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Before You Book - Courier Service Information

Fast Lane’s business model is based on Internet bookings. This means that although we are able and happy to accept phone bookings, our Internet service offers greater customer value and convenience. Because of this, we strongly recommend you utilise our online booking service. This will save you time, effort and money compared to phone bookings.

Plus, online bookings receive several benefits over phone bookings including:

An automated follow-up email including:
- Link to access your Air waybill(s)
- Booking confirmation
- Booking ID number
- Link to access your Customs invoices (if appropriate*)

* If you’re exporting a parcel from the UK or EU (click link below to see a list of current EU countries) to a location outside the EU - or are importing goods into the UK or EU from outside the EU, Fast Lane’s website will generate the required Customs invoices for you to present to the driver at time of collection. These are essential and your shipment will not pass through Customs without them.

NOTE: It is important that you complete all fields in the online booking form to avoid delays or even failed attempts in your delivery.

Only the relevant Customs authority can advise on applicable Customs charges for a given shipment. Any Customs questions you have regarding your parcel shipment should be directed to them. Click on the following link to locate the appropriate Customs website for the country in question: Customs

Be sure to advise them of the nature of your shipment, its value and enquire as to any further documentation that may be required to clear the shipment. Fast Lane strongly advises attaching their reply to the back of your Customs invoice (along with your packing manifest) as evidence of your correspondence with them.

No company has control over Customs in any country. Customs account for the greatest proportion of the delays and have the authority to delay/stop any shipment. The most common reason is incorrect or incomplete paperwork.

If Customs are unable to contact the intended receiver, the goods will be either held until contact is made, abandoned, destroyed or returned (for which, as mentioned previously, there would be an additional charge).

Obtaining Customs assistance prior to shipping can also prove useful in parts of the world where corruption exists. In such countries, there can be inconsistency of the amount of Customs charges levied on your parcel. The odds of this happening to your parcel could be reduced if a letter from their Head Office, stating what the correct charges are, is included within the attached documents travelling with your parcel.

Please note that certain countries customs authorities will insist on either our agents or an outside broker being used. The receiver will be responsible for any additional charges for these brokers as well as any duties and taxes that are levied. Fast Lane will provide advice to help facilitate this but will in no way be responsible for these charges.

Each service comes with a limited amount of liability as standard. Standard cover is paid at £10 per kilo up to a maximum of £250, whichever is the less, if sent domestically with City Link. DHL's liability in respect of any one Shipment transported is limited to its actual cash value and shall not exceed the greater of $US 100 or: $US 20.00/kilogram or $US 9.07/lb for Shipments transported by air or other non-road mode of transportation or USD$10/kg or USD$4.54/lb for shipments transported by road (not applicable to the U.S.A.).

It is important to note that neither Night Freight or UK Mail offer any form of standard liability or refund of transit costs and as such we urge clients to opt for the additional insurance when offered. It is important to also note that although City Link will offer a standard liability they do not offer a transit refund. For all other carriers used by Fast Lane please contact customer services to obtain up to date standard liability confirmation.

During the booking process you will have an option to insure your goods fully. If in doubt, or if you have a unique request, please contact Fast Lane customer service (support@wedelivertheworld.com)

Insurance premiums are based on a percentage of the value of the goods sent and are as follows:

Country Rate

United Kingdom 0.05%

EU and other Europe 0.075%

USA/Canada 0.125%

Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia,Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Middle East 0.175%

Rest of World * 0.325%

Personal Effects shipments
Minimum charge £30 + admin fee(see below).
Personal Effects that are not profesionall packed are exempt from theft coverage 0.75%

* The following territories are excluded: Afghanistan, Angola, Cuba, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Countries comprised by the former territories of the USSR and any other country where their local legislation decrees insurance must be effected locally, unless specially declared and accepted by Underwriters prior to shipment.
Please contact Customer Services on support@wedelivertheworld.com for a quotation.

There is a Minimum premium per shipment of £13.00 of which £3.00 is an admin fee.

Goods Value Admin Fee

<= £1000 £3.00

<= £2000 £4.00

<= £5000 £7.50

> £5000 £10.00

Please note it is the customers responsibility to ensure that their shipment does not contain any items listed in our restricted or prohibited items list. Our systems are highly automated and are not necessarily checked for restrictions. Restricted or prohibited items sent insured through our services will not be covered by our insurance policy or standard liability.

Please note Fast Lane and its agents cannot cover damage to glass, ceramics, china or similar, under their standard liability. We strongly urge our customers to enquire about additional insurance which may be possible.

Please note, if the receiver has signed for the goods “In good condition” claims for damaged will be rejected by our agents.

Please review the terms and conditions of insurance policy here.

Fast Lane Couriers Limited is authorized and regulated by the FSA.

Although the vast majority of parcels sent arrive at their intended destination on time, occasional delays can occur for several reasons. Poor weather, closed airports, terrorist alerts, customs delays, incomplete delivery addresses, etc - can play a part in any delivery.

Generally speaking, guarantees for delivery by a specific date/time are rarely given. When they are given, due to the host of factors that are outside any delivery company’s control (as mentioned above), it is unlikely to find yourself having a late delivery that qualifies under the conditions of compensation.

People are often misled by apparent promises of guaranteed deliveries. Fast Lane advises to check with any company as to what the guarantee actually entails and determine for yourself if it provides any real assurances.

We are unaware of any company who can genuinely guarantee a shipment arrival by a certain date/time. Guaranteed services such as "All of Europe Next Day - Guaranteed" do not necessarily mean what they imply. What is typically omitted is that these guarantees only apply when there is an 'unreasonable' delay. This most often means that if the delay is out of their control - e.g. such as delays due to Customs, weather, traffic congestion, terrorism, airline strikes, airport closures, etc - that you may not be entitled to any refund.

Although the vast majority of World - Wide destinations can be delivered to the door some countries have a door to airport only service. With these regions the consignee may have to present themselves to either customs or the local DHL office to take possession of their consignment. These countries may include: Anguilla, Antigua, Armenia, Barbados, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cuba, Dominica, East Timor, Lebanon, Russian Federation, Liberia, Libya and Macedonia.

Please be aware that if for any reason your delivery cannot be completed due to incorrect information, restricted or prohibited items, refusal by the receiver to accept the consignment or to pay any applicable customs charges, the shipment will be either returned to the sender, at their expense plus any duties and taxes that may have been incurred, or destroyed. Our systems are highly automated and as such we cannot track or monitor every single shipment going though our services, so you are strongly advised to regularly check the tracking details of your delivery and to contact customer services as soon as delays or issues occur. Please also note that there is only a certain length of time our agents or customs authorities will hold consignments before they are either automatically returned or destroyed (dependant on the country in question).

Although we can typically arrange to ship virtually any commodity, many items are prohibited or restricted from standard services.

All shipments containing used automotive parts such as engines and gearboxes that may have been exposed to potentially hazardous/ flammable/ toxic etc. substances MUST be drained of all fluids and certified as such before collection can be arranged. The parts MUST either be crated or strapped to a pallet. Failure to do so will cause delays or could result in the item being stopped in transit for the customer to collect at their own expense. For further assistance please e-mail support@wedelivertheworld.com

The list below, though not exhaustive, shows the majority and type of goods that are not permitted for carriage through our standard services. Please read this and if you remain uncertain, contact our Customer Services Team on support@wedelivertheworld.com.

Animal products such as skins, furs, horns (including Ivory and Ivory products);
Goods of exceptional value such as works of art, antiques, precious metals or stones;
Money or any items considered as negotiable items, e.g. credit or bankcards, stocks, cheques, event tickets, and bonds;
Dangerous or hazardous materials, these relate particularly to any items that hold a UN number; including items considered to be inflammable, explosive, corrosive, toxic, magnetic, radioactive, biohazards, pressurised containers etc.;
Live animals of any sort;
Perishable items such as, but by no means limited to: milk, cheese, meats, etc;
Counterfeit or pirated goods or materials;
Stolen property or goods obtained as a result of criminal activity. When intercepted, such items will be seized and the Police informed;
Narcotics; illegal drugs. Restrictions may also apply to prescription medications to certain destinations;
Human and animal remains;
Pornographic materials;
Dry ice;
Medical, biological, botanical, chemical and sundry compound samples;
Jewellery - including watches, rings, necklaces, pendants or brooches;
Perfume and other, similar, alcohol based products - such items can be regarded as containing hazardous accelerants (this may also include consumable alcoholic beverages);
Weapons or items that may be construed as lethal. These included guns, knives, swords, daggers replicas or otherwise.
Plasma Screens
Tobacco

While not prohibited, unless a licensed distributor in both the country of origin and the U.S.A. shipments of alcohol are not allowed for carriage.

While not prohibited, foodstuffs destined to the U.S.A. are strictly regulated. We advise you contact www.fda.gov and investigate the Prior Notice for entry of foodstuffs guidelines.

Added to this list, there may also be restrictions placed on many other goods, depending on the destination country. For example, it is not allowed to send alcohol to the majority of Muslim countries or to the U.S.A., certain categories of food, wood or plant based products to Australia or even certain textile articles to Canada as you will encounter problems unless you meet certain strict protocols for entry where applicable. Duties and taxes also can vary considerably depending on the product and the destination country. For example Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, Nigeria and Ghana amongst others have extremely high rates of duties applied by the local customs authorities and can vary considerably form product to product. If you have any questions regarding possible restrictions or prohibitions, we would advise that you contact the proper Customs Authority. The following link will assist you in locating the correct website: Customs. Alternatively, you may email us at support@wedelivertheworld.com for further assistance.

When sending personal effects shipments, stating the contents as clothing or personal goods will not be sufficient. Please make sure you also include a full and detailed packing list of the items you are sending. Please hand this to the driver upon collection.

We strongly advise that; when sending shipments containing ‘Personal Effects’ to the following Countries & Regions, you contact Customer services to enquire about the restrictions that may apply:

Canada
Must be cleared by actual consignee. Cannot be cleared by DHL or outside broker unless consignee is willing to pay duty & tax based on the value assigned by Customs. Treated as door to airport by Canadian gateways; sent “collect” to consignee direct from gateway.
Mexico
Turkey
Australia
Subject to AU$150 charge for clearance processing. Proforma invoices and packing list must be supplied.
Consignee may have to provide photocopy of passport. This form is also needed to process your items:
[UNACCOMPANIED PERSONAL EFFECTS STATEMENT]
New Zealand
Subject to NZD$150 charge for clearance processing. Proforma invoices and packing list must be supplied.
Consignee may have to provide photocopy of passport.This form is also needed to process your items:
[Unaccompanied Personal Baggage Declaration]
Caribbean, Central & South America
Any of the Former Soviet States
United States of America
This form is also needed to process your items:
[US PERSONAL EFFECTS STATEMENT]

There may well be procedures that you need to be aware of, relating to entry or on-forwarding, along with other formal clearance protocols that may impact the delivery of your shipment. It is best that you check with customer services on these matters to avoid problems the may arise.

Please review the terms and conditions of insurance policy here.


Authorised and regulated by the FSA Reg No. 446185