Glossary

Parcel Service

Parcel services are provided by a number of main parcel carriers; eg Parcelforce, TNT, Citylink, UPS, FedEx, DHL, Amtrack, or APC are the main companies that most people know.  There are other companies who act as resellers, however resellers don’t deliver the parcels themselves, they book on behalf of the parcel carriers.

A Parcel service means that your item will go through a sorting hub process.  So you must ensure that it is properly boxed and packaged.  Prepare it for Heathrow’s Baggage Handling system.

Many parcel carriers use Franchises at a local operational level.

Courier

A Courier, is a single company, who will pick up and deliver your item.  They will do this direct, and do not use a sorting hub process.  If you request this will be done on a sameday, or overnight delivery basis.  Sometimes, for a cheaper price, couriers may offer the option of delivery a couple of days after collection, with your item being combined into other loads, and perhaps held overnight in the courier’s own storage depots.

As the item is not going through a sorting hub, a courier is good for items that cannot be packaged.  Or are outwith the maximum dimensions, weights and girths of the parcel services.

Freight Parcel

These are the bulkier parcels, carriers of such items include Parceline, Nightfreight, Home Delivery Network.  These items are usually delivered off the larger lorries, rather than the white vans.  Freight parcels are a good way to transport low value, large volume items, eg mattresses, flat pack furniture etc.  But because you get a lot of delivery, for a low price, freight parcels are normally not insured.