Postal services
About the Post Office
At the Post Office our aim is to provide you with the things that are important to you – from your mail to your broadband package, your car insurance to your savings account. Whether you pop into a branch or shop online, you can be sure all your needs will be handled with care. That’s the Post Office promise.
Rates & prices
Once you have determined which service best suits your needs:
Use Find a Rate to determine cost and compare the speed, price and options of our different services.
Ship online with Ship-in-a-click™ or visit a Post Office near you.
Prepaid envelopes—buy now, ship anytime
These postage paid, flat-rate envelopes are ideal if you frequently ship documents and small items or are looking for a shipping service and packaging bundled together. Enjoy the flexibility of having a ready-to-ship product on hand whenever you need it.
Ship documents and small items within Canada using Priority or Xpresspost services.
Ship documents to the U.S.A. and internationally using Xpresspost service.
Read more about prepaid envelopes. Buy prepaid envelopes online now.
Preparing your parcel
Is your item acceptable for shipping? Did you package it properly? Read our Mail and Parcel Preparation Guide for all the answers, packing tips and more.
From bubble wrap to foam peanuts, we’ve got you covered. Buy mailing and shipping supplies online now.
After you send your parcel
Track the status of your bar-coded parcel online.
Get delivery updates by email for bar-coded services.
Poste Restante
Wouldn’t it be great if you could pick up your mail when you’re on the road in the UK or abroad? Now you can.
Free in the UK
Key benefits
Pick up your mail: from most branches of the Post Office in the UK and post offices in larger towns abroad
Store your mail: for up to three months. Note, items posted in the UK and received at the nominated Post Office are held for up to two weeks and one month for items posted from overseas
How it works
It’s easy to stay in touch when you’re travelling with Poste Restante.
Apply For Foreign Travellers in the UK -.Before you travel to the UK, write to or call the Post Office to request the address details for the post office that you would like to use in the UK town where you will be staying. For Domestic travellers in the UK - Do this in person at the branch you’d like your post sent to. Please note, the Poste Restante service may not be available everywhere.
Tell everyone the address Tell your friends, family and business contacts the Post Office address you’ll be picking up your mail from. This is how it should be written: Your name POST RESTANTE Post Office name Full address of the Post Office Postcode of the Post Office Country (if applicable) Your Poste Restante address will be active straight away but don’t forget to tell them they’ll need to include a return address on the back of the envelope.
Pick up your post Pop into your designated Post Office branch to pick up your mail. It would be ideal for you to take your passport as a form of identification for you. If you normally live in the UK, and travelling within the UK, you must also take proof of your address with you such as a utility bill in order to collect your mail.
Study the website of the UK post office at http://www.postoffice.co.uk and answer the following questions.
What is a self-service kiosk?
What types of mail can you send?
What types of parcels exist?
What banking and insurance services are provided?
What are the collection and redirection services?
What international letter services exist? Which one would you choose if you had to write to a friend? To an employer?
What goods are prohibited or restricted in the UK and abroad for sending by post?
What does “International tracked and signed” mean?
What does “confirmed” mean?
Service Dialogues - Hotel Dry Cleaning
a) Dialogue: Dry Cleaning Customer: Hi. Could I leave this jacket and these trousers here please? Shop Assistant: Yes sir. Could I have your name and room number please? Customer: Connors, James Connors. Room 518. Shop Assistant: Thank you sir. They should be ready by this evening. Customer: Good, good. Be careful with the jacket. I don't think it's colourfast. Shop Assistant: I'll make a note on the tag. It IS a nice jacket.
Hmm. That will come to ... let me see ... eight thousand won altogether Customer: Right. Put it on my bill. Shop Assistant: Certainly. Have a nice day.
Dialog 2 At the dry-cleaners
Dry Cleaner: Good afternoon sir. Can I help you?
Miguel: Yeah actually I have these shirts that I need, um, I guessed washed and then ironed orpressed or something like that.
Dry Cleaner: Okay, so we can launder and press those for you. Miguel: Okay. How soon can you do that?
Dry Cleaner: Well, you can pick them up tomorrow afternoon. Miguel: Uh, that’s gonna be a little bit too long. Do you have a Rush Serviceor anything?
Dry Cleaner: We do have a Rush Service. When do you need to pick them up by? Miguel: Well, my flight is today at one. I need to be at the airport by eleven, so that gives me acouplehours?
Dry Cleaner: Okay, well it’s eight o’clock now. We could have them ready for you at ten. Would that work out? Miguel: Yeah. That would be fantastic. How much does that cost?
Dry Cleaner: Let’s see, you’ve got three shirts here at six dollars a shirt. That’ll be eighteen dollars. Miguel: Uh, that’s kind of steep... but that’s okay, I don’t really have any other options. Um, well let’s do it.
Dry Cleaner: Okay. What’s your name? Miguel: Uh it’s Miguel McKelvey. M-I-G-U-E-L M-C-K-E-L-V-E-Y.
Dry Cleaner: All right Miguel. We’ll see you back here at ten o’clock then. Miguel: Great. Thank you so much!
Dry Cleaner: You’re welcome.
At the post office -I would like to send this letter to Japan by airmail. How much is the charge? -It's £1.20, do you need extra stamps ? -I do, I've been also expecting a package from New York. Here is my identity card and the receipt. -Would you mind signing this form? Here is the package. -Finally, I would like to send this registered letter to London. -Please fill in the complete address in capital letters.
At the post office
Renmei: I want to send an international letter.
Clerk B: You need to buy an international envelope first. Give it
to me after writing down the address.
Renmei: I have an envelope with me, and I have already written down the
address.
Clerk B: Let me take a look. Ok, no problem.
Renmei: Would you tell me how long will it take to get to the U.S. ?
Clerk B: By airmail it takes ten to fifteen days. If it is express mail,
it will be much faster. It is about three to five days.
However, it (express mail) is quite expensive.
Renmei: Then I will send it by airmail.
Clerk B: The postage is fifteen Yuan.
Renmei: Here is fifteen Yuan. Thanks!
At the post office
Mike: Miss, I would like to buy some postcards.
Clerk C: There are many kinds of postcards here. We have landscapes,
persons, and animals, which do you like?
Mike: One set each, please. I want to give them to my American
friends. I hope that they will learn more about China.
Clerk C: Here are three sets, thirty cards total. I think your friends
will definitely like them.
Mike: By the way, if I want to pick up a package, what should I
do?
Clerk C: You need to bring the package notice and your identification.
Mike: I see. Thank you very much!
At the tailor’s