International delivery service updates
Last updated 12:00 29 December 2020.
Royal Mail and Parcelforce services to Europe have been reopened and are now fully operational and we are selling and accepting international items to the European destinations. For items posted today [29 Dec], customers should expect a delay up to 2 working days for some countries.
Parcelforce’s temporary suspension of delivery guarantees is still in place for all international services due to the Coronavirus impact.
From today [29 Dec] customers need to apply the relevant customs declaration forms to goods and gifts being sent to EU destinations. This will ensure items have correct documentation by 1 January 2021 when the EU transition period ends. This does not apply to anyone posting from branches in Northern Ireland.
Please visit www.royalmail.com/internationalupdates or www.parcelforce.com/service-updates for any further updates.
UK delivery service updates
Last updated 12:00 29 December 2020.
Royal Mail have reinstated the delivery guarantee to their Special Delivery services, however, due to the ongoing coronavirus restrictions the guaranteed times are as below:
Special Delivery Guarantee by 1pm is guaranteed by 4pm.
Special Delivery Guarantee by 9am is guaranteed by 12pm.
Please visit www.royalmail.com/service-updates and www.parcelforce.com/service-updates for any or any further updates.
Signing for and receiving items
Public Health England has advised that there is no perceived increase in risk of contracting the coronavirus from handling post or freight. From experience with other coronaviruses, these types of viruses don’t survive long on objects, such as letters, parcels or identity documents. However, it is sensible to wash your hands thoroughly after contact with anything outside of your home and to avoid touching your face.
To minimise contact during delivery, Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide colleagues will not be handing over the hand-held devices to customers to capture signatures but instead log the name of the person accepting the item (Parcelforce Worldwide drivers will log the first and last name of the recipient and record the geolocation of delivery).
Where the item being delivered won’t fit through the letterbox, they will place your item at your door. Having knocked on your door, they will then step aside to a safe distance while you retrieve your item. This will ensure your item is delivered securely rather than being left outside.