Party Ark Delivery Terms & Conditions

“ Thank you for the order which arrived safely this morning. I am very pleased with the excellent service we have received especially as I only ordered this pack late on Sunday evening. My little boy is over the moon and no doubt he will drive me mad through excitement before his party! ”

At Party Ark we know how important delivery is, especially when on a deadline, and we take great pride in a first-class service, and keeping our customers fully informed.

For simplicity, and no matter what the size or value of any order is, for UK Standard Parcel, First Class Post, and courier Express Despatch we implement a one time charge per order, even if we have to send a second or separate package. Most orders received before 12.30 will be boxed and dispatched that day.

In the unlikely event of an item being out of stock, we will send the main package according to your chosen delivery method and contact you to advise you of a revised delivery date for the out of stock items, or to offer you an alternative product. As you would expect, out of stock items sent on later do not incur any extra delivery cost.

We know many people leave their purchase until the last minute so to manage your own expectations, if you need your parcel for a specific date, please select our UK Special Delivery service and/or contact Customer Services on 01572 748609 to advise us of any special requirements.

Note: Helium is delivered by separate courier - we can't keep it in the warehouse - and requires a signature on delivery. If there's a neighbour who can sign for you please let use know and we'll do our best to sort it out.

New! UK Special Invitation Rate - £1.49

If you're only ordering Invitations, we're happy to offer you a special rate of just £1.49, sent the same day by Royal Mail 1st class (see below for full details).

UK Royal Mail Standard - £3.80

Standard Delivery is sent via Royal Mail 2nd Class post. Royal Mail state that they "aim to deliver all Second Class items within 2-3 working days after the day of posting". In our experience this is often the case, but it can take quite a lot longer, so you shouldn't use this postage if you're party is fewer than seven working days away.

• £3.80 per order.
• No upper weight limit.
• Delivery to all areas of the UK Monday-Saturday.
• Typically allow 3-7 working days for delivery.
• Please note this is not a guaranteed service. See below (First Class) for more details.

UK Royal Mail First Class - £4.90

UK Royal Mail First Class is sent via Royal Mail 1st Class post. Royal Mail state although this is not a guaranteed service, they "aim to deliver all First Class items the next working day after the day of posting”, in our experience this is usually the case.

• £4.90 per order, no matter what item quantity, value or package dimension.
• No upper weight limit.
• Delivery to all areas of the UK Monday-Saturday.
• Typically allow 1-2 working days for delivery.
• Please note this is not a guaranteed service. We can't accept claims for non-delivery for fifteen working days after the date of posting (because that's the way the Royal Mail works). If your parcel doesn't turn up in the time you expected, nine times out of ten it will be at your nearest Royal Mail delivery office, and you will not have received a card to let you know. We know, it's surprising but true - almost every time a quick check with the Royal Mail finds it sitting on a shelf. The Royal Mail is very good, but not perfect: if you want to make absolutely sure you receive your goods in time, we suggest you use the courier service.

Express Despatch Next Day by 5pm - £6.50

Express Despatch Next Day by 5pm is a courier service that delivers by close of business the day after your order is placed. This signed-for service covers most of the UK mainland (for geographic coverage see details below) and has a fixed charge for orders up to 10kg.

• £6.50 for order up to 10kg in weight
• Next day coverage for most of UK mainland
• Signature required for delivery
• If no one is available to sign for the goods, redelivery can be arranged
• Order must be placed before 1pm for Next Working Day delivery
• No delivery on Saturday - so if you order on Friday, the parcel will be delivered on Monday.
• Sorry, the following postcodes are not eligible for this service. But you can use the Royal Mail services below.
  AB31-AB56, BT, FK19-FK21, G84, GY, HS, IM, IV1-IV63, JE, KA27-KA28, KW1-KW17, PA20-PA78, PH4-PH50, PO30-PO41, TR21-TR25, ZE.

UK Royal Mail Next Day by 1pm - £7.50

Royal Mail Special Delivery Next Day gives the comfort and security that your order, once dispatched, will be delivered the next business day before 1.00pm. Most Party Ark boxes are under 2kg, but if you have a very large order over 2kg we may need to send the parcel in two packages which will incur an additional charge.

• £7.50 per order up to 2kg in weight.
• For items exceeding 2kg (4lb 6oz) in weight, customer will be advised of any additional postage costs and will be charged according to Royal Mail guidelines (please see Delivery Service Upgrades, below).
• Next day delivery guarantee before 1.00pm Monday to Friday.
• Saturday delivery is not guaranteed although in our experience it is usually attempted. A guaranteed Saturday delivery service is available on request for an additional £2.00.
• You will need to collect from your local Royal Mail delivery office if no-one is available for a signature at delivery time.
• 99% UK coverage (Next day not guaranteed for Scottish highlands and islands, and parts of Channel Islands).
• Orders must be placed before 1pm for Next Working Day delivery,

Overseas Delivery

For your peace of mind all our overseas packages are now sent via a tracked courier service and will require a signature on delivery. Previously, very occasionally parcels would go astray or take weeks to turn up using normal delivery channels, so we took the decision that you'd be better served paying a little extra for a professional couriered service. We know there are cheaper options but party deadlines are unmissable.

The price quoted is for delivery for all packages under 5kg (which is almost everything we send out) with the exception of 'Rest of World' packages which will incur an additional cost for packages weighing over 3kg. If your package is not too heavy and weighs 1kg or less (aprox. 2.2lbs) then you'll be refunded the difference.

Prices and delivery times are country dependent and you will be charged according to table detailed below. To save multiple charges on you payment card, you'll be charged the higher amount immediately and refunded on dispatch if you package falls into the cheaper price band. If you have any questions, or your country is not listed, please contact customer services on 00 44 1536 772 523.

Delivery Service Upgrades

For Overseas delivery, if your order is very large (the weight is in excess of 5kg), we will need to cover the increased postage costs where applicable. We will always notify you before dispatching the parcel. For UK Royal Mail Special Delivery the price is dependent on weight - the courier option is far more cost effective for boxes over 2kgs. Note: this does not apply to normal UK orders, where there is just one price.

Non Delivery of Orders

We're not a delivery company, and so are reliant on third parties for delivery. Very occasionally parcels don't turn up as soon as they should. Almost always it's because the postman has either not properly notified the customer of an attempted delivery, or the customer has not seen the notification card that the postman has put through the door. Courier companies sometimes get lost or confused too, although because of electronic tracking it's usually easy to correct any problems.

Therefore, like all mail-order businesses, we cannot be held liable for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly as a result of delivery being prevented or delayed for reasons beyond our control.  Of course you are entitled to a full refund if we have not met our obligations, but only up to the value of the goods that you paid for in the first place. (Please see our Terms and Conditions.)

The most important thing to remember is that if you think your parcel hasn't arrived, please let us know as soon as you can! The sooner you let us know, the more likely it is that we can sort out any problems. Our business is reliant on good service to you and that's always what we aim to deliver.