Plenty of urgent deliveries do not fit into the working day. Documents need to be on a desk before an 8am meeting, a laboratory needs samples overnight, an event build starts at 6am, or a production line breaks down at midnight. Out-of-hours delivery is straightforward to arrange, but it fails more often than daytime delivery for one reason: nobody is there to receive it.
This guide covers when out-of-hours and overnight deliveries are used, how to make sure someone can accept them, and the rules that affect night-time deliveries in London.
When businesses use out-of-hours couriers
- Early morning deadlines. Contracts, bundles or presentation materials collected in the evening and delivered before the recipient arrives.
- Healthcare and laboratories. Samples, equipment and supplies moving between hospitals, clinics and labs that run around the clock.
- Manufacturing and maintenance. Replacement parts for sites that run night shifts, where a breakdown cannot wait for the morning.
- Events and exhibitions. Early build-ups and late breakdowns, where venue slots fall outside office hours.
- Long-distance same day runs. A delivery to Scotland or the North East that leaves London in the afternoon will arrive in the evening.
Someone has to receive it
Most failed out-of-hours deliveries happen because the building is locked, the reception is closed or the security guard has not been told. Before booking, find out how the delivery address handles visitors at that time:
- Is there a 24-hour security desk, and will they accept and sign for deliveries?
- Is there a separate out-of-hours entrance or intercom?
- Does the loading bay or goods-in close at night?
- Who is the named contact, and are they actually on site at that time?
Then tell security or the night contact the courier is coming, with an expected time and the courier’s name if you have it.
Signed for, or left safely?
For anything confidential, valuable or time-critical, the delivery should be handed to a named person and signed for, whatever the time. Leaving an item outside a closed door, or with someone who has not been told what it is, defeats the point of paying for a dedicated delivery.
If there really is nobody on site, the alternatives are a timed delivery first thing in the morning, delivery to a secure location agreed in advance, or the courier holding the item overnight and delivering at opening time. Agree which applies before the courier sets off, so the driver is not making that decision at the door.
Night-time rules in London
The London Lorry Control Scheme restricts goods vehicles over 18 tonnes from using many London roads at night and at weekends without a permit. It does not apply to vans, so a courier van can deliver overnight on any normal route.
Individual sites can be more restrictive. Some buildings and residential areas have conditions on delivery hours to limit noise, and some loading bays are simply closed at night. Check with the building rather than assuming a night delivery is allowed.
Timing an overnight or early delivery
Night-time journeys out of London are usually faster than daytime ones, because the roads are quieter. That can make a late evening departure a better option than an early morning one for a delivery outside London that must arrive before 9am. Our guide to how long a same day courier takes gives typical journey times.
For very long runs, drivers’ hours rules limit how long one person can drive. A job that involves driving through the night and back again may need a second driver, which the courier should tell you about when you book.
What to tell the courier
- the latest time for collection and the earliest and latest time for delivery
- the out-of-hours entrance at both ends
- the name and mobile number of whoever will release and receive the item
- what to do if nobody answers
- any access codes or instructions from building security, given directly to the courier rather than written on the package
Out-of-hours deliveries with Abetta
Abetta operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, collecting and delivering across London and the UK at any time, with live tracking from collection to delivery. See our same day courier service or call 020 7870 3444.