Royal Mail launches new service from today in major update

Royal Mail customers can use the company’s new postal delivery duties paid (PDDP) services

Royal Mail has announced a huge update that can benefit many customers, from today. The postal service are making it easier for people to send parcels to the United States.

It will be the first international postal operator to launch new services so people can continue sending goods to the United States ahead of new customs requirements coming into effect on Friday.

Royal Mail customers can use the company’s new postal delivery duties paid (PDDP) services. The update follows a US executive order last month which said that goods valued at 800 dollars or less will no longer be exempt from import duties and taxes from August 29.

Iain Johnson, managing director international at Royal Mail, said: “We have been working hard with the relevant US authorities and our international partners to adapt our services in a very short timeframe.

“Our UK-based customers, whether consumers or businesses, can now send items to the US through all of our usual channels, including online and the Post Office, in time for the new customs requirements which come into effect on August 29.”

He added: “Now, with just a few exceptions, all goods entering the USA will attract duties which will need to be paid to the US Customs Authorities, a process that will be handled by Royal Mail. This is a change to the previous rules where all goods under a value of 800 dollars could enter the US duty free.”

This isn’t the only major announcement Royal Mail has made this week. People who deliver parcels will soon see change to the postboxes they can use. Royal Mail has announced 3,500 solar-powered postboxes that will have a digitally-activated drop-down drawer.

The change means that customers can send parcels as large as a shoebox. The new postboxes will be installed across the UK, with the Post Office describing it as the biggest change to the postbox in its history.

The new design has been trialled in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire earlier this year, and will now be installed in cities including Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Sunderland.

To use the new postboxes, customers scan a barcode on the Royal Mail app to open the drawer, which is designed for parcels too large to fit through the traditional slot. For those not wanting to send big parcels, the design also features a separate slot for letters.

By using the Royal Mail app, you can see proof of posting and parcel tracking. Jack Clarkson, managing director of out of home and commercial excellence at Royal Mail, said: “We are all sending and returning more parcels than ever before.

“This trend will only continue as online shopping shows no signs of slowing, particularly with the boom of second-hand marketplaces. There are 115,000 postboxes in the UK located within half a mile of 98% of addresses, making them by far the most convenient network of parcel drop-off points in the UK.”