6 Tips For Picking The Right Courier Service In The UK
Courier companies provide an invaluable service to individuals as well as to businesses and indeed the demand for courier services has seen a great number of businesses that offer as much spring up over the years.
Unfortunately with so many courier companies and services available in the market it can be difficult to choose the one that is best suited to you and shopping around to find one to fulfil your needs can be both time-consuming and tiresome.
Instead of calling or emailing courier companies to discuss your requirements, perhaps try a comparison website like Parcel Delivery which collates information online and uses it to provide a quotation of the best cheap parcel delivery UK services available for you to choose from.
Either way, before you start looking for a quotation for your courier parcel, consider these 6 tips to help you to establish which service you need and pick the right one.
1. How urgent is your delivery?
As the saying goes, time is of the essence. Most courier companies offer various services that fulfil a predetermined time frame deadline such as overnight delivery, 2-3 day delivery, or a budget service.
It is up to you to decide how quickly you need your parcel to be delivered and make sure that the company you use offers the correct service to do so.
2. How detailed is the tracking tool?
Whilst most courier companies offer online parcel tracking that can be accessed digitally, across the board the tracking services are not always of the same calibre as some do not carry detailed information on the tracking and only display the collection and delivery times.
If you are shipping an important parcel then you no doubt want to keep a real-time tab on where your parcel is. Ideally, you want to find a courier service that gives you easy access to online tracking and shows each step of the delivery process – when it is collected, when it is checked into and then out of the terminal, and the moment that it is handed over.
3. Size of the package
Using an overnight service to get a quick delivery time on a bigger parcel may cost you so it is best to shop around and find the best price for your shipment. Before using a comparison website or contacting a courier company for a quotation to ship your parcel, measure it up and weigh it. Keep this information handy as you will need it to obtain an accurate quotation.
4. Insurance
It is more than likely that if you are going to make use of a courier service to send a parcel somewhere then you are sending something that is either urgent or valuable. If it is the latter then it is advisable to take out insurance on your shipment as occasionally things go wrong and your parcel could be damaged or even lost! Having insurance will give you peace of mind knowing that if something does happen in transit then you will be reimbursed.
Be sure to read the fine print on the insurance offered to you as some services will offer a standard premium based on an unrelated fixed value making the premium either inflated or under-valued to adequately cover your parcel. Use a service that allows you to specify the value of the goods and adjust the premium payable accordingly.
5. Special delivery option
Occasionally you may need a special delivery option for valuable goods or original documents that need to be delivered to a specific person.
Instances such as collection from an embassy, or a face to face delivery that requires verification on receipt of the parcel may require a special service and keep this in mind when choosing a courier service.
6. Returns policy
Returning merchandise to the store you purchased it from after shopping online can end up being an unexpected expense that you did not budget for.
These days, courier companies often partner with retail stores to offer delivery and returns. The benefit of getting this as a package is you get access to a streamlined return process if the service is needed.
About the Author Megan Firth
A lifelong interest in writing and travel combined with a desire to better understand the human experience led Megan to pursue a BA in English and Anthropology. You can find her putting words into practice on all things travel related.