DPD and CollectPlus voted top parcel delivery firms, while Ipostparcels is bottom of the pile

It's the third year in a row that Ipostparcels has been bottom or joint-bottom, with 42% saying their experience had been 'poor' and just 13% rating it 'great' this time round. Meanwhile, second-last Yodel was in the bottom three for the fifth year running.

For full help on how to fight back if you've experienced poor service, see our Parcel Delivery Rights guide.

How did the delivery firms do?

We rank firms from best to worst based on the percentage of 'great' and 'OK' votes they get (we award two points per 'great' percentage point and one point per 'OK' percentage point). Here's how the firms did this year:

'If you're unhappy with a delivery, complain to the retailer'

Steve Nowottny, news and features editor at MoneySavingExpert.com, said: "Having goods delivered to your door should be convenient, but sadly we hear countless horror stories of poor service from some firms – whether it's deliveries simply not showing up, 'missed delivery' cards being left when you were in or even packages being dumped in the bin.

"When you order something, in practice you often have little choice over which firm delivers your goods, as this is frequently decided by the retailer. Generally you have no direct relationship with the delivery firm, as the retailer's their employer. But consumers do have rights when firms don't deliver – and you should use them.

"If you're unhappy with a delivery or it simply didn't arrive, complain to the retailer – that's who your contract's with, and it's up to the retailer to put things right. Ask it to justify why it uses delivery firms which offer such poor customer service. Parcel delivery firms will only be forced to up their game if those they deliver to insist that retailers make them."

For full details on your rights, including when you may be able to claim compensation for a botched delivery, see our Parcel Delivery Rights guide.

What do the firms say?

DPD chief executive Dwain McDonald said: "To be voted the best in any business seven years running is an amazing achievement, but to do it in our industry, with the level of change we've seen over that period and the huge number of variables we deal with every day, is truly incredible."

Yodel chief executive Mike Hancox said: "While we welcome consumer feedback to help us to improve our service, it is important that the MSE poll is viewed in the context that it does not compare similar delivery propositions."

Mr Hancox said the results of MSE's poll were at odds with those from a separate survey conducted by consultancy Maru/edr, which receives 7,000 responses from Yodel customers daily. He added: "Although these results reveal that there are still areas for us to improve on, they are markedly better than the MSE poll. We also see similarly positive results in the independent Trustpilot reviews, which consistently ranks us among the best performers in the industry."

We approached Ipostparcels and CollectPlus for comment, but they did not respond.