UCL Christmas and New Year mail arrangements

The latest dates that mail can be accepted into the UCL Post Room for intended delivery to addressees prior to Christmas are:

International airmail

• Monday 5 December - South and Central America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Far East (inc. Japan) New Zealand and Australia.
• Friday 9 December - USA, Canada and Eastern Europe.
• Monday 12 December - Western Europe
• Friday 2nd December - British Forces Post Office (Operational)
• Thursday 15th December - British Forces Post Office (Non - Operational)

BFPO parcels can be posted free of charge via the UCL Mail Service.

UK mail

• Friday 16 December - Second Class
• Tuesday 20 December - First Class
• Thursday 22 December - Special Deliveries

The UCL Mail Service will close at 4pm on Friday 23 December and re-open at 7am on Tuesday 3 January. There will be no access to the Post Room between these dates. The last collection of departmental post will take place between 12pm and 1.30pm on Friday 23 December to ensure dispatch on the last working day.

UCL Mail Services will accept bulk mailings (over 50 items) up to and including Monday 19 December. After this date no bulk mailings will be accepted without prior consultation with the Mail Services Manager (Steve Shine ext. 41911, s.shine@ucl.ac.uk).

In common with previous years the Post Room expect a very substantial amount of additional mail in the pre-Christmas period as Departments clear their desks for the seasonal break, creating an increase in demand on the postal service.

We would appreciate your co-operation in observing the deadlines set by Royal Mail and assist us by posting early for Christmas.

Let me please remind all staff that UCL's mail service is not to be used for personal mail and parcels. The Post Room will not frank and dispatch personal items and any suspected abuse of the service will be investigated.

An important reminder

We would also like to remind all staff of the Royal Mail method of charging for postage ('Pricing in Proportion') and ask, where possible, for all A4 size items of mail to be folded into smaller envelopes. There is evidence that this request has so far been largely ignored by many users which, given the costs and savings at stake, is very unfortunate.

Let me please again ask for your co-operation in ensuring that documents to be sent by post are put in the smallest possible standard size envelope. The least expensive and quickest way of sending documents is generally of course to use email and related attachments.

May we take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy Christmas, Festive Season and New Year.

Steve Shine, Mail Services Manager, UCL Estates