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Delivery
Once we have processed your goods (items are picked and checked as correct by two different members of staff) we will despatch your parcel in preperation for courier pick up (meaning your package is sealed and labelled at this point). Our courier picks ups are every afternoon Monday through Friday. Our mail order department is open on Saturdays, for your convience, and orders are still processed (and can be marked as despatched) but please note that we have no courier pick-ups on that day.
Despatch E-mail
At this point you will receive a despatch e-mail. This confirms the address that you have requested your parcel sent to and exactly what you have ordered. You may double check your sizes should you wish. You can contact us during normal office hours Monday through Saturday if you have any queries concerning your parcel. Out-of-hours messages can be left on our automated voicemail system. We will get back to you on our next working day.
Tracking Your Parcel
Your despatch e-mail will contain your unique Tracking Number.* You can use this to track your parcel on its journey to you via the relevant courier's website (Royal Mail or DPD) or app. (See box-out below for how to use your scanned DPD tracking number.)
We will include a printed Despatch/Delivery Note in with your parcel. This will state all Billing and other Invoice Details as well as outlining a rundown of everything purchased with fully itemised prices. (Alternatively, all price details can be excluded from your Despatch Note by ticking the Gift Receipt checkbox during the checkout process.)
* During periods when we are running promotional prices for our standard deliveries, a different non-trackable Royal Mail service may be used.
Delivery Options
We try to make our delivery services as simple, fair, efficient and convenient for you as possible. Our aim is to get your goods to you, in prime condition, in a speedy, safe, and hassle-free manner.
We are able to send your order to your home, place of work or any other standard address. (For regular registered customers, this is now be accomplished with even greater ease than previously: Each address used can be saved under an Address Reference [e.g. “home”, “work”, “parents”, etc.] and thus be selected rapidly when placing your order.)
All of our deliveries are sent at the same set tariffs regardless of weight or size. Delivery times and costs are dependent only upon the destination chosen at the time of ordering (regardless of billing address) and your selections based on the options provided for the same.
UK Deliveries
All UK addresses are now covered by both Next Day and Standard delivery options. The vast majority of UK addresses also have timed and weekend delivery options. (The latter options are only available to UK addresses.) Deliveries to the Channel Islands and the IOM have different premium delivery options (see below for details) in addition to the Standard delivery option.
When making your delivery selections, as an alternative to your designated address, we also offer the opportunity to leave the parcel with a neighbour or in a safe place (e.g. in greenhouse, shed, etc.) as required. (Please note, this facility needs to be requested on each individual order and parcels are left unattended at the customer’s own risk. Requests should be placed in the Special Instructions box on the Delivery Address page of the check-out process.) You may also specify any place that your parcel is NOT to be left should you wish.
During the check-out process you will be asked to select from the following...
OPTION 1:
Your Standard Delivery goods are sent with, and delivered by, Royal Mail's Track & Trace service. We currently have a standard delivery charge of £4.95 (or free for orders over £99).
Standard deliveries can take up to 5 to 7 working days to reach you from the time of ordering. This usually includes 2 to 3 days for delivery after despatch. However, you can expect your parcel to take the full 7 working days to reach you only at our busiest times (e.g. when our printed catalogue is sent out, during our 'Black Friday' events, or in the run up to Christmas). Parcels may be delivered on a Saturday.
Unlike many of our competitors who charge extra or make you wait longer if you live in a so-called ‘Premium Rate Area’, here at Banks' we see no reason why you should be penalised for this. (These areas include the Channel Isles, the Isle of Man, Anglesey, Northern Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland.) Therefore, we offer delivery to these addresses at the same £4.95 as the rest of the UK mainland (and on the same 5 to 7 working day delivery schedule). All these areas are covered for us by Royal Mail.
Wherever you parcel is going, should you wish it delivered on a specific advance date (weekdays only) please state this in the Special Instructions/Gift Message box during check-out. We can not guarantee specific delivery dates, except in line with our Premium Delivery options below, but will try our best to accommodate your requests.
If you miss your Royal Mail postman, they will put a card through your door telling you when the parcel will be available for collection from your local delivery office. These are usually located very conveniently. Alternatively, you can book a re-delivery on a weekday of your choice online or by phoning the number on the card.
OPTION 2:
For more urgent orders a guaranteed Next Day Delivery service is available; this is charged at £8.50 (or free for orders over £199). Your Next Day's, for most addresses in the UK deliveries, are sent with, and delivered by, DPD. Premium deliveries to certain northerly Scottish post codes,* along with those to the Isle of Man, the Isles of Scilly and all Scottish Island destinations, will be covered via Royal Mail. Our premium delivery service to Northern Ireland is also via Royal Mail (see below for more details).
Next Day orders must be placed no later than 3pm Monday to Friday for guaranteed delivery on the next working day. Orders placed after 3pm, will be despatched by us on the following working day.** Even during our busiest periods, we will always prioritise Next Day orders, ensuring that they are despatched on the required day.
Note: This service is “next working day delivery”; as such it naturally excludes Saturdays and Sundays. UK Bank Holidays are also excluded. Orders placed over any Bank Holiday period will be delivered on the next available working day based on DPD's pick ups from us and the schedule outlined above. (If ordering over a Bank Holiday weekend please check our store/mail order department's Opening Times page for when we are going to be closed during these periods.)
Next Day Delivery examples:
Orders placed on a Wednesday before 3pm will be delivered on Thursday; those placed on a Friday before 3pm will be delivered on Monday; orders placed on a Friday after 3pm or anytime on Saturday/Sunday will be delivered on Tuesday.
Should you wish your parcel delivered on a later weekday, subsequent to the above, please state the day and date required in the Special Instructions box during check-out. We will ensure you parcel is despatched on the correct day to meet your wishes.
Equally if your delivery is to an area normally allocated to DPD and you would prefer it delivered via Royal Mail's 24 service instead please state this in the Special Instructions box during check-out and we will be happy to send as per your request.
Normal Next Day deliveries can not be restricted to delivery at a specific time of day (but see our After-Despatch Service notes below for how DPD will inform you of your delivery time). Your parcel may reach you anytime between 8am and 6pm (or later during the busiest periods) on the appointed day. If you require delivery promptly by next morning please select a Nominateed Time Delivery...
OPTIONS 3 & 4: NOMINATEED TIME DELIVERIES
If you need your goods prompt by the next morning, we offer, guaranteed, both Before 10:30am (ENGLAND MAINLAND & WALES ADDRESSES ONLY) and Before 12pm (UK MAINLAND, ANGLESEY & IOW ONLY)*** options on our Next Day service; these are priced at £18 and £9.95 respectively. These services are provided via DPD and the same 3pm cut off time as OPTION 1 above applies.
There are also two further premium delivery options...
OPTIONS 5 & 6: WEEKEND DELIVERIES
For even greater convenience, we also have an express Saturday Service for £12.95 (UK MAINLAND, ANGLESEY & IOW ADDRESSES ONLY).*** You can order a Saturday Delivery anytime in the week up until Friday at 3pm. (Please enter the date you require in the Special Instructions box when ordering if you do not want delivery on the nearest Saturday.)
A Sunday Service is also available for £12.95 (UK MAINLAND & ANGLESEY ONLY).*** You can order a Sunday Delivery anytime in the week up until Friday at 3pm. (Please enter the date you require in the Special Instructions box when ordering if you do not want delivery on the nearest Sunday.) Note there are no deliveries on Easter Sunday.
These weekend deliveries are via DPD.
Enhanced After-Despatch Service
including One-Hour Window Notification with DPD Predict
In addition, with all our DPD deliveries we are able to promise NO MORE WAITING IN ALL DAY FOR YOUR PARCEL! Provided we have a valid email address or mobile number for you, DPD will email/text you early on the day of delivery with a mere one-hour window for when your parcel will be arriving. This communication will also give you options to rearrange your delivery directly if you wish, as well as the name of the driver that has your parcel.
Please remember, if you know that there will be no-one at your designated address that can accept the delivery, please provide an alternative delivery address or request a non-signed for ‘safe place’ delivery as outlined above. (When leaving your parcel in a safe place your driver will take a picture of it in situ.****) Note also that your driver may leave your parcel with a neighbour if no answer is received at your designated address.
If your parcel can not be delivered for any reason, your driver will take a picture of the door at which they are attempting delivery.**** DPD will then attempt re-delivery on the next working day. You will receive a text/email, to say the courier was unable to deliver. This will offer the opportunity for you to rearrange the date of your re-delivery. (You can rearrange your delivery at any time via the texts/emails DPD send you.) Internet access is required to make these changes. You can of course also contact us and will we make the changes for you.
Alternatively, you can arrange to collect your parcel from a local pick up shop via DPD's website or app. You will be given a list of locations from which to select the most suitable option. Remember to check on your choice's opening times. Please take DPD's notification and a separate form of ID with you when picking up your parcel.
* The following Scottish mainland post codes are via Royal Mail: AB31 to 39, AB41 to 45, AB51 to 56, FK17 to 21, IV1 to 28, IV30 to 36, IV40, IV52 to 54, IV63, KW1 to 3, KW5 to 14, PA21 to 38, PA80, PH15 to 26, PH30 to 41 and PH49 & 50. Please note, these Royal Mail service is a non-guarenteed next day service; we can not offer Nominateed Time or Saturday/Sunday deliveries to any of these Royal Mail locations. IOM deliveries have an additional guarenteed Two-Day Delivery option sent via DPD (see below for details).** These cut-off times also apply to Next Day orders taken over the phone or received through the post.
*** Availability of Before 12pm and Saturday/Sunday delivery options to Scotland mainland post codes: None of these options are available to post codes listed in * above; Saturday/Sunday only is available to AB10 to AB16, AB21 to AB30, DD1 to DD11, G83 & G84, KY8 to KY10, KY14 to KY16 and PH1 to PH14; for all other Scottish mainland post codes we can provide all three delivery options.
**** These images are only available on entering your tracking information and delivery post code on the DPD website. They help us to resolve any possible issues arising from your delivery.
Northern Ireland "Next Day" Premium Delivery Option
We also provide a Royal Mail Tracked 24 option for our Irish customers in addition to the standard delivery option. This is a non-guarenteed next day service that sees over 80% of parcels delivered next working day and 98% of parcels delivered within 48 hours. The 3pm cut-off time applies as per our DPD Next Day orders (see OPTION 1 above for details). Charges are the same as our mainland service at £8.50. Parcels can be tracked at here. Deliveries may be attempted on a Saturday.
Channel Islands and Additional Isle of Man Premium Delivery Options
We can also offer our customers on Jersey, Guernsey and the other Channel Islands a guaranteed Two-Day (£12) delivery service in addition to the standard delivery option above. For our Isle of Man customers we can do the same guaranteed Two-Day (£12) service in addition to our standard and Royal Mail 24 options described above.
These premium services are undertaken by DPD and are based around the same schedules and 3pm cut-off times as our mainland premium deliveries previously outlined. They also offer the tracking service and the same text/emails updates as the mainland service (see DPD Predict section above). Note: All deliveries to the Channel Islands will NOT be charged UK VAT on any items or postage services purchased. Reduction in price will show automatically during the check-out process.
International Deliveries
John Banks delivers to practically anywhere in the world (over 200 countries in total).
Prospective customers should note that we always prioritise overseas orders alongside our UK premium delivery parcels. If placed before 3pm UK time (Monday to Saturday) you can expect that your order will be despatched on the same day (after this time it will be sent out on the next working day) thus limiting the time that you will be waiting for your parcel to an absolute minimum.
No matter where your parcel is going, you will receive an automated e-mail from us, sent to you as soon as we despatch your order. This means your parcel is picked, checked and sealed, and awaiting pick up by the relevant courier. (Our courier pick ups are Monday to Friday only.) The courier we'll use, your parcel's journey time and most importantly the duties you may be charged on delivery can be affected by your parcel's final destination and the value of the goods you've ordered. Your parcel will be transferred on to a local delivery service once in its country of destination. (Parcels to RoI and France will be transported by DPD throughout.) During this part of its journey, all customers should check with their local courier's website when attempting to track a parcel. Please contact us if you require any assistance with this.
Final delivery may be attempted on a Saturday (parcels to RoI on Monday to Friday only).
Look Out for Applicable Customs Arrangements
All overseas order will NOT be charged UK VAT on any items purchased and postage charges incurred. (The price reduction will show automatically during the website's check-out process.)
Please be aware however that you may be liable for the following import charges:
• Customs and Excise Duties*
• Local Taxes
• Courier Clearance Fee (for orders sent via DPD this is £5 plus VAT)
The latter fee covers the cost of customs' processing and an administration cost associated with collecting the other import charges. The customs thresholds at which point taxes and duties, applied by overseas customs authorities, become applicable will vary from country to country and as such it is advisable to check these before ordering. Where customs' charges are incurred customers will be e-mailed an online link from an approved courier agent for payment; this will occur before customs release your parcel for final delivery. Alternatively, a postage agent may collect the fees at your door before turning over your parcel. Failure to pay any fees that are due promptly will result in your parcel being returned to us.
Large orders sent by air may need to be split into multiple consignments (we do not pass on any extra delivery costs to the customer for this) although you may incur additional customs fees as a result.
* Applicable on all orders destined for the EU only when your order total exceeds the €150 IOSS threshold. Outside the EU thresholds for when this charge will apply are variable.
Using Your DPD Tracking Number
The scanned DPD tracking number included in your awaiting courier Despatch Email contains additional information used to route your parcel. When tracking your parcel online you will only need the central part of this number.
The first 12 characters (including any spaces) and the last six digits can be ignored.
E.g. If your scanned number is, say...
"%1AB12AB15503998906099123456" only the 10 digits highlighted would need to be entered into the DPD web-page as "Reference Number".
Next, enter the post code of the address that your parcel is going to in the box below. Finally, click the red 'Track' button to see full up-to-date details of your parcel's journey to you.
Alternatively, why not get easy access to these details 24/7 with DPD's app for Android or iOS.
Couriers, Rates, Tracking and Delivery Times
We now send more parcels via air than ever before. For some European destinations, this can cut one or two days off your parcel's transit time.
EUROPE
Republic of Ireland:
This is a continous delivery from our courier DPD under their Classic Road Service.*** Newly Reduced Price for 2023: £14.95 ***
Deliveries to all other European Countries are charged at £18.00 per order.
For efficencies sake, we now assign deliveries to this area into one of four zones.
ZONE 1: Main EU
We find parcels despatched to our six closest EU neighbours on the mainland still benefit from being are sent via DPD's Classic Road Service. For all destinations included in this service, your despatch email will contain a 10-digit International tracking number. With this you can live-track your parcel via DPD’s website or their app.
The following list outlines nominal transit times for these countries in working days:
Austria - 3
France* - 3
Germany** - 3
Italy*** - 4
Netherlands - 3
Spain**** - 4
* Not Corsica (see Zone 3)
** Except for the areas of Busingen and Helgoland (postal code 78266 & 27998) which are via Royal Mail air service (Transit: 3 to 5 working days).
*** Except for Campione D’Italia and Livigno which are via Royal Mail air service (Transit: 3 to 5 working days). For Sardina see Zone 3.
**** All islands are Zone 3.
All the above except Italy offer the same text/email notification service - Predict - with its one-hour window for delivery as outlined in the UK section above. (A valid mobile and/or email address is required.)
ZONE 2: Rest of Mainland EU
Despatches to the rest of the EU (mainland only) are normally via Royal Mail's International Tracked Air Service (online or via their app). Your parcel will nominally be in transit 3 to 7 days. (Please note that if the total value of your order is over €150 before postage we have to switch your order to DPD's road service. In which case, the 13 countries listed in red below will offer the same tracking and text/email Predict service, with its one-hour delivery window,* as outlined in the UK section above. A valid mobile and/or email address is required for this. Parcels to other countries will be DPD trackable but non-Predict. Please use DPD’s website or their app to track.)
A full list of applicable countries is as follows:
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland**
Greece (includes all islands)***
Hungary
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Monaco
Poland
Portugal****
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Sweden
* Predict notifications in Austria and Romania state a two-hour window.
** Not Åland Islands (see Zone 3).
*** Excludes Mont Athos which remains via Royal Mail's air service no matter the value of your order (Transit: 3 to 5 working days).
**** All islands are Zone 3.
Zone 3: EU Offshore
Deliveries to certain offshore EU areas are also sent via Royal Mail's Air Service (track online or via their app). These will always be via Royal Mail no matter the total value of your order. All parcels will take 3 to 7 days to arrive after leaving us.
This service is for parcels to the following destinations:
Åland Islands, Finland
Corsica, France
Cyprus
Malta
Sardina, Italy
plus,
all Portugese Islands (Madeira & Azores - postal code 9000 to 9499 and 9500 to 9900)
and all Spanish Islands (Canary & Balearic Islands - postal code 35000 to 35999, 38000 to 38999 and 07000 to 07999)
Zone 4: Rest of Europe
Deliveries to all other countries outside the EU are also sent via Royal Mail's Air Service (track online or via their app). These will always be via Royal Mail no matter the total value of your order. All parcels will take 3 to 7 days to arrive after leaving us.
A full list of applicable countries:
Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Faroe Islands, The
Georgia
Gibraltar
Holy See (Vatican City State)
Iceland
Kazakhstan
Liechtenstein
Macedonia
Moldova, Republic of
Montenegro
Norway
Russian Federation
San Marino
Serbia
Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
Rest of the World
Deliveries to all other countries (ie. all non-European destinations) are charged at £25.00 per order.
Orders are processed via Royal Mail International Tracked/Signed Air Service (further details here). Most international customers can expect to receive their parcel in 7 to 9 days from the time of despatch. However, transit times can be up to 3 weeks. Specific delivery times and other postage details can be found by selecting the country of your choice on this page. Check under 'International Tracked' or 'International Signed' on the subsequent webpage. Initial tracking can be done here.
In the unlikely event that your parcel does not arrive by its delivery date estimate, please contact us at your earliest convenience. We will do our utmost to trace your parcel and expedite its delivery. However, customers should be aware that we are only able to query such parcels as officially 'not received,' and register a claim for loss, if the courier has had no reference for your parcel for a certain period of time. For DPD parcels this period is 8 or more working days (all UK and EU destinations); a full investigation can launched after 3 further working days. For Royal Mail this period is 10 working days (for UK parcels), 20 working days (European) and 25 working days (Rest of the World).
Can I amend the delivery address/conditions for my order after placing it?
If your order has yet to be picked up from us, we will be glad to upgrade your order to Next Day delivery, alter the delivery's address or allow for your parcel to be left in a safe place as required. Simply give us a call on 0121 373 5450 and we will arrange any of these for you. (We can process your request most efficently if you have your post code to hand when calling.)
If your parcel is already with our DPD courier, its delivery address, safe place designation or service standard (extra charges may apply) may still be able to be amended by you or us. (If your parcel is already on the van for delivery, only the safe place/nominated neighbour designation can be changed for that day. Any other amendments will delay your parcel's arrival until the next working day.) Please contact us if you need help making any of these changes.
Unfortunately delivery conditions for Standard orders are unamendable once on route.
If you have received your goods and are unhappy with them in any way please refer to our Returns page for details on how to obtain a refund or exchange.
Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share on your purchases?
Whether you are impressed or not with your purchases, you can place a review of any products that you buy from us by using the link at the bottom of the product's page. If you wish to review our services please go to our Trustpilot page. We are so confident that you will, generally, only have good things to say that we will send you a product review reminder email a couple of days after you receive your delivery! We thank you for giving us any feedback in this manner as it helps us to continue to improve the goods and services we offer going forward.
