A Carnoustie man has accused a major delivery company of lacking “courtesy and decency” after he was sacked by text message.
Kenny Muirhead, 47, who had been working as a delivery driver for Hermes for the past 13 years, said he was told his services were no longer required over text after his van broke down.
The firm claims he was sacked due to complaints from local customers, however, a number of people in the town have posted messages of support online.
Kenny said his problems began after he told Hermes he wouldn’t be able to complete his deliveries after he informed them his van had broken down, and two days later was sacked.
He said he has not heard anything else from Hermes since that text.
Kenny said: “My van broke down on Saturday, July 25 and it had to get towed back to Carnoustie.
“I then had to deliver all my parcels using my sister’s car and first thing the next morning I went to Dundee to try and get a hire van.
“But getting a hire van on a Sunday is impossible.
“I told my manager there was no possibility of getting the parcels delivered and they just kept texting me asking ‘what’s the plan?’.
“But then 5.30pm that evening I got a text to say my services were no longer required.
“I have been with the company for over 13 years and I have never taken a holiday and they couldn’t even phone me.”
Kenny also does deliveries for Yodel, but said he needed both jobs to be able to make ends meet.
He continued: “I live with my parents so I don’t have a mortgage to pay but I still have bills.
“It will cost £3,500 to get my van fixed and I already have a loan on the van to pay, so I’ll need to take out a second loan to cover the repairs.
“It was a bit of a shock, I just don’t know what to do now, it has been a really bad week.
“The country is going to go through a recession so it is the worst time for something like this to happen.
“There has been a lack of communication, courtesy and decency for them to do that.
“I have had no contact from them since.”
Kenny added he has seen other Hermes drivers now doing the deliveries in and around Carnoustie.
However, Hermes said the decision was made because of customer complaints.
A spokesman for Hermes said: “We can confirm that a self-employed courier who delivers on behalf of a number of firms will no longer be delivering for Hermes.
“This follows a large number of customer complaints and ongoing non-compliance issues.”
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