Mail Room Services

Welcome back to the University at the start of a new term.

Over the last couple of months, we have been busy re-organising the Mail Room which will now incorporate the goods inwards service to the University, this service was previously delivered at Firth Street Depot.

As from week commencing 13 September, we will be operating the Mail Room over two sites, the Central Distribution Unit on Western Campus (between Percy Shaw House and The Sovereign Design House) will be used mostly for the receipt and sorting of incoming mail, parcels and goods, the Post Room at Schwann Building Level 4 will be for the collection of incoming mail and the drop of point for any outgoing mail or parcels.

The opening times for our operational sites will be:

Central Distribution Unit on Western Campus 8.00am – 4.00pm
Post Room, Schwann Building Level 4 12.00noon – 4.30pm

Incoming Mail, Parcels or Goods

All mail, parcels and goods will be receipted at the Western Campus Distribution Unit. Once these items have been receipted, they will be sorted for delivery to your designated drop off point. Any special mail, parcels or goods will be receipted using our internal tracking system, you will be notified when your item has been received at the University.

Deliveries to schools and services will be made to your designated delivery point Monday – Friday between 11.00am and 3.00pm, over the last few weeks we have been working with schools and services to agree the delivery point and the approx. time for delivery. These deliveries will be made by the University’s Mail Room Team.

Any deliveries which need to be signed for will be signed for at the designated delivery point and you will be notified that your items have been delivered to this point. If a signature cannot be gained, then the items will be photographed and signed for by the Mail Room Driver delivering the items.

If your designated delivery point is the Schwann Building Post Room, you will be notified when your items has been transferred to the Post Room and is ready for collection.

Larger deliveries of goods will be managed individually, to provide a more sustainable and resourceful delivery we will aim to make deliveries direct to source from the supplier, we will work with schools and services in supporting you in this as required.

Outgoing Mail, Parcels or Goods

All mail, parcels and goods to be sent from the University will be processed in the Post Room at Schwann Building.

Outgoing mail will be collected from your designated delivery point during the delivery of your incoming mail, again over the last few weeks we have been working with schools and services to agree the approx. time for collection of your outgoing mail. If your designated delivery point is the Post Room, SB L4 then any outgoing mail should be taken to the Post Room for processing.

Outgoing mail can be dropped off at the Post Room, SB L4 at any time, there is a secure post box for deposits and the post room will be open between 11.30am and 4.30pm Monday – Friday.

All outgoing mail, parcels and good collected will be processed and transferred to the respective couriers on the same day but before 2.30pm. Any outgoing items received after 2.30pm will be processed the following day.

Postbox

The Post Room, Schwann Building Level 4

The Post Room offers a full range of both UK and International services and should be used for any outgoing mail, parcels or goods. The Post Room is continually reviewing best value of the University and is also abreast of the international requirements for sending international items which all need a customs form regardless of their contents.

UK Services

We offer a range of services of postal services which offer best value to the University. It is important to remember that the weight and size of your letter and parcel will affect the price.

How your post should look:

Make sure you pack your mail and parcels as small as possible to reduce the price. The price difference in sending a large letter and small letter is considerable. Fold mail where you can avoid large letter costs.
Ensure the address is full and includes a postcode. Use type rather than handwriting where possible, it speeds up the process once it’s left the University.

An example of the current UK Postage Prices is below, as you can see the most resourceful way of sending mail is via second class where possible. We use a range of suppliers to ensure that we are offering the most competitive service available so we would recommend that you refer to the services below when preparing your mail.

We get a lot of requests for a signed for service, again when selecting this you need to consider the value of the items you are sending versus the cost of the service.

Type	Class	Weight	Size	Price	Carrier
Std Letter	First class	0-100gm	24cm long 16.5cm wide 0.5cm thick	0.92p	Stamp via RM
Std Letter	Second class	0-100gm	24cm long 16.5cm wide 0.5cm think	0.54p	UK Mail
Large Letter	First class	0-100gm 101-250gm 251-500gm 501-750gm		£1.39 £1.98 £2.50 £3.56	RM Click & Drop
Large Letter	Second Class	0-100gm 101-250gm 251-500gm 501-750gm		0.91p £1.23 £1.74 £2.11	UK Mail
Small packet	First Class	0-1kg		£4.32	RM Click & Drop
Small packet	First Class	1-2kg			RM Click & Drop
Small packet	Second Class	0-1kg		£3.83	UK Mail
Small packet	Second Class	1-2kg		£6.96	UK Mail
Signed for service	Price example for a 1^st class large letter		Provides a signature for you when the item has been delivered	£2.54
Guaranteed Next Day	Price example for a 1^st class large letter		Guaranteed delivery next day Provides a full track and trace of the items from leaving the University to delivery Provides a signature when delivered	£6.60

International Mail & Parcels

Due to the change in Brexit rules, we require more information should you be sending anything more than a standard letter overseas. It is important that you contact the Post Room for an International Mail / Parcels proforma which needs completing and attaching to the mail or parcel when you bring it to the Post Room, all fields must be completed. This is to enable us to complete the required custom and duty forms when sending your mail/parcel, without this information we can’t process the item and incorrect information may result in high duty charges and your item may be refused at customs and will be returned at a cost to the University.

We have prepared a quick guide to how your mail should be presented to ensure that it is dealt with efficiently and processed in the best way to offer value for money.

Mail presentation – A quick guide

Letters

Where possible addresses should be printed onto the envelope, label or a window envelope used, and should include recipient name and full address. This enables mail to be machine sorted as opposed to hand sorted, which the most efficient way of handling mail.

The position of the address/label is also important we need the top right of the envelope clear of any markings, we need to either attach a label or to frank a mailmark, please see the Guide.

A return address is required, preferably with your school or service information.

Letter dimensions can affect the cost. (Rather than fold a thick letter three times in a DL envelope, try it in a bigger envelope if its thicker than 5mm.)

Envelope templates (word) available on request.

Bulk mail

Please contact us, we can arrange collection and supply you with the relevant mailing indicia.

Parcels

All parcels should be presented at the Post Room with the parcel Performa which can be requested from the Post Rooms.

Parcels need to be packed with adequate packing, secure and with adequate protection for contents being sent out.

The packaging needs to be clear of old addresses and labels apart from a return address.

Overseas Parcels

We also require additional information, for items being sent overseas, all parcels should be presented at the Post Room with the parcel Performa which can be requested from the Post Rooms.

A full list of contents with the relevant commodity code is found on the on the HM customs website.

The cost or a relative cost of the item.

A description of why the item is being sent (sample, return, gift etc).

Failure to supply this information could result in the item being returned or at worst destroyed by the receiving country border control.

Contacts

We are happy to assist you in any of your mail requirements, we are using a variety of providers to ensure that we can meet the needs of the University, please ring the Western Campus Distribution Centre on 01484 472212 or Ext. 2212 or the Post Room on 01484 472343 or Ext. 2343 or email us on Post Room for any requests or enquiries.

We look forward to seeing you in the Post Room soon.

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