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Common Drop & Go questions

Your online account

Registration

  • There are two ways to register for a Drop & Go account: in-branch or online. We recommend registering online and completing the on-screen application details. You will be issued an eight-digit account number and then receive an email confirming the details. Please keep this account number safe as you will need this to post items and access your account.​

    Alternatively, you can register in-branch by completing an application form. You will be given an eight-digit account number and then you can register this online.​

    If you’ve already opened a Drop & Go account in-branch and want to register it online, you just need your account number and the postcode registered to your account. If your card or account details have been lost or stolen, pop into a branch and we can help you out.

  • If you have registered for Drop & Go in-branch, you can set up online access to your account today. You will need your Drop & Go account number and the postcode registered to your account. If your card or account details have been lost or stolen, please go into a branch.​

  • If you register your Drop & Go account online, you can top up the balance on your account, complete parcel manifests, track your items, view your account history and update your details any time. To do so, follow these instructions:​

    1. First, create a login to register online
    2. On the next page, enter your Drop & Go card number and postcode​
    3. Check we’ve got the right details for you and add your contact details​
    4. Keep your email address and password handy for easy log in next time

Managing your account(s)

  • Right now, it's not possible to link more than one Drop & Go card/account. We recommend that you keep the card/account you use most often, and if any of the remaining cards/accounts have a balance on them, ask the branch to close these for you. We'll then arrange a refund for any remaining credit.

  • You can block your account online in the "Manage your account" area. This will prevent anyone from using your account/card. We can also block it for you in-branch. We'll need your account/card number and some ID to verify your identity. If you don't know your card/account number, then just pop into the branch with ID to prove your identity and your address. The branch can also issue you with a replacement account number. Any outstanding balance you had on your old card will automatically be transferred across to your new one.

  • Go to the "My account" area, click on "edit" and update any details. For some updates, we'll send a message to the registered email address on the account to let them know that details have been changed.

  • We recommend that you use Google Chrome or Safari web browser and accept cookies, in particularly functional and performance cookies, to avoid technical issues preventing you receiving the email. Please also make sure your browser is up to date, your mailbox is not full and your out of office is off.​

    Please check all your junk and spam folders and add no.reply@postoffice.co.uk as a safe sender in your contacts. If it still hasn’t arrived, please click on the ‘request new code’ link. If the problem persists, please contact us directly.

  • If you request the verification codes multiple times the previous ones will be invalid/expire and may show up as an error alert. Please use the latest email with a code. If this doesn’t work then request a new one, but wait for the email to arrive before requesting another one.

Password questions

  • Your new password must follow our password policy:​

    • Must be a minimum of 8 characters​
    • 1 upper-case letter​
    • 1 lower-case letter​
    • 1 number​
    • 1 special character

    For ease, it can be one of the following = + - ^ $ * . [ ] { } ( ) ? " ! @ # % & / \ , > < ' : ; | _ ~ `​

    Please note our new system does not accept "£" within passwords so please do not use this symbol.

  • The email address you have entered matches an existing Post Office account, however not the email address of an existing online Drop & Go account. If this happens, when you log in you will arrive on the Drop & Go "My account" page and will be asked to register for a Drop & Go account.​

    If you already have a Drop & Go account number, choose the option "Link Drop & Go account", enter your eight-digit Drop & Go account number and the postcode that your Drop & Go account is registered to. You will then be able to access your online account.

  • Yes, you can still check your balance and top up in-branch. The branch will not be able to solve any login problems.

    Please contact us if you are unable to resolve issues with access to your online account.

Other account questions

  • This is most likely due to a caching issue with your web browser. This saves web files from previously visited web pages on your device for faster viewing of these pages in the future.

    In this case, your browser is still retaining the old Drop & Go service in your cache. This can be resolved by finding your browsing history, clearing your cache, and restarting the browser.

  • Please be assured we will never pass your details onto a third party. We will only use your details to let you know about relevant offers on Drop & Go and other Post Office products. If you would rather not hear about these, please go to "My identity details", then "settings" and click on "keeping you informed". We will still need your contact details to contact you in the event of a problem with any of your orders you’ve left with us at a branch.

  • From time to time we’ll send you service messages informing you of changes to the service and, if you’ve opted in, we’ll also send you Drop & Go-related offers.

Manifest support

    1. Navigate to the "Send items" area of your online account 
    2. Click “Edit” to open whichever manifest you want to rename
    3. Where it says the current name (the default name of your manifest will be “Draft” if you haven’t already renamed it), click on this word and type in the new name you wish to change it to​ 
    4. Once you have edited the name, click on “Save for later”, which will save your change
  • There are some Royal Mail services which don't offer compensation for money and valuables, even if they're low value. If you're going to send either money or valuables, then you'll need to use Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed ® to ensure that you're covered. Money includes postal orders, cheques, bonds, bond coupons and any other investment certificates; and coupons, vouchers, tokens, cards, stamps and other documents which can be exchanged in-whole or in-part for money, goods or services.

    You can't send any financial documents that can be exchanged for money, goods, services or other documents with ParcelForce Worldwide international services. Any such documents are also exlcuded from compensation on ParcelForce Worldwide's UK services.

  • There are some restrictions on what you can and cannot send through the Post Office. We’ve got a guide to everything you need to know about which items are restricted or prohibited.

  • Yes. As long as the manifest has been certified by the Post Office it will be accepted by Royal Mail as proof of posting.

  • Whilst spreadsheet imports can be the quick way of creating a manifest, you need to make sure your spreadsheet complies with the following criteria:​

    • It must be formatted as a CSV file
    • Spreadsheet fields containing more than 20 characters will be truncated​
    • In the Sample Data column you may see some odd symbols — don't worry, your data will be displayed correctly once imported
    • Unpaired double quotation marks (eg 13" meaning 13 inch) and multi-line fields can't be imported. Please edit the file to remove these
    • Certain characters and words that may pose a security risk will be replaced with a space​
    • Blank fields mapped to the Country Manifest column will default to UK
    • Please do not leave a blank line between the column titles and data, as your data will not be imported correctly
    • To make it easier for you, we’ve created a Drop & Go template for spreadsheet uploads

Top-ups, payments and account history

Account balance and top-ups

  • ​You can have a maximum balance of £750. Top-ups are capped at this amount. 

  • The "My balance" section gives you the latest information we have about your Drop & Go balance. This includes top-ups (in-branch or online) but might not include deductions waiting to be processed. 

  • You can top up your account using Visa, Mastercard and Maestro debit and credit cards or cash. 

  • Yes, you can now top up your Drop & Go account/card online. We accept most major credit and debit cards. 

  • Receipts aren’t issued for individual top-ups, however you will be given a postage receipt in-branch which can be used for accounting purposes. If you top up in-branch, you’ll be given a receipt showing that your account has been credited.

Auto top-ups

  • Yes. As an online customer, you can set up "auto top-up". Select the "Learn more" button on the "Top up Drop & Go" page. You can set a threshold balance, a top-up amount and payment card. You can change these at any time or cancel auto top-up altogether. The auto top-up terms and conditions provide complete details.​ ​ 

  • If you’ve set your account to auto top-up, you may notice this happens while we’re processing your items in branch before the transaction finishes. This happens when your basket reaches a value at which a top-up’s needed before we can process any more.

  • We’ll send you an email, but you can also inspect your online account history, where online top-up, in-branch top-up and auto top-up are listed as distinct entries. Please make sure that no.reply@postoffice.co.uk is listed as a safe sender in your contacts and not diverted to your spam folder.

  • ​We recommend you set the top-up amount to cover the value of your typical basket total debits. These are shown in your account history. Set your lowest balance to give you a margin of safety to ensure all your Drop & Go items can be processed in a single session. The top-up amount should be greater than the lowest balance. 

Top-up issues

  • It may happen very rarely that we lose communications with our trusted payments provider. This leaves the transaction in an uncertain state. We will find out as part of overnight reconciliation whether we debited your payment card. Some manual action may be required to put things right.​

    When an auto top-up payment fails, the auto top-up mandate will be automatically cancelled by your bank. You will need to set up auto top-up again.

  • If you have auto top-up set up, please contact the branch and explain that. When they go back into your account, auto top-up should have increased the balance. If not, do please check your email for any failure notifications. You can still top up online or in branch if necessary.

Payments and transaction corrections

  • ​In the unlikely event that an error is made when deducting funds from your Drop & Go account we will correct it, usually within 24 hours. These can be credits or debits and will show in your account as a transaction correction. Any promotional credits that we choose to run will also be labelled "Credit transaction correction".

  • No. Payment card industry rules say we must refer you to your bank. If payment for an auto top-up is declined, we won’t attempt further auto top-ups until you set it up again.​

  • VAT receipts are not available online so you will need to keep the receipts that are printed in-branch where you send your mail.

  • This is a refund for postage charged incorrectly. In the unlikely event that our branch processes your mail and then realises afterwards they have issued a label for the wrong service, they can rectify this. If required, they can credit the difference to your account. This will be itemised as a basket credit.

Changing your payment details

  • As you go to top up your Drop & Go account online, you will be asked to give your payment card details. Beneath the fields requesting these details, there is a tick box that reads “Save card details”. Simply check this box and you will have added this card for ease when making future payments. The security code on the reverse of the card is never stored at any point and will need to be re-entered with every purchase.​

    All card details (except security codes) are stored completely securely by our secure payments partner. You can store as many cards as you like, and if you can’t remember whether you’ve saved a card or not, you can save the same one twice. For removing a payment card, see the next FAQ.

  • ​When you make a payment, you will be offered the choice of your stored cards. There is a dustbin icon next to each card. If you click this, the corresponding card will be removed from the secure vault. You will also see a pencil icon, which will enable you to change a card’s details

Your purchase history

  • To view all your mail that has been processed, please click on "Purchase history". Here you will be able to view and filter through your sent items.​

  • ​Yes – just use the filters as the top of the screen. For example, you can search for items within a specific date range.

  • ​​For the time being, proof from the Post Office website can't be used as a certificate of posting. We'll let you know when this changes.

  • Log into your Drop & Go account and head to the "Purchase history" section of the site. You can do this either from your dashboard or via the navigation menu. Select the date range of the postage purchases you wish to view, or use the search bar to find a postcode (end destination). If you have selected a postal service that offers tracking, you will see a blue underscored mixture of numbers and letters. This is your tracking reference number

Branch and processing questions

Where and how to use Drop & Go

  • You can use virtually any branch across our network to drop your mail off. A handful of branches can't offer Drop & Go due to space restrictions. Search for your nearest branch using branch finder, remembering to select "Drop & Go" as the service required.

  • Drop & Go can be used for any mails service that we offer through the Post Office. This includes Parcelforce Worldwide services.

  • You’ll find a Drop & Go counter in 97% of Post Office branches. Use our branch finder to find the one nearest to you.

  • You’ll just need to bring your Drop & Go account number or card, your completed manifest and the items you’d like to post.​

    If you do not yet have a Drop & Go account, please refer to the "registration" section.​

  • Parcel acceptance times vary by Drop & Go branch, so please check with the mails specialist in your local branch to find out local cut-off times. 

Processing and proof of postage

  • The items only appear in your purchase history once they've actually been processed by the branch – so check again later in the day and they should appear.

  • If you are unsure whether the postmaster has chosen the correct postage for your item and would like to raise a query or complaint, please email customercare@postoffice.co.uk and include Drop & Go in the subject line. Make sure you give as much detail as possible, including the item number and destination.

  • If there's any problem processing your mail, the branch will be in touch as soon as possible. For that reason, we need to capture your email address and phone number – ideally a mobile number. When you drop your items off, we'll also check these details with you again, just so we know we've got the right number to get through to you. If we can't get to speak to you, we'll try a few more times. If we can't get through to you after that, we'll keep your items safe until we can speak to you.

  • You'll need to ask for these when you drop your items off at your branch. We'll then keep those receipts and manifests for 30 days, ready for you to collect. At the moment, you can't generate receipts or certificates of posting online.

Closing your account

  • If you would like to close your Drop & Go account, please follow these instructions:​

    1. Log in to your Drop & Go account​
    2. Visit the "My account details" page. You can navigate to here by clicking on your username at the top right-hand corner of the page​
    3. Once you arrive at this page, click on "My Drop & Go Account Status"
    4. Click on "Close account’"
    5. Select a reason why you want to close your account​
    6. Click "submit’"

    Alternatively, you can ask your branch to request the closure for you. In both cases you will receive a letter in ten working days to the address that you opened the account with. You will need to take this letter with some ID to the Post Office to collect the remaining credit.

  • You can’t withdraw funds from the account, however if you close your Drop & Go account then any balance will be returned to you.

Manage your account

Here's where you can log into your online Drop & Go account to perform
the tasks you need.

Log in online

You can perform almost all Drop & Go tasks (short of taking your parcels into a branch) online. This includes topping up, setting up auto top-up, completing manifests, viewing purchase and delivery history and more.

Our service providers

About our service providers

Contact Post Office about in-branch services

If you have a question, feedback or complaint about your experience in branch, such as Drop & Go, here’s how to tell us.

For all enquiries about the delivery of mail, please contact the mail carrier directly.

Help with who to contact

Send us a message

Please complete our enquiries form to tell us what you’d like to know or share feedback on your experience.

Make a complaint

If you’re not happy with your Post Office experience, please let us know and we’ll do our best to put things right.