Delays to post in Ashford Kent?

[Larissa]

Hi, does anyone know of any delays in the postal service within Ashford? I had two first class letters posted on Thursday last week that only reached me this Tuesday, one of them was marine algae for my marine tank that had all died after spending 5 days in the post, I've now ordered some more and luckily the seller has only asked me to pay postage this time round but I don't want the same thing to happen again if there are delays

[Swinder]

Royal Mail have heavy restrictions on living items being sent through its system, there are a few allowances to this rule which are;

Bees, Leeches, Pupae and Chrysalides, Caterpillars, Lugworms, Rag worms, Earthworms, Maggots, Silkworms, Fish fry and Fish eggs, Mealworms, Crickets, certain Parasites and destroyers of Noxious Pests, and some other insects sent between recognised institutions.

If you are going to send/receive any of the permitted creatures you must clearly mark the packaging with "URGENT - LIVING CREATURES". You also should really consider special delivery as the shipping service to ensure it spends as little time as possible in circulation.

In regards to the delays, first class can take between 1-3 working days which would of meant your item should of arrived to you on Monday. However the mass returning of Census mail affected many mail centres throughout the country which meant some mail was delayed which would explain the slower than normal delivery times.

[Larissa]

Many thanks for your response, I'd forgotten about all the census forms being returned I did mine online.