UPS (Import)

General Information

Established in the United States in 1907, UPS has been delivering parcels for over 100 years. The company is now one of the world leading door-to-door courier and logistics providers, delivering an average of over 16 million packages and documents every day. We are proud to offer four premium UPS Services at heavily discounted rates: UPS Standard®, UPS Expedited, UPS Express® and UPS Express Saver®.

Please see the table below for an at-a-glance comparison of the UPS services we offer:

Service	Suitable for:	Information	UK	Europe	Rest of World
UPS Express® & UPS Express Saver®	Documents  Parcels	Next business day delivery from most European addresses and fast deliveries from the rest of the world. All transit times from outside the EU are subject to customs.		Estimated Transit Time (Europe)*Next business day delivery from most European countries.	Estimated Transit Time (Worldwide)*North America: 2 days to most business addressesAsia: 2-3 daysWorldwide: Estimation of delivery time depending on origin and destination
UPS Standard®	Documents Parcels	For less urgent shipments within Europe.		Estimated Transit Time (Europe)*1-5 days depending on origin and destination
UPS Expedited	Documents Parcels	For less urgent shipments from destinations outside Europe. All transit times from outside the EU are subject to customs.			Estimated Transit Time (Worldwide)* Estimation of delivery time depending on origin and destination

*When you book one of our services, your estimated transit time will be displayed on the quote screen during the order process. These estimates are based on deliveries between major gateway cities and vary from service to service.

Transglobal Express offers "day definite" transit times with UPS. You can obtain an accurate transit time estimate by simply entering your collection and delivery postcode into here.

Please note: Duties and taxes will be charged on a secondary invoice for non-EU imports.

Driver Release Policy

UPS operates a driver release policy in the UK, which means that packages may be left at a residential delivery address without a signature—unless you pay a surcharge of £2.50 per consignment (see Surcharges below).

This applies as long as there is a safe, out-of-sight location that is sheltered from the weather. The residence must be a single-family dwelling with a private entrance.

However, this does not apply to business addresses or multi-family dwellings (apartments, condos, etc). Deliveries of high value packages will be at the driver’s discretion.

Delivery Attempts

From 1st June 2019, UPS will make only two "proactive" delivery attempts for domestic shipments and cross-border Standard shipments. After this, UPS will attempt to contact the consignee or shipper to arrange a third attempt. After 5 business days, it will be marked as undeliverable and returned to the shipper.

This includes services where Signature Required has been selected.

For Express and other worldwide shipments, UPS will continue to make up to three delivery attempts.

Day Before Delivery Alert

For certain destinations, UPS can send the recipient an automatic email or SMS alert the day before delivery, with the option to redirect or reschedule. All you need to do is provide a valid email address and a phone number with the international country code (e.g. 0044 for UK).

The alert is available in the following countries:

Size and Weight Restrictions

Restrictions may vary depending on the destination of your shipment. The following information is provided as a general guide:

• Maximum weight: 70 kg to most areas
• Maximum size: 400cm girth*
• Maximum length: 270cm

*Girth is calculated as follows: (sum of two smallest dimensions X 2) + longest dimension.

For example: for a parcel of dimensions 20 x 30 x 40cm:

(20 + 30) x 2 + 40 = 140cm

For multi-piece shipments, UPS calculates the actual weight or the volumetric weight of each parcel (whichever is greater) and then adds them all together, rather than calculating the total weight or volume of the whole consignment.

Volumetric Weight

Your shipment will be charged by either actual weight or volumetric weight – whichever is greater.

Volumetric Weight is a value derived from the size rather than the weight of your parcel and may apply if your parcel is particularly large and contains relatively light items.

DHL Express Worldwide calculates volumetric weight on import services from countries outside of the EU, by multiplying the three dimensions of your parcel together and dividing by 5000

For example:

Service	Parcel Weight	Actual Weight	Dimensions	Divisor	Volumetric Weight	Chargeable Weight
	10kg	10kg	50 x 30 x 20cm	5000	6kg	10kg
	10kg	10kg	50 x 60 x 40cm	5000	24kg	24kg

Surcharges

*UPS Express and UPS Express Saver are air services; UPS Expedited, UPS Standard and UPS Access Point are road services.

Please note that any surcharges on deliveries to EU countries are subject to VAT.

Prohibited Items

• Our list of hazardous, prohibited and owner’s risk items is available here.
• If you’d like advice on whether or not your items are prohibited, please contact our Customer Services team via Online Chat, email or telephone (0345 145 1212 8:00am-6:30pm Mon-Fri, 09:00am-1:00pm Sat).