Delivery and dispatch
Everything about how your order gets to you: the three Royal Mail services we offer, what they cost, when we dispatch, and what happens if a delivery goes wrong.
- All services tracked
- Same-day dispatch before 3.30pm, Mon–Fri
- Free Tracked 48 over £45
Need it fast?
Special Delivery is the only guaranteed option.
£5.49
- Special
- Tracked 24
- Tracked 48
Medication requiring a valid prescription will only be dispatched after clinical approval by one of our prescribers.
Services and prices
We send every order with Royal Mail. You choose the service at checkout — the price is per order, not per item.
| Service | Price | Guaranteed | Arrives |
|---|---|---|---|
Royal Mail Tracked 48 Tracked · no signature | £3.19 Free over £45* | No | Within 2 working days of dispatch |
Royal Mail Tracked 24 Tracked · no signature | £4.19 | No | Next working day after dispatch |
Royal Mail Special Delivery Tracked · signature required | £5.49 | Yes | By 1pm the next working day |
*Free Tracked 48 applies to orders over £45, excluding weight loss treatments.
What’s guaranteed — and what isn’t
Special Delivery is the only service with a guarantee: Royal Mail commits to delivering by 1pm on the next working day, and refunds the postage if they miss it.
Tracked 24 and Tracked 48 are delivery aims, not promises. Most parcels arrive in time, but a Tracked parcel that arrives a day late isn’t a service failure and the postage isn’t refundable. If your medicine has to be with you on a particular day, choose Special Delivery.
Dispatch times
Our pharmacy is open Monday to Friday. Delivery times are counted from the day we dispatch, not the day you order.
| You order | We dispatch |
|---|---|
| Monday to Friday, before 3.30pm | Same day |
| Monday to Thursday, after 3.30pm | Next working day |
| Friday, after 3.30pm | Monday |
| Saturday or Sunday | Monday |
| On a bank holiday | Next working day |
Bank holidays aren’t working days for us or for Royal Mail, so delivery aims pause over them too. Medication requiring a valid prescription will only be dispatched after clinical approval by one of our prescribers. This may affect your estimated delivery date.
Failed deliveries
We’re not liable for failed deliveries
Once your parcel is handed to Royal Mail it’s in their care. We can’t accept liability for parcels that are delayed, misdelivered, left in a safe place, signed for by someone else, or returned to us undelivered. We’ll always help you chase a missing parcel and raise a claim with Royal Mail on your behalf. Nothing here affects your statutory rights.
If you’re out when Royal Mail calls
They’ll leave a card and take your parcel to your local delivery office. You can book a redelivery online or collect it with ID. Parcels are held for 18 days, then returned to us.
If a parcel comes back to us
Most medicines can go out again. We hold a returned parcel at the pharmacy for 7 days — confirm your address with us in that time and we’ll re-send it for the cost of postage only. Anything still here after 7 days has to be destroyed.
Cold chain medicines, weight loss treatments and time-sensitive medicines such as antibiotics are the exception. We can’t be sure they’ve been stored correctly once they’ve left us, so they can’t be re-sent and we won’t be in touch about them — you’ll need to place a new order.
If the delivery address was wrong
It is your responsibility to ensure the delivery address provided at checkout is correct. Pharmacy Online cannot be held responsible for parcels lost or delayed as a result of an incorrect address.
If a parcel is genuinely lost
Royal Mail treats a tracked parcel as lost once it’s 10 working days past its due date. Get in touch and we’ll raise the claim with them and keep you posted.
Where we deliver
We deliver to UK addresses only, including Northern Ireland. We can’t send medicines outside the UK.
Tracking and packaging
Tracking
We email your Royal Mail tracking number the moment your order is dispatched, and text you on the morning of delivery if we have your mobile number. It’s in your account under Orders as well.
Packaging
Everything arrives in plain, unbranded packaging. Nothing on the outside names the medicine inside or says it came from a pharmacy.
Changing your address
Call us before 3.30pm on the day you order and we’ll update it. Once a parcel is dispatched we can’t redirect it — you’d need Royal Mail’s own redirection service.
Signatures
Special Delivery needs someone to sign. If nobody’s home the postman leaves a card. Tracked 24 and 48 don’t need a signature and may be left in a safe place.
Still need help?
Have your order number to hand. We’re here Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.