The Royal Mail was founded in 1516 and has a rich history. From the first days of work of the post office, its corporate color is red. Finding a bright letterbox on a street in London or any other city is easy. In addition, the UK Post has more than 1,500 branches.
Varieties of postage
Royal Mail works with correspondence not only within the country. She is also involved in the delivery of international letters and small parcels.
The Royal Mail of Great Britain delivers:
- 1st Class Mail items (first class);
- letters and parcels 2nd Class Mail (second class).
The differences lie in the timing and cost of delivery. We will discuss this in more detail below, but now let's dwell on the important parameters of shipments intended for international forwarding by Airmail - standard airmail:
- The weight. Should not exceed 2 kg per shipment, taking into account the weight of the package. The weight of a parcel with printed materials should not exceed 5 kg. If it is larger (up to 30 kg is allowed), you will have to resort to the services of the British Post courier service, Parcel Force EMC.
- Dimensions. The official website of the UK Post contains requirements for the ratio of the size and weight of the shipment.
| Departure type | Depth / thickness | Width | Length | The weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big package | Depth and length in total - 3 m | ---- | 1.5 | 30 Kg |
| Average package | 46 cm | 46 cm | 61 cm | 20 Kg |
| Parcel post | 16 cm | 35 cm | 45 cm | 2 Kg |
| Big letter | 2.5 cm | 25 cm | 35.3 cm | 750 g |
| Regular letter | 5 mm | 16.5 cm | 24 cm | 100 g |
Delivery time and cost
The Royal Mail International Standard service standards provide for the delivery of parcels:
- to Western European countries within 3 working days;
- to the countries of Eastern Europe - 5 working days;
- to all other countries of the world - from 5 to 7 days (also working days).
The last point applies to countries in which the work of local mail is clearly debugged. Russia does not fall into this category yet. Due to the slowness of its postal service, a parcel from Britain can take more than one month. Or you can do it for only 2 weeks.
To give an idea of the price level, we will give two examples:
- If the value of a package weighing less than 2 kg does not exceed 20 pounds, it will cost 13.25 pounds to send it without a tracking number;
- for the delivery of a 3-kilogram parcel, also without traceability, you will have to pay 41.82 pounds.
There is also a more economical option. This service is called Royal Mail International Economy and is ideal for sending heavy items. The timing is as follows:
- to the states of Europe:
- Western - up to 2 weeks;
- Eastern - up to 5 weeks;
- to countries:
- North America - up to 6 weeks;
- South America, Africa, Asia - up to 8 weeks;
- To Australia - up to 12 weeks.
The cost of sending light parcels is shown in the table.
| Weight up to inclusive, kg | Cost, pounds | Cost, rubles |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 12.05 | 979 |
| 1.75 | 11.65 | 946 |
| 1.5 | 10.85 | 881 |
| 1.25 | 9.8 | 796 |
| 1 | 8.85 | 719 |
For every additional 250 grams, but a total of no more than 5 kg, you will have to pay an additional 1.15 pounds.
Royal Mail track number format
International postal items identified as Royal Mail Signed-For and registered by the postal service are assigned a number in the UPU format - Universal Postal Union. The identifier presented in it looks like a sequence of characters like this: XY123456789GB.
The first two letters define the type of shipment. A sequence of 11 digits is the unique identifier number itself. The letters GB indicate the sending country, in our case Great Britain.
Package Tracking
The task of tracking a parcel from England is simply solved using the Royal Mail web resource. To do this, it is enough to enter in the field of a special page the number of the parcel sent from the English post office. However, this site will help in finding out the location of a parcel weighing no more than 2 kg.
Overweight mailings are tracked through the website of the UK courier company Parcel Force EMC.
Russians who prefer online shopping should be aware that all purchases in online stores in the UK are delivered to the Russian Federation using Royal Mail.
The route of your purchases can be tracked remotely if you know the item number - Royal Mail Tracking. This identifier is communicated by the seller to the client immediately after the parcel is issued at the post office in England.
When a package is sent from the Russian Federation to the UK, it is assigned a 13-bit identifier in the international format: RA123456780RU. In our case, the letters RA indicate registered letter post.
Tracking of postal items from Russia is performed by entering the identifier in the search field of the Russian Post website page. The service will track the stages of the movement of the parcel not only on the territory of the Russian Federation, but also check all foreign Internet resources of delivery services along the route of the shipment.
Take a sociological survey!
[yop_poll id = ”12 ″]
Prohibited and restricted cargo
The list of goods that cannot be shipped from the UK is quite wide. Therefore, here we will name only the main positions:
- aerosols, including deodorants;
- alcoholic drinks with a strength of more than 24 degrees;
- accumulators, including automobile;
- ammunition;
- drugs of any kind;
- powerful laptops with batteries from 100 kW / h;
- after shave;
- perfumery, etc.
And here are the main types of cargo that are subject to restrictions when shipped from the territory of Foggy Albion:
- biological preparations. Allowed for shipment only in special packaging;
- christmas fireworks. Should be in small packaging;
- living creatures - silkworm, leeches, bees, etc. Accepted exclusively in special containers;
- perishable food and cargo. For example, fish should be smoke-treated and vacuum sealed, etc.
Statuses assigned to parcels
A package from the UK to Russia can have many statuses. The most common ones are presented below.
| Status, rus. | Status, eng. | Short description |
|---|---|---|
| Accepted at the post office | Accepted at the post office | At this stage, the shipment is assigned a tracking identification number. |
| The parcel has left the place of receipt | The parcel left the place of reception | |
| Departure arrived in the Russian Federation | Package arrived in Russia | |
| Admission to customs | Acceptance of parcel to customs | The inspection is carried out using an X-ray scanner. |
| Issued by customs | Parcel released by customs | If the goods prohibited for transportation are not found, the parcel is packed, an inspection certificate is attached to it and it is sent further to the addressee. |
| Detained by customs | Detained by customs | This status is assigned when customs officers detect: o excess weight; o that the value of the cargo is more than 1,000 euros; o other violations. |
| The parcel arrived at the sorting center | The parcel arrived at the sorting center | |
| Departure left the sorting center | Package left the sorting center | |
| EMS-status "The parcel has been handed over to the courier". | Parcel is handed over to the courier | Departure will arrive soon at |
| Received by addressee | The package received by the addressee |
As for money transfers to Russia, such an operation cannot be performed directly through Royal Mail. However, in most of the UK Post offices there are offices of the Western Union international system, with the help of which it is possible to transfer money all over the world.
The status of such a financial transaction is checked using the Track Western Union service. The transfer can have the status:
- Sent - sent.
- In progress - money is being sent.
- Available - available.
- Received - funds received.
Contact details
All relevant information about the activities of the "UK Post" posted on the Internet resource.
If there are problems with sending and delivering mail, Royal Mail customers can use the following contact information to solve them:
- hotline phone: (+44) 1752387112;
- operator's phone number for issues related to tracking parcels: (+44) 03457 740740;
- guidance on the correct formation of international shipments;
- help page and frequently asked questions.
Opening hours of UK Post offices:
- on weekdays - from 9.00 to 17.30 without a break;
- on Saturdays - from 9.00 to 12.30;
- Sunday is a day off
Conclusion
The postal operator of Great Britain Royal Mail is the world leader in the speed and quality of international mail delivery. She specializes in sending letters and small packages, the weight of which does not exceed 2 kg. ParcelForce's subsidiary provides parcel delivery (over 2 kg) and international express mail delivery (EMS).
