A carpet retailer in Hull has said the collapse of national courier City Link badly damaged his business.
The parcel delivery company, which was responsible for about 12 per cent of all packages delivered in the UK, went into administration on Christmas Eve.
Mark Pearson, the owner of Carpets Direct in Reservoir Road, east Hull, said the firm's closure had a devastating impact on retailers.
He said: "When City Link went under, our business stopped completely.
"Other courier companies wouldn't take our orders because they simply could not handle the capacity.
"It's had a big impact on our business and we have definitely suffered over the Christmas period through missed orders and loss of returned goods.
"I've got a list of customers I need to apologise to who will be getting their goods delivered late."
The carpet retailer, which sent more than 100 orders a day using City Link couriers, has now found a replacement service.
However, Mr Pearson warned this could have a knock-on effect on orders for weeks and months to come.
He said: "We've still been receiving orders over Christmas and New Year and although we can deliver these, there will likely be some delay.
"The other courier companies are now seeing a way to increase their profits and have put up their prices.
"The increased courier charges could cost me as much as £20,000 over the next 12 months."
Mr Pearson said he knew his own business was not the only one to have suffered.
The closure of City Link is expected to lead to more than 2,000 redundancies at the firm and has affected companies across the UK.
He said: "City Link was one of the biggest couriers in the country and it has caused problems for businesses of all sizes.
"My family have personally tried to order from major retailers like Mothercare and been told they couldn't deliver our order.
"If the big multinationals are struggling you can only imagine how many small and medium-sized businesses like mine are suffering too."
Mr Pearson said he was now focused on fulfilling the outstanding deliveries for clients and trying to get his business back to normal.
He said: "It's going to take some time until we are running like we used to be, but we're doing everything we can to put things right for our clients.
"To disappoint customers once is bad, but to fail to deliver their order twice would be business suicide."
Administrators for City Link yesterday said they had sold more than £1m of assets to rival parcel delivery firm DX Group.
The company has bought assets including scanners, cages and intellectual property for £1.1m.
DX Group is run by former City Link managing director Petar Cvetkovic, who left the company in 2009.
Mr Cvetkovic said: "It is very sad that City Link has been unable to continue as a going concern.
"The administrators are now proceeding with an orderly sale of assets and we have made a limited investment to acquire certain assets.
"We are also doing all we can to provide opportunities for former City Link employees and contractors and to offer solutions to customers who may need a new carrier."
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