhere. I’m wondering if it’s because I complained and raged at them for never delivering my large item which I needed to be present at over and over again

  8. I will gladly join. I’m in Savage, MN – a superb of Minneapolis. I will be filing a complaint with the Minnesota Attorney General. You might want to do the same. I also will not be renewing my lease because of FETCH PACKAGE. I used to invest in silver until FETCH PACKAGE was forced on us. I would be insane to trust FETCH PACKAGE to deliver precious metals. I posted reviews on Google Maps and Yelp. I also started a Fetch community on Reddit:
    https://www.reddit.com/r/Fetch_Package/comments/10ohs0m/another_news_story_about_fetch_package_november/

    1. My current complex began using Fetch last year and mandated that we pay $15/mo for their “service”. I have had at least 3 packages stolen from my front door which is in a secured building. They snap the picture of it on my mat and somehow the packages are gone once I’ve checked. Of course my complex isn’t accepting responsibility, Fetch isn’t either. I have received packages for others that I’ve had to end up hand delivering because my issue was stuck in their “review process” for weeks. At times I’ve paid for a vendor to expedite delivery and Fetch has failed to deliver in a timely manner. If I can help it, I try to use my regular address and hope that the USPS can fit it inside of my mail slot. There was also a time when I ordered a large rug. They advertise being able to deliver large parcels. I had to pick the rug up from their warehouse because it was “oversized” and they did not have the staffing to deliver it. I’d certainly join in on a class action or otherwise. There have been too many issues and not enough positives for me. I’m moving to a community with a package locker system next month.

  9. Hello! I am reading this as someone who does customer service for a small local start up called Fetch Delivery, in Santa Fe, NM. I get a LOT of angry customer emails directed to Fetch Package– I’m sorry if I’ve had to redirect any of the commenters here. I was just curious if any of the complaints I receive are indicative of the service and this totally answers my questions. Good luck everyone, and sorry if you find me in the future.

    1. First. Go eat a red-chile stuffed sopapilla at Tomasitas for me. Then, after that / have the owners change your company name. They are going to get stuck being associated with a company that everyone hates.

  10. if i could give them negative stars it would not be enough!

    1.5 years, minimum 1 of 3 packages late or lost.  

    no telephones… corporate office, overseas customer service, local facilities… no phones

    so, when they lose a package, it takes abiut 24 to 48 hours to get a reply. then they contact the local facilty by message who has 72 hours to respond.  then they email you back, etc.  keep in mind you still don’t have your package

    any facility that has fetch, you can now longer have usps, ups, fedex, or anyone to deliver to you.  so if you have anything that requires a signature to deliver, it will be returned.  so, if you work remote and time sensitive docs are a prt of tour world, you are screwed like me for 1.5 years

    no phones + zero accountability + forced $15 per month = fetch

  11. My package was delivered to Fetch 2 days ago and was scheduled to deliver within that same day, but I still haven’t got the package yet.
    Yesterday, I went to the Fetch warehouse near my apartment complex and the employee said that the fetch driver is still holding on to the package, and they wouldn’t able to give me an update on the package until the driver brought back the package. The employee also mentioned that she would give me update via email throughout the day, but I didn’t get any update at all. Later that day I received a text asking for the description of my package.
    Also during last night, a Fetch Driver Operations number sent me a text about my package from South Korea asking what content is in my package.
    Since Monday, I have sent out many emails and tried to contact Fetch directly but I haven’t received any answers, nor known where my package is.
    We need to stay together and file a lawsuit against this horrible company. Terrible customer services.

    1. I have tried reporting the issues with Fetch to the BBB and my building’s corporate owner but no changes obviously. I would hop on a class action gladly

    2. That would be my guess. Sue the pants off of them. We have them here and they were great for the first year or so. Then all hell broke loose. The desktop app began to malfunction and whatever standard delivery settings had been set up as the norm were suddenly changed to the default: NO delivery scheduled unbeknownst to the customer. Me. I found out when I didn’t get my packages within reasonable time frame. I notified Fetch of this and nothing was done. Tried again, and again, and again. You get the gist. Failure. But that wasn’t the worst. When I did reach someone, they didn’t take responsibility despite screenshots sent to support my complaint and experience. Nooo. They blamed me for not knowing how to schedule. That started at the end of July 2022. Eventually, it mysteriously corrected itself until November when the same problem reoccurred. I notified Fetch AGAIN but by now, my patience was worn down and I was mad. Packages were getting lost, misplaced, not delivered and sitting in the warehouse. More often than not, the delivery person didn’t know how to read English b/c they left the packages at another unit. In other cases, Fetch was too LAZY to walk the small package up one floor and leave it at my door which was the purpose in our bldg hiring them so that packages would not pile up in the entryway. Making it even more frustrating is the fact that the delivery person is required to take a picture of the package when they deliver it to the apartment. The photo is supposed to contain the unit/ apt number AND the package to show (for record purposes for the customer and Fetch) that it was delivered. The last two deliveries had pictures of my package on some strange carpet leaning up against a wall. No apartment number, therefore, no idea where it was left. It was eventually found sitting in the entryway. To make matters worse, if a package gets lost, customers have no option to talk with a real person. Fetch forces us to communicate with an infuriating chatbot who takes the information about the lost package. They request more work from the customer to provide info that they, Fetch, already have and have access to. I don’t know how others feel about interacting with a robot, but I find it impersonal and a clear slap in the face of the customer that shows the company doesn’t give a whit about interacting directly with a client when a lost package needs reporting. I can be in a normal mood and disappointed but the moment that chatbot (AI) called Scout appears, I become infuriated. I used to work for a large home improvement store and we deal with angry customers firsthand-live. A chatbot cannot replace a real person. The general idea of Fetch is a terrific one. Their execution has been a dismal failure. They need to close their doors, hire experts and go back to the drawing board. The system in its entirety is a royal MESS from the warehouse to the apps to customer service to the delivery team.

  12. Currently dealing with a Fetch large item delivery that has been delayed 3 days from original date of delivery (original delivery date of Fri, rescheduled to Sat, then again to Sun), therefore wasting 12 hours of my time over the weekend waiting at home to no package being delivered. Tbd if it actually arrives in the next available 4 hour timeframe scheduled for Monday. Customer service is a nightmare to get ahold of; I was on hold a total of 1 hr 15 min (multiple calls) before finally speaking with a customer service rep that really couldn’t provide me any assistance other than helping me to reschedule to the next time, which I’m obviously able to do via the app.

    Would love to be updated if any action is taken to take this company down. They haven’t lost any of my packages [yet], but my time certainly has been wasted.

  13. Writing from Houston at a Millcreek facility serviced by Fetch and FedEx ground. I would propose the class action is larger than Fetch. It involved facilities participating in a passive, profitable, and enabling of fee collection on behalf of Fetch. It also involved FedEx ground and possibly others having a turf war with Fetch at the expense of consumers. Sign me up, and let me know if you need others.

  14. Fetch has lost at least 6 of my own packages as well as accidentally swap one of mine with someone 6 miles away in an adjacent city. They end up sending you a payment to make up for the lost item but this does not help when the item is unique or not available any longer. These people provide no value to me or the neighbors that I have asked. Awful building management (Graystar) has forced us to use them.

    1. I would happily join a class action lawsuit against them. They have lost (stolen) medication from me multiple times as well as somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000 in clothes and other things since my complex started using them. They rarely pay for the things they lose and it’s ridiculous. Aside from that, the fact that as residents we can’t entirely work around them to have things delivered directly to us is also worthy of investigation. This business model could have been not so terrible, but whoever is in charge is failing at an impressively high level.

    1. I will gladly join. I’m now over $3k in missing packages and they refuse to provide me a list of everything I have reported lost and stolen.

      1. They need to be held accountable and PAY for whatever packages they have lost. I have a hunch that in so doing, it might bankrupt them. Iow, if they have gotten away with not having to cover the costs of lost packages that has been their fault, that needs to change. They need to pony up and refund those customers. I think this might be the only way that they take their customers seriously.

  15. Thats one side, the drivers have the same ending, being promised scheduled work to find out when they arrive for their shift, it has disappeared from the schedule, poof, no evidence.

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