Advantages: Next day delivery, resonable price
Disadvantages: Forces you to sign for each individual package

...While I feel I may be alone in this viewpoint, I actually quite like Royal mail special delivery, firstly as a sender but also as a receiver. Because of the high cost (although for a next day delivery service not too bad really), I have only sent items a couple of times by special delivery, the last time was sending a birthday present. The main advantage beside providing next day delivery, is that the standard cover is up to £500, rather than the standard £34. In both this and the previous case the item arrived next day. The coast for a next day service, is in reality not too bad, a 500 - 1000g package, costs £6, although it costs two pounds extra for guaranteed Saturday delivery, and can be brought over the counter at the local post office. One of the supposed advantages is that you receive proof of delivery, however, while... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Timed Delivery
Disadvantages: Not always 'delivered'

...--Intro-- Royal Mail have 2 different special delivery services, before 9am and next day delivery, -Before 9am- Guaranteed service before 9am or you get you money back. The prices are quite competitive really, starting at £9.35. The weight limit is 2kg and the goods you send are covered upto £2500 in compensation. -Next day- This is a next day guaranteed service. Prices start at £4.30 so very competitive. Although i do think it would be cheaper to send 1st class recorded. Both the above have online tracking and can be insured to £2500.00 --Where can you buy special delivery-- You can arrange for items to be sent special delivery from your local post office. The cashier will take your item and weigh it. You have to fill in a small form which gives the delivery address details (you can ask for a couple of these forms to take... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Fast delivery - if they deliver on their promise
Disadvantages: They just don't deliver on their promise

...I had return an important form to a govt office recently. Sent it Recorded Delivery - and it was promptly lost. Online tracking was a waste of time - they had no record. Complained and got nothing but corporate shrugs - and a promise that they'd investigate after 15 days! I hadn't time for that, so I repeated the exercise a few days later, and followed my local post office advice by sending the package Special Delivery Next Day - cost me almost a fiver. But - said the notice by the counter - delivery by 9am the next day was guaranteed. It wasn't delivered at that time - I'm tempted to say, 'of course'. At which point the post office claimed that delivery by 1pm was all that was guaranteed - NOT what I'd been told the day before. Online tracking academic - once again a claim it had been delivered, but no time and no signature... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Less stress, knowing your midwife
Disadvantages: none I can see

...My first childs birth was the traditional hospital birth, into the hospital at the first twinge of labour, hooked up to belt monitors with the labour ward just to busy to wander around clinging onto the walls everytime you got a contraction. Don't get me wrong it was a great birth and an efficient one, despite my son being born by ventouse delivery due to feotal distress (his skull bones fused in the womb and his head was just not squishy enough apparently). However when it came to my second pregnancy almost 4 years after I was a member of my community health council and had heard of a new schem them called a "DOMINO" delivery. I knew it meant you could progress most of your labour at home and then go to hospital with the midwife just before the birth, but apart from that I didn't know alot about it. However it was new and so I... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: They usually do deliver
Disadvantages: sometimes they don't deliver

...I'm like many of us who depend on Royal Mail delivery service and have since my teenage years. I always believed they were a fair company and with Royal in the title; believed it was the case. My bad experience of using RM Special delivery service started on 8th September 2006. A simple task was asked of RM to deliver a Special Delivery item from Oxford to Glasgow, next day delivery, before 1pm. I paid for 500.00 GBP insurance. The item was a 3G mobile phone with accessories, all in all it was worth just under 400.00 GBP. Yep.... The item was not delivered; nor ever was. Cutting a long story short. I checked the RM website for track and tracing and found that the item was delivered. I asked my contact whether he had received the item up in Glasgow. No was his answer. The web site was publishing wrong information.....on purpose... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: You know goods will be safe
Disadvantages: None

...I shop on line quite often and find that most websites are sending their goods via special delivery,This another brilliant service offered to us by Royal Mail. The special delivery envelopes can be bought from any post office at a cost of £3.85, the bauty of them is that they are gauranteed next day delivery by 12 noon. When the goods are delivered to the buyer you are asked to sign for the goods, this way the sender has confirmation you have received the goods. The service is fast and cheap and very reliable, I myself have never had a problem and the added bonus is you know you'll receive it by 12 noon so you don't have to stay in all day waiting for your order. I have also sent things myself this way and I feel very reassured that what I'm sending will be safe and I know it will be received, if not then I suppose it would... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: better to go for the first class and second class mail service
Disadvantages: special deliveries not recommended

...My experience with Royal mail has not been very good. I relied upon them for the fastest delivery of my item...bcoz of the urgency and they messed it up. I had an urgent mail to be posted across to the Revenue office and wanted it to be delivered as soon as possible .So I choose the special delivery service i.e delivery by 1 pm the very next day. The cost of the service is £4.30. Next day when I tried to track the item after 3.00 pm , it was not delivered. I cheked it again the 2nd day , but in vain. I called up their customer services division. They had absolutely no idea about the item. The CS representative asked me to register a complaint and assured me that it would be tackled in 48 hrs and that they would ring me back to give me the status of the item. Niether did I receive a call nor the status of the item even after 48... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful