Isle of Man Post Office is pleased to announce details of its last posting dates, and opening and closing times across its mails and retail services for the festive period, along with other important information for customers.
Airmail bound for Africa and Middle East should be sent no later than December 2, while Cyprus, Asia and Far East (excluding Japan) is December 3 and the Caribbean, Central and South America is December 4. Mail destined for Greece, Australia and New Zealand must be sent by December 7, with Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Poland by December 8. Those posting to Canada, Finland, Sweden and the USA should post items by December 11. Meanwhile, Austria, Iceland, Ireland, Portugal and Spain should be sent by December 14. Finally, December 15 is the last posting date for France and December 16 for Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia and Switzerland.
For friends and family of HM Forces personnel, mail must be sent by no later than December 9 for static BFPOs and November 26 for operational BFPOs. Don't forget friends and family can continue to send letters and parcels up to 2kg free of charge to any BFPO address.
The last posting date for sending letters, large letters and packets to the UK and using Parcelforce 48 is December 21 while last posting dates for local mail and Parcelforce next day and Special Delivery next day guaranteed service for UK, Channel Islands and local delivery is December 22. For full details of last posting dates visit - http://www.iompost.com/christmas-at-the-post-office/.
Our Customer Services Centre at Postal Headquarters, Douglas is open 07.00 to 19.30 Monday to Friday and until 12.30pm on Saturdays all year round. On December 24 and 31 the posting counter will be open for customers collecting and sending parcels until 17.00. Alternatively, customers that miss their parcel delivery can arrange for their item to be redelivered to their home address by completing an online request. Or, to avoid missing any deliveries altogether, customers can sign up for our Safe Place service. This means if you are not at home when the postman delivers a package it can be left in a Safe Place as nominated by you. Details of redelivery and Safe Place services can be found at iompost.com, alternatively pick up a Safe Place form at your local Post Office.
Customers are also reminded of the Post Office's self-service Pay & Post Kiosks which are positioned across the Island and offer convenient access to postal services out of working hours without the need to queue. The Pay & Post Kiosks assist those customers wishing to pay to send letters and packets, purchase postage and pay Government rates and rents, fixed and endorsable penalty fines and utility bills, details of their locations can be found at iompost.com.
The Post Office network will be open as normal in the lead up to Christmas with the exception of Christmas Eve when Post Offices will close at 13.00 and 16.00 on New Year's Eve. All Post Offices and operational sites will be closed on Christmas Day (December 25) through till December 28 inclusive and January 1, 2016. On January 2, all Post Offices will be open as usual including our Customer Services Suite at Postal Headquarters. Any business customers who would like to discuss their collections (including private boxes) and deliveries during the Christmas period are invited to call the Business Development Team on 698444.
During the festive period the Department of Health and Social Care has agreed to the early encashment of pensions and allowances for the convenience of customers, therefore pensions and allowances due for payment on December 25 and 28 can be collected one week in advance of their stated date and allowances due on January 1 2016 may be collected from December 29. Customers of Anagh Coar and Foxdale Post Offices will be able to collect their benefits and pensions using their MiCard.
Customers are kindly reminded to make sure any items being sent are safe to fly this Christmas. Many everyday items are classified as prohibited or restricted under transport legislation therefore some cannot be flown whilst with others there may be exceptions. For a full list of prohibited and restricted items visit iompost.com. Alternatively, if you are unsure about any items you wish to post to the UK or overseas this Christmas, please contact Customer Services on 664664 or ask at one of our retail counters.
This Christmas we continue to offer a free reply service for all the children that write letters to Father Christmas. Father Christmas will endeavour to respond to each and every letter so these should be sent as soon as possible with a reply address to ensure they get there safely and timely.
Meanwhile, you can help us this Christmas by making sure you address your mail correctly with a return address and postcode included. Information about our Father Christmas letters and sending and receiving Christmas mail can be found on the Christmas page of our website http://www.iompost.com/christmas-at-the-post-office/.
This year's Christmas stamps which were created by local artist Julia Ashby-Smyth celebrate the 250th anniversary of the first Prayer Book to be published in Manx and are available to purchase from across the Post Office network and online at iompost.com. The Christmas Prayer Book collectables utilise self-adhesive stamps printed with metallic gold ink and have been produced to a small size, to affix to any Christmas card. The collection includes sets and sheets of 25 stamps, a presentation pack, first day cover and a stamp booklet including additional envelope 'seals' – decorative stickers to add to Christmas cards or presents – featuring the seasonal religious Manx words from the set. The pack also contains for the first time a £3.20 stamp for customers sending parcels.
Finally, a competition to win a family of four tickets to this year's pantomime 'Sleeping Beauty', a pre-show dinner and return transfer to and from the Gaiety Theatre is up for grabs! To enter all you need to do is complete the coupon featured in the Christmas door to door leaflet, distributed to all homes Island-wide and post your entry in the special competition box at our Customer Care Centre in Douglas Headquarters or send it to the Freeport address provided, alternatively, complete the entry at iompost.com/competition or email competition@iompost.com with your details. All entries must be with us by December 7 2015.
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