Impact on Shipping Services as a result of Covid-19
Updated: 02 September 2020
We are currently dispatching orders placed on our website as online stores are still able to operate in the UK. We have implemented some temporary changes to the way we work in these exceptional times (see Update from Christine & Jenny), including with our couriers.
Your patience and understanding is hugely appreciated.
Order by 12pm, Monday - Friday, for UK same-day dispatch
We have had to move our cut-off time for same day dispatch to 12pm as our main courier in the UK (Parcelforce) has changed our daily collection to 2pm each day. All orders placed by 12.00pm, Monday - Friday (except on public holidays), will be dispatched on the same day (as long as the item is in stock). Any orders placed between 12pm on Friday and 12pm on Monday (including the weekend) will be dispatched on Monday.
In the UK we are limiting our use of Royal Mail temporarily as it removes the need for us to physically drop off parcels at a Royal Mail depot and we are doing everything we can to stop all unnecessary journeys.
International Orders - dispatched next working day
For orders placed for overseas delivery where shipping has been paid, we will dispatch your order on the next working day. If we can dispatch your order on the same working day we will of course do so.
Some disruption to delivery times
In the UK, Parcelforce is still handling high volumes of parcels and their suspension of timed delivery guarantees (e.g. next day delivery) is still in place. Therefore we are only offering a standard shipping service on our website at the moment. Under normal circumstances this is a 2 working day service but please be advised that there may be short delays on some deliveries of perhaps 1-2 days as local service disruptions that vary each day are still a factor.
For International deliveries, again most couriers are experiencing some delays on their services and the situation is entirely dependent on the specific countries. Prior to dispatching a parcel for overseas delivery we will check with the specific courier for updates on that specific territory and flag any potential known issues prior to dispatch.
Please bear with us in these very challenging times, your patience and understanding is very much appreciated.
Advice on receiving your parcel
In the UK Parcelforce has made changes to their procedures for delivering parcels to peoples’ homes as at 23 March 2020:
“In order to protect both our people and customers as much as possible, we will not be handing over our hand-held devices to customers to capture electronic signatures. Our drivers will instead log the first and last name of the person accepting the item, then put 'XP1' in the signature field, and we will record the geolocation of the delivery. This will apply to all deliveries that normally require a signature.”
All of the major courier companies are taking additional precautionary measures across the world to keep their staff and their customers safe during this time - this includes not asking customers to sign for their deliveries.
Charley Chau parcels usually require a signature so if by any chance a delivery driver hands over a parcel and asks for a signature, please decline to do so and ask the driver to sign on your behalf.
Courier Company Updates
We are monitoring the services provided by the couriers that we use to send out our parcels in the UK and across the rest of the world on a daily basis. All of the couriers used by Charley Chau are providing frequent updates in relation to the Covid-19 situation. A list of the couriers that we use and links to their company Covid-19 updates is shared below for reference. Please see the courier site updates for more information.
| UK Courier Services | |
| Parcelforce | www.parcelforce.com/coronavirus |
| Royal Mail | www.royalmail.com/coronavirus |
| Overseas Courier Services | |
| DPD | www.dpd.co.uk/content/products_services/service_updates.jsp |
| DHL | www.dhlexpress.nl/en/corona-update |
| Fedex | www.fedex.com/en-gb/service-news.html |
| TNT | www.tnt.com/express/en_gb/site/alerts.html |
| UPS | www.ups.com/gb/en/service-alerts.page?id=alert1 |
We will update this page with any status updates as they become available.
Best wishes to you and your families,
Christine & Jenny