Lerwick post office opening hours extended as Christmas rush intensifies

The Royal Mail is extending the opening hours at the Lerwick Delivery Office in the run-up to Christmas.

Up until Christmas Eve the normal hours will be extended to make it as convenient as possible for customers to pick up parcels after receiving “a something for you card” from their local postman or woman.

Delivery offices will also be open later on Saturdays 14th and 21st December and on Christmas Eve.

Customers can also arrange free redelivery to their address or to another address in the same postcode if they can’t get to their nearest delivery office.

Delivery director Paul Kelly said: “Christmas is the busiest time of year for Royal Mail and our customers. We know that many people don’t want to wait for redelivery so we are extending our opening hours to make it easier for customers who want to pick up their parcels in person.

“Customers can help us by picking up parcels as quickly as possible or arranging redelivery as quickly as possible. We are also asking all our customers to order goods early and post cards and parcels well before our last posting dates.”

Customers can arrange redelivery of their Christmas parcels to their home address or any address within the same postcode area on a day of their choice for free by phoning the number on the card. This can also be arranged online.

The Royal Mail will also be using the “Delivery to Neighbour” scheme. This means that the local postman or woman will leave notification that mail has been left with a neighbour for people who are out when items that are too large to go through the letterbox or require a signature.

Customers can also collect parcels from their local post office for a small fee if this is more convenient for them.

The last posting dates for UK Christmas 2013 delivery are: first class – Friday 20th December; second class – Wednesday 18th Decembe; special delivery – Monday 23rd December.