European Transport Estimate

Terms & Conditions

1. Consignment details. After our estimate, we'll email you a short follow-up form confirming your package's size, weight and photographs. We need one image of the item BEFORE it is packed and a second once it is packed, both taken before we collect.

2. Measurement and volumetric pricing. Your package is only measured at collection, and only where we believe it exceeds our stated volumetric weight and dimensions. Each individual item must stay within 80cm × 58cm × 25cm (0.116m³), and the combined volume of a multi-item consignment must not exceed 1.16m³. The first 20kg is included — charged on actual or volumetric weight, whichever is the greater. Anything above 20kg is charged at £1.00 per kilo.

Volumetric pricing: large or lightweight packages are charged by size as well as by weight (Length × Width × Depth in cm ÷ 5000 = volumetric weight). A package filling the full 80cm × 58cm × 25cm therefore has a volumetric weight of 23.2kg — 3.2kg above the included 20kg, adding £3.20. A slightly larger 82cm × 59cm × 26cm package works out at 25.16kg, adding £5.16.

3. Shrink wrapping and customs. Where shrink wrapping has been requested and applied, UK, French or Swiss customs may open the package to check that its contents match the relevant declaration. The carrier will rewrap the package afterwards.

4. Same-day services. Same-day UK to EU services booked on the day of collection are available to selected European destinations, and only where a single item is within the maximum dimensions and weight stated above. Our cut-off for collection in the UK is 08:30hrs. Delivery is decided by the carrier, but is estimated at 16:30 CET. We recommend booking same-day services three days in advance, which secures our pre-booking discount and allows time to prepare any customs paperwork the consignment requires. Collections in Europe for delivery into the UK are arranged around a driver already working in that area, so they are scheduled for each job rather than against a fixed daily cut-off; the collection window and the estimated delivery time are confirmed with you before the booking is accepted. The 08:30hrs cut-off above applies to collections in the UK only.

5. Emergency work. Emergency courier work is available 24/7, to any destination in the UK or EU, by road, rail or air, and is quoted accordingly.

6. Carriage and liability. All transport is undertaken subject to our conditions of carriage. For international road movements between the UK and Europe, the CMR Convention applies, under which a carrier’s liability for loss or damage is limited by reference to the weight of the goods rather than their value — currently 8.33 SDR per kilogram. This limit can be well below the value of what is being carried, which is why we recommend you also arrange your own insurance (see clause 12).

7. Customs, duties and taxes. You are responsible for making sure the description, value and paperwork you give us are complete, accurate and correct. Import duties, taxes and customs charges are payable by the receiver unless we have agreed otherwise in writing. We cannot be held responsible for related delays, inspections, temporary storage charges, penalties or seizure arising from customs formalities, an inaccurate declaration or missing documentation.

8. Prohibited and restricted goods. By booking, you confirm your consignment contains nothing prohibited or restricted for the route it is travelling. A list of commonly prohibited items is on our Support page. We may refuse to carry, or return at your cost, anything found to be in breach — and we are compelled to report anything unlawful. As a private courier we can sometimes carry items a larger network cannot or will not, so please ask us first rather than sending something undeclared. We do not carry televisions or display screens of any type (LCD, LED, OLED, ULED, plasma or similar) under any circumstances. Other consumer electronics, including laptops, are carried by prior arrangement only and are subject to the examination requirement in clause 9.

9. Collection and delivery. Someone must be available to hand over your consignment at collection and to receive it at delivery. Proof of collection and delivery is taken in person, by wet signature, photograph and/or geofencing. We will not collect from, or deliver to, any address that has not been pre-agreed and listed in the contract. Please make sure the addresses, contact names and telephone numbers you give us are correct. Where a collection or delivery cannot be completed because nobody is available, or access is denied or not possible, we reserve the right to charge a waiting fee of £5.00 for each 5 minutes or part thereof. Further charges will apply for a return or re-attempt, and may include overnight accommodation. Please examine your consignment before signing for it. Where it contains electronic equipment, the person receiving it must open and power on the item in the driver’s presence if asked to do so; if that is refused, the driver will record the refusal on the delivery record.

10. Delays outside our control. Collection and delivery times are estimates. Where a delay is caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control — including weather, ferry or tunnel disruption, industrial action, road closures, customs inspections, accidents or vehicle breakdown — we will keep you informed and do everything reasonable to complete the delivery.

11. If we cannot complete a delivery. We consider the risks related to your route when we quote, and we will tell you before you book about anything that concerns us — after all, we want to fulfil your request. If we accept a job and then cannot complete it, what you get back depends on the reason. Where the reason is ours, we refund everything you have paid for the part of the job not carried out, and return your consignment to the collection address at our cost. Where the reason is outside both our control — for example border closure, severe weather, ferry or tunnel disruption, industrial action or road closures — we refund what you have paid less the fixed costs already committed on your behalf. Ferry, tunnel or air charges, and any packing or wrapping already carried out, are committed once your booking is confirmed and cannot be recovered, so they are not refundable; any return or storage of your consignment is agreed with you and charged at cost. Where the reason arises from your consignment or your instructions — for example goods that are prohibited or restricted, a description, value or paperwork that proves inaccurate, seizure by customs, or no access or nobody available at either address — the charge remains payable in full, and any return, storage or re-attempt costs are payable by you. Where goods are lost or damaged in international carriage, the CMR Convention applies instead, including its provisions on the refund of carriage charges. This does not affect your legal rights.

12. Insurance. We carry our own goods-in-transit (GIT) cover. Because a carrier’s liability is limited (see clause 6), we recommend you also insure your consignment for its full declared value. You may already be covered under a commercial, goods-in-transit or contents policy — often referred to as a sender’s policy. Note that many policies exclude goods while in a carrier’s custody, so it is worth confirming that point. If you are not covered, we can put you in touch with a broker.

13. Claims. Please check your consignment on delivery. Any visible loss or damage should be noted at the point of delivery. Damage or partial loss that is not apparent at delivery must be notified to us in writing as soon as possible and in any event within 7 days of delivery (Sundays and public holidays excepted), and any claim for delay within 21 days, in line with the CMR Convention. Please keep the packaging, as it may need to be inspected. Signing for a consignment without noting damage is evidence that it arrived in good external condition, and where an item was opened and powered on at the door, that it was working on delivery. It will then be for you to show that any damage found later happened while the goods were in our care.

14. Payment, deposit and balance. Estimates are valid for 2 hours; a formal quote is issued once we have your consignment details. Unless a credit account has been agreed in writing, your booking is confirmed when the amount shown as due on your quote reaches us — we do not allocate a courier or commit to a crossing before then. Where your quote shows a deposit, that deposit is the amount due to confirm the booking; it forms part of the total charge and is not an extra fee, and the balance shown is then due on delivery. Where no deposit is shown, the full amount is due before collection. The balance is payable by whoever placed the booking, whether or not the consignment was delivered to someone else. If the balance is not paid by the due date, we may charge interest on the overdue amount at 4% a year above the Bank of England base rate from the due date until payment, together with our reasonable costs of recovery; where you are contracting as a business, we may instead claim statutory interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. If you cancel after we have accepted the booking, we may retain from your deposit, or charge you, the fixed costs we have already committed on your behalf — as set out in clause 11 — and we will return the rest. Where those costs exceed the deposit, the difference remains payable. This does not affect your legal rights.

15. Data protection. We process your personal data in line with UK GDPR and our Privacy Policy. Details necessary to complete the job — including addresses and contact details — are shared with the courier carrying it and, where required, with customs authorities.

16. Governing law. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or in any other way that cannot lawfully be limited.