Parcel operators to suspend deliveries between GB and Northern Ireland

DPD Ireland is temporarily suspending its collection service from mainland Great Britain into Northern Ireland and the Republic from Wednesday.

The firm said its hopes to reinstate the service in due course and that it would not affect parcels travelling from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.

The UK site for Hermes no longer accepts requests to ship parcels from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and instead directs users to its international site instead.

The company said this was due to new government regulations introduced in January.

Meanwhile, Parcel Motel, which uses a virtual address in Co Antrim to allow its customers in the Republic of Ireland to avoid added international shipping costs, is suspending its service.

The firm said the service would be suspended “until such time as a final Brexit decision has been implemented and our services have been adapted to meet the new requirements”.

DPD Ireland has also suspended its virtual address service.

The Consumer Council has raised concerns about the impact this withdrawal of deliveries and services could have.

Kellin McCloskey, head of postal policy at the Consumer Council, said: “With less than two weeks before the United Kingdom (UK) leaves the European Union (EU), parcel operators still have not been given guidance on how parcels between GB and NI will be processed to be compliant with the NI Protocol, which is forcing many operators to make the decision to suspend or withdraw deliveries between GB and NI.

“Considering GB is NI’s most popular market for purchasing goods, and with the increasing reliance on shopping online due to the pandemic, withdrawing these services is particularly concerning for NI consumers.

“To minimise the impact of further retailers and parcel operators leaving the NI market, the Consumer Council has written to the UK government seeking urgent clarity to be given to parcel operators.”