Shipping carrier status update

From May 2nd we will temporarily no longer deliver letters on a Saturday. We will continue to provide a letter delivery service from Monday to Friday as normal. The majority of parcel services will be delivered on a Saturday including 1st and 2nd Class Parcels, Royal Mail Tracked 24 and 48, Royal Mail Tracked Returns, Special Delivery Guaranteed and International tracked services.

Customers should continue to post both letters and parcels as usual on Saturday. We will continue our Saturday collections from businesses, post offices and post boxes as normal.

We will resume the six-day-a-week delivery of letters and parcels from June 13th.

However, despite our best endeavours, it’s likely some areas of the country will experience some level of disruption due to coronavirus-related absences at local mail centres or delivery offices. We’re sorry about this. Every item of mail is important to us, so we’re working hard to keep any delays to a minimum. Thank you for your patience and understanding in these unprecedented times.

See more on coronavirus service updates at the link here: https://www.royalmail.com/d8/coronavirus-changes-service

Domestic

The delivery of parcels and letters is a way of keeping the country together, your business operating, and helping many people who may not have the option to leave their homes. Royal Mail continues to work hard to collect, process and deliver as much mail and parcels as possible in difficult circumstances. Despite our best endeavours, it is likely that some areas of the country will experience a reduction in service levels due to coronavirus-related absences at local mail centres or delivery offices.

Customer Service Points – Temporary Change in Opening Hours

We have changed the opening times of our Customer Services Points in our local delivery offices. Our largest locations will be open between 07:00-11:00am. All other Customer Service Points will be open between 07:00-09:00am. All will be closed on Wednesday and Sunday.

To support the Government’s advice to stay at home and avoid non-essential journeys, we urge customers to only visit Customer Service Points where absolutely necessary. As a reminder, we can also redeliver your item(s) for free.  Schedule your redelivery here.

Longer retention periods in Customer Service Points

To give you longer to collect or have your item redelivered, from Monday 6 April we have temporarily extended the retention period to 30 calendar days before items are returned to sender.

This applies to the following:

• Items we’ve left a ‘Something for You’ card
• Items that have a ‘Surcharge to Pay’
• Items that have a ‘Customs Charge to Pay’
• Local Collect items where the parcel is addressed to the Customer Service Point

Changes to Special Delivery Guaranteed

Due to increased absence levels, we’ve reviewed our timed guarantees for Special Delivery Guaranteed by 9am and 1pm services and will make the following changes:

• For items posted from Tuesday 31 March 2020 onwards, our guaranteed delivery for Special Delivery Guaranteed by 9.00am the next working day will change to by 12.00pm the next working day*.
• Our guaranteed delivery for Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1.00pm will change to by 9.00pm the next working day*.

*existing postcode exceptions apply

Business Redirection and Diversion refund

We would like to reassure any company that has taken out a Business Redirection or Diversion during the COVID-19 crisis, after 16 March 2020, that should they return to their usual premises before their Business Redirection or Diversion expires, they will be refunded for any remaining time.

International

We are working with our airline and postal/courier partners across the globe to maintain services. The number of countries that we can access is changing daily.

Most major export routes remain open and we continue to accept and process mail. Specifically, Royal Mail’s international services to the USA remain operational.

There are significant delays to a number of countries right now due to a lack of available transport links and suspension of certain country’s postal operations. We strongly advise not to send items to destinations listed as ‘On suspension’ in the International Incidents Bulletin here.

Contingency plans

We have strong contingency plans in place to ensure mail is kept moving. The scale, vast network and business continuity expertise of our organisation means we have extensive experience in being able to quickly deploy plans so we continue to provide customers with access to our collection and delivery services, and their mail.

https://www.royalmail.com/coronavirus

Amazon Shipping is continuing to provide existing customers with its shipping services, but is not currently taking new customers. They’ve also temporarily suspended label purchase and collections of packages greater than 15kg – and cannot guarantee that it will be able to handle any unexpected increase in volume.

March 24th Update

We are following public health guidelines on social distancing and will be enforcing a 1-meter social distancing policy within our network. Due to this, we will be temporarily suspending label purchase and collections of packages greater than 15kg and recommend you remove them from your listing until further notice. We will continue to collect your <15kg shipments daily.

The health and safety of our drivers, associates, shippers and customers continues to be our top priority. Amazon will continue to monitor all local regulations and will update this communication in the event of changes. To find more information about how Amazon helps employees, communities, and customers affected by COVID-19 please visit the Amazon blog.

If you have any questions or would like to speak to one of our support team please contact shipper support via the Amazon shipping portal.

Please visit Amazon Shipper Central https://ship.amazon.co.uk/help/Whats-New#COVID19_Update to review the most up-to-date guidance and to speak to a Shipper Support agent about any specific questions.

In this critical global health crisis, our Logistics services and our worldwide network play a critical role, also in saving lives – whether it is by sending emergency medical equipment and supplies to healthcare workers; delivering necessity goods to private customers; or by finding solutions for companies to continue their operations.

Delivery in Europe

The areas in Italy that were closed off by the virus are now accessible again. Delivering and picking up shipments is possible. Note that many shops in Italy are closed. In that case shipments will be hold at the terminal. Keep an eye on track and trace and stay in contact with your recipient about his opening hours.

The shops are closed in France, it is currently not possible to send parcels to a DHL point. We temporarily disable this option in our shipping systems.

For all Spain it is now not possible to send to a DHL point and your shipments to the following postal code areas might be delayed: 8256, 8280, 8281, 8282, 8283, 8289, 8292, 8293, 8294, 8640, 8700, 8710, 8711, 8712, 8717, 8718, 8719, 8781, 8783, 8784, 8785, 8786, 8787, 8788, 8789.

In Austria, the following zip codes have been completely quarantined. We cannot pick up or deliver shipments here. We hold the shipments locally until they can travel along to their destination: 6450, 6452, 6456, 6458, 6553, 6555, 6561, 6562, 6563, 6580, 9844, 5542, 6762, 6763, 6764, 6767.

DPD is still operating as normal, but with delays in delivery to certain areas. See DPD’s status updates here for the latest post codes affected. DPD Pickup service has also been suspended with immediate effect. Any parcels on their way to DPD Pickup stores will be diverted to the customer’s home address.

See more on the specifics of UPS service updates here.

Governments of most European countries have implemented various containment measures in an attempt to stop the spread of the Novel CoronaVirus. Limitations do not apply to the movement of goods and UPS continues to operate a regular service.

We are currently operating Monday through Friday and serving our customers as usual. Despite current challenges, we continue to service our customers as best we can. Current circumstances may cause some delays in transit. For example, new border controls, reduced air freight capacity in the market, and local protective regulations and quarantine measures may all impact service.

Within countries, some parcel deliveries may not be possible due to the closure of shops or businesses, or restrictions in various postcodes, in which case parcels will be returned to sender. Undeliverable parcels due to this emergency carry either of the below tracking statuses:

• C5 – Emergency
• DH – NO UPS CNTRL

As per government announcements, most shops have been ordered to close until further notice. Please note that as a result shipments to UPS Access Point™ locations could be impacted.

For parcels requiring a signature, our drivers can temporarily do this on behalf of the customer to avoid unnecessary contact via hand-held devices. We kindly request customers to open the door, accept the parcel and state their name for security purposes. Parcels that are not signed for will be marked with code CV19 plus 11 digits of the consignee’s name as proof of delivery.

Italy:

Saturday deliveries have been suspended.

Pick-ups and deliveries have been suspended in the following zip codes due to government restrictions (Red zones, areas not accessible) . Packages will be stored for 15 days.

Medicina: 40059

ARIANO IRPINO: 83031

SALA CONSILINA: 84036

Caggiano: 84030

Polla: 84035

ATENA LUCANA: 84030

Riccia: 86016

Pick-ups and deliveries are delayed due to local operating conditions in the following zip codes:

Modena: from 41010 to 41126

Genova: from 16010 to 16167

Spain:

Pick-ups and deliveries have been suspended in the following zip codes:

Igualada 08700

Santa Margarida de Montbui 08710

Odena 08711

Sant Marti de Tous 08712

Vilanova del Cami 08788

Austria:

Pick-ups and deliveries have been impacted in the following zip codes:

5542

5611 / 5612 / 5630 / 5632 / 5645

6553 / 6555 / 6561 / 6563 / 6580

6754 / 6762 / 6763 / 6767

6888

9844

France:

Pick-ups and deliveries have been impacted in the following zip codes:

07000 – 07099

07110 – 07999

26110-26190 / 26217 – 26900

Germany:

For the following zip codes, shipments must be dropped off with pre-printed labels.

41800 – 41899

52000 – 52599

Portugal:

Pick-ups and deliveries have been suspended in the following zip codes:

3880000 – 3880999

3885000 – 3885999

Signature Confirmation Update: For inbound mail deliveries, letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items will be handled as follows:

Items requiring signature on delivery will no longer be signed at the moment of handover to the recipient, for health, safety and security reasons. Instead, the postman will ask for the recipient’s name and will enter this information in the signature field of the handheld device or delivery manifest. This temporary measure came into force from Monday, 16 March 2020 and remains in effect until further notice. For delivery of items to a mail room, the addressee will receive a text message or telephone call. Deliveries to premises or areas needing to be closed down due to COVID-19 are suspended.

On March 18, 2020, the Postal Service™ received notifications from various postal operators regarding changes in international mail services due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Postal Service has so far experienced only minor operational impacts in the United States as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We do continue to have a temporary suspension of the guarantee on Priority Mail Express International destined for China and Hong Kong, which has been effective since Monday, Feb. 10, 2020, due to widespread airline cancellations and restrictions into this area. In addition, customers may see delays in mail and packages destined to China as well as from China, as well as to and from European countries subject to restricted passenger airline travel. The Postal Service is undertaking all reasonable measures to minimize the impact to our customers.

The following countries have suspended some or all mail services:

Cayman Islands: Cayman Islands Postal Service has advised that the government has suspended all international flights. Therefore, the processing of all letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items will be suspended from March 20, 2020, through April 12, 2020.

French Polynesia: OPT PF – FARE RATA has advised that it is currently unable to accept letter-post, parcel-post or EMS items until March 31, 2020.

Lebanon: LibanPost has advised that all passenger flights to and from Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport have been suspended until March 29, 2020. Owing to this situation, LibanPost will be unable to offer outbound mail services (letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items) to international destinations.

Maldives: Maldives Post has advised that it is suspending the processing of all inbound and outbound letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items until March 28, 2020.

Mongolia: Mongol Post, has advised that all international flights to and from Ulaanbaatar are suspended until March 30, 2020, or later. Mongol Post is temporarily closing its international mail center until April 1, 2020.

Tunisia: La Poste Tunisienne has advised that all international flights in and out of Tunisia have been suspended. Therefore, the processing of all letter-post, parcel-post and Express Mail Service (EMS) items will be suspended until sufficient transport capacity becomes available.

As a convenience for our customers, the Postal Service will continue to accept and process mail destined for the aforementioned countries. This mail will be held within our network and will be delivered once mail service is restored.

Additionally, the following countries have announced service disruptions:

Chile: CorreosChile has advised that the following service changes are in affect for letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items:

1. Owing to a lack of international air transport capacity, international outbound mail has been suspended to all countries except Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay;
2. International inbound mail addressed to Easter Island will no longer be accepted;
3. There will be delays in the processing and delivery of international inbound mail;
4. Signature on delivery for international inbound mail will be suspended and replaced by delivery methods that limit direct physical contact.

Germany: Deutsche Post has announced changes for all letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items requiring signature on delivery. Beginning March 13, 2020, items that would ordinarily require the addressee’s signature can now be deposited in the addressee’s mailbox or in a secure location on their premises, with signature by the mail carrier on their portable device. In cases where items are delivered to the recipient in person, the mail carrier will likewise sign on the recipient’s behalf.

Honduras: Empresa de Correos de Honduras (Honducor) has advised that the entire territory of Honduras is under quarantine until at least March 21, 2020, or later. As a result, Honducor significantly reduced its workforce across the logistics chain the distribution of international mail will be subject to major delays until the situation returns to normal.

Jamaica: Jamaica Post has advised that from March 18, 2020, through March 24, 2020, Jamaica Post will be implementing a restructured operations program and will be unable to guarantee delivery standards for letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items, owing to adjusted operating hours of post offices and postal agencies. Customers should expect delays.

Philippines: Philippine Postal Corporation has advised that an enhanced community quarantine has been imposed in Metropolitan Manila and rest of Luzon island and several areas on Visayas and Mindanao islands, effective through April 12, 2020. Philippine Postal Corporation it will operate as follows during the community quarantine:

1. International mail processing centers will maintain a skeleton staff, in order to accept incoming mail until the total lockdown of international air and sea transport on March 20, 2020.
2. All post offices in areas placed under quarantine are closed.

Romania: Poșta Română has advised that new travel restrictions have led to massive cancellations of international flights. Owing to the suspension of air services to a number of international destinations, Poșta Română‎ is facing difficulties sending international postal items, and delays are to be expected for all types of inbound and outbound letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items.

On March 16, 2020, the Postal Service™ received notifications from various postal operators regarding changes in international mail services due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Australia: Australia Post has advised that written proof of delivery is suspended, until further notice, for inbound items.

Austria: Austrian Post has advised that significant delays are to be expected in the delivery of all inbound mail until April 14, or until regulatory measures are lifted. As a result, customers should expect delivery delays for all letters and parcels.

Cyprus: Cyprus Post has advised that significant delays are to be expected in the delivery of all inbound letter-post, parcel-post and Express Mail Service (EMS) items. Postal items that would ordinarily require written proof of delivery may, with the addressee’s consent, be deposited in the addressee’s mailbox or in a secure location on the addressee’s premises, with signature by the mail carrier.

El Salvador: Correos de El Salvador has advised that it will need to reduce its workforce across the logistics chain. As a result, customers should expect delivery delays for all letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items.

Lithuania: Lithuania Post, has advised that all letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items requiring signature on delivery will be delivered to customers indirectly. Consequently, it will not be mandatory for mail carriers to collect and provide written proof of delivery.

Netherlands: PostNL has advised that all letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items requiring signature on delivery will no longer be signed at the time of delivery. For these items, the mail carrier will ask the recipient for the last three digits of the recipient’s ID reference number, and this information will be entered by the carrier in the signature field on their handheld device. This temporary measure will be effective until further notice.

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Post has advised that all letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items requiring signature on delivery will be delivered to customers indirectly. The mandatory written proof of delivery will be suspended and instead delivery will be based on a code sent to the addressee’s mobile phone.

The service disruptions affect Priority Mail Express International® (PMEI), Priority Mail International® (PMI), First-Class Mail International® (FCMI), First-Class Package International Service® (FCPIS®), International Priority Airmail® (IPA®), International Surface Air Lift® (ISAL®), and M-Bag® items.

Yodel are currently still operating as normal across the entire UK network and there are no Service Centre closures. But their customer service team are not handling telephone calls at the moment, and all local depot reception areas are closed. Instead, customers are being asked to stay in their cars and have parcels brought out to them by Yodel staff – meaning potential short delays in collections from depot centres.

More info here: https://www.yodel.co.uk/news/2020/march/covid-19/

• Due to the crucial role we play in moving supply chains and delivering critical relief, FedEx is considered an essential business and may continue to operate under state of emergency and shelter in place orders recently issued in the U.S.
• FedEx has suspended our money-back guarantee for all FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight and FedEx Office services effective immediately until further notice.
• We’ve suspended Signature Required.

Taking steps to ensure safety

As the world adjusts to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19), first and foremost, we are being guided by the recommendations of the CDC, WHO and other leading health organizations.

We are applying these recommendations to the more than 475,000 FedEx team members around the world who power our network. As such, we have taken a variety of actions, including:

• Educating team members about the virus and sharing resources on how to keep the workplace clean
• Encouraging team members to use good hygiene practices, including frequent handwashing
• Reinforcing education and hygiene with regular workplace communications and reminders
• Extending our safety precautions to the point of delivery
• Temporarily suspending signature required for most deliveries in the U.S.
  • Except for shipments with adult signature required, physical signature not required for:
    • FedEx Express (U.S. and Canada)
    • FedEx Ground (U.S. and Canada)
    • FedEx Freight (U.S.)
    • FedEx Office in-store (U.S.)
    • FedEx SameDay City (U.S.)
    • FedEx Onsite Retail Locations (U.S.)
  • Regularly disinfecting the equipment used to make deliveries
• Encouraging team members to closely monitor their health and seek medical attention if they develop flu-like symptoms
  • Any team member who reports or displays flu-like symptoms will be asked to stay home
• In FedEx Office stores, including locations in hotels, campuses and other retail locations:
  • Common customer areas like door handles, self-service copiers and counters are cleaned every 2-4 hours using disinfecting wipes and other disinfectant cleaners on larger surfaces
  • Team member breakrooms and meeting rooms are cleaned frequently
  • Our restrooms are stocked with lotion cleaner for hand washing, and there are hand sanitizing stations at print and shipping areas behind our counters

Following the recent outbreak of Covid-19 in the UK we’ve put in place a number of measures to protect our customers as well as our parcel people, so we can make sure that our business is as prepared as possible.

We would like to reassure you that we’re actively following all government guidelines as health and safety remains the top priority across our business to protect our customers and our people.

Public Health England has advised that people receiving parcels are not at increased risk of contracting the virus as it doesn’t survive long on non-metallic surfaces.

There is currently no impact on our parcel delivery services but you will see some differences in how your courier will go about delivering your parcel from now on as we reduce physical contact.

Protecting our customers

There’s a lot that is still unknown about the Coronavirus but we know it’s best to minimise physical contact to stop the virus spreading. Because of this, we’re encouraging all of our customers to choose their preferred safe place for deliveries by following the Track & Divert link in the parcel notifications we send.

If a safe place hasn’t been chosen but there is somewhere safe to deliver the parcel, we’ll leave it there, even if there’s someone in the property – we’ll take a photo which will be included in the delivery notification email.

If no safe place is available or a signature is required, we’ll knock on the door and step aside making sure the parcel is delivered safely. For those parcels requiring a signature, couriers have temporarily been given approval to confirm receipt on behalf of a customer; but only when that customer has answered the door and given them permission to do so. This has been put in place to minimise contact. If there is no answer, the parcel will be returned to our depot and we will re-attempt delivery 3 times.

As a preventative measure, we will not be handing over our hand-held devices to customers to capture signatures.

We’re encouraging our couriers to follow all government guidelines and take extra precautions by frequently wiping down regularly touched items such as handheld devices, mobile phones, handles and steering wheels.

Protecting our couriers

We’ve made a choice to do the right thing and have made a £1 million pound fund available for our self-employed couriers, to help support them if they need to self-isolate. We will also support them in finding someone to deliver on their behalf if they do not have a substitute and guarantee that their rounds will be kept open for them for when they return.

We’ve also advised our couriers to limit any personal contact such as handshakes, so please don’t take it personally.

Protecting our people

We’re communicating with all our parcel people regularly to update them of government guidelines, best practice handwashing and high standards of hygiene.

A dedicated mailbox for specific questions from our people has also been set up. We’ve also provided all our sites with additional hand washing equipment and sanitisers and we’re following government guidelines in relation to sick pay and self-isolation.

We will continue to do everything we can to support our customers and people so we can carry on delivering parcels.

Steps we are taking for a contact free delivery:

Divert your parcel to a safe place

We’re encouraging all of our customers to choose their preferred safe place for deliveries. If you have a tracking number for your parcel, you can go to the tracking section, choose ‘divert’ and select a safe place. This can also be done through our My Places app.

Automatic delivery to a safe place

If a safe place hasn’t been chosen but there is somewhere safe to deliver the parcel, we’ll leave it there – even if there’s someone in the property. We’ll take a photo, which will be included in the delivery notification email.

Steps our couriers are taking to avoid contact

If no safe place is available or a signature is required, we’ll knock on the door and step aside making sure the parcel is delivered safely. If there is no answer, we will return the parcel to the depot and re-attempt delivery on another day.

For those parcels requiring a signature, couriers have been temporarily given approval to confirm receipt on behalf of a customer; but only when that customer has answered the door and given them permission to do so.