Isle of Man Post Office has announced details of its last posting dates, and opening and closing times across its retail and mails services over the festive period.
Airmail bound to Asia, Far East (including Japan) and New Zealand should be sent no later than December 3, while Australia is December 4, and mail destined for South and Central America, Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East should be posted by December 5. Mail for Eastern Europe, Greece and Cyprus by December 8 and to Canada and Poland by December 9. Meanwhile for USA December 12 and Western Europe (excluding Greece and Poland) before December 13.
For friends and family of HM Forces personnel, mail must be sent by no later than December 12 for static 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 is December 20 while last posting dates for local mail and Parcelforce48 is December 22. The final day for using Special Delivery next-day guaranteed service for UK, Channel Islands and local delivery and Parcelforce next-day is December 23. While customers have up until December 22 to send Christmas mail (letters and parcels) for local delivery in time for Christmas. For full details of last posting dates visit iompost.com/Christmas.
Our Customer Services Centre at Postal Headquarters, Douglas is open 07.00 to 19.30 Monday to Friday all year round and on December 24 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 redelivery 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.
Customers are also reminded of the Post Office's self-service Pay & Post kiosks which are positioned across the Island and which offer convenient access to our postal services 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.
The retail 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 27 inclusive and January 1, 2015. 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 Social Care has agreed to the early encashment of pensions and allowances for the convenience of customers, therefore pensions and allowances payable between December 22 2014 and January 1 2015 can be cashed one week in advance of their stated date.
Customers are kindly reminded to make sure any items being sent are safe to fly this Christmas. Many everyday items are now 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, contact Customer Services on 664664 or ask at one of our retail counters.
This Christmas we are offering 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 and with a return address on each.
Meanwhile, you can help us this Christmas by making sure you address your mail correctly and ensuring the postcode is included – this makes a real difference to how quickly we can process your mail. Customers are reminded to include a return address on any items sent in the post; this means that in the event of an item being undelivered that it can be returned to the sender. Information about Father Christmas letters, addressing standards, advice on wrapping and packing can be found on the Christmas page of our website iompost.com/Christmas.
This year's Christmas stamps, based on Raymond Briggs' magical sequel The Snowman and the Snowdog are available to purchase from our online shop, iompost.com. In addition, you can also buy sheets of 25 postage stamps for all of your UK and Isle of Man Christmas cards from our online shop or at one of our Post Offices across the Island.
Finally, a competition to win a family of four ticket to this year's pantomime 'Puss in Boots and the Three Musketeers', 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 entry coupon featured in the Christmas door to door leaflet which has been distributed to all homes Island-wide and then post your entry inside the special competition box inside of Regent Street or Ramsey Post Office by 17.00 December 9. Alternatively, entrants can enter via Facebook at www.facebook.com/isleofmanstampsandcoins.
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