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Sending and receiving packages in England

Priscilla

Hello,

As an expat, there are inevitably certain items you might want or need from back home, and around the holiday period, many people like to send gift packages.

How easy is it to send and receive packages in England?

Is the public postal system efficient?

Do people tend to prefer using private shipping services? Which ones?

How do the costs of the private shipping services compare?

How long does it take generally to receive packages from abroad in England?

Do you have to pay taxes on items received by mail from abroad?

Are packages delivered right to your doorstep, or do you usually have to go collect them somewhere?

Thank you for sharing your experience,

Priscilla

See also

Internet in The United KingdomCheap International CallsMaking phone calls in the United KingdomMobile phone plans in EnglandVPN for British expat when visiting countries outside UK
Cynic

The UK Post Office is a pretty reliable organisation and apart from normal letters they do accept and carry packages.  They have a very good website which pretty much answers all the above questions.; this will take you to it.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã Team

julia.komornikova

Hello. There are several options to post packages, as you have mentioned, you can have them picked up if they are large, by DHL, DPD, Parcel force etc. or you can drop them off yourself. I find most reliable door to door private services provided by for example Slovakian companies, that deliver to Slovakia. These are usually very useful for large, bulky items, or if you are relocating, or sending lots of possessions home. These are available for countless countries. Other than that, I have never come across any issues. Standard parcels come with insurance ( ask how much this is, as it depends on the price and size). You can pay extra, to make sure the value of your package is covered if the worst shall happen. I would not recommend sending money this way, I have heard of them going missing. You can find your nearest post office, or any postal office based on your uk postcode, online. Hope this helps.

Guest123089

When we came over from the US to the UK, we used SendMyBag.com to ship 3 suitcases worth of clothing. It took 3 days between pickup and delivery. The bags had been looked-through by customs (there were notes in the bags), but everything arrived just fine. I would use them again.