Emergency Courier Service, Any Hour
Our emergency courier service puts one driver and one van on your job the moment you say go. It’s 2.40am, the line is stopped and the spare is 90 miles away? Ring us. In London and the South East a driver is usually with you within 30 to 60 minutes, and you get a fixed price before anyone turns a key.
- Goods in transit cover to £10,000
- DBS-checked drivers
- A real person, 24/7
Get an Emergency Quote Now
Tell us what’s moving, both postcodes and the deadline. A controller answers, whatever the hour.
What is an emergency courier service?
It’s a courier you can book for immediate dispatch, at any hour, when something has to move now rather than later today. We send one dedicated van and driver for your consignment alone. In London and the South East a driver is usually with you within 30 to 60 minutes. The van drives straight to the destination with no depot stop, and you get photo or signature proof on delivery. The price is fixed in writing before collection.
What Our Emergency Courier Services Cover
Our emergency courier services collect whatever has stopped your day and drive it straight to wherever it’s needed, anywhere in mainland UK. Every run is fast, reliable, direct and fairly priced, and a real controller picks up the phone at 3am exactly as they do at 3pm.
Production Line Down
The bearing, belt or control board at your machine before the next shift clocks on.
Get a QuoteVehicle Off Road Parts
A fleet van back in service today, with the part delivered to the workshop door.
Get a QuoteOut-of-Hours Clinical Runs
Samples, drugs or kit moved between sites when the scheduled transport has finished.
Get a QuoteAOG Aircraft Parts
Aircraft on ground? Components at the airside handover in time for engineers to fit them.
Get a QuoteCourt and Filing Deadlines
Signed bundles in the right hands before the office or registry closes its doors.
Get a QuoteIT and Server Failures
Replacement hardware at the data centre while the engineer is still on site.
Get a QuoteStock to a Failing Site
Goods moved overnight from a site with a breakdown to one that can take them.
Get a QuoteForgotten Items and Keys
Passports, laptops or keys returned to their owner before the flight or the meeting.
Get a QuoteWho Books Emergency Runs
Anyone whose problem gets more expensive by the hour. Time-critical freight, fragile and high-value goods, all with secure single handling from collection to signature.
Manufacturing
Plant engineers and maintenance teams chasing a spare that keeps a whole line idle.
Automotive
Dealers, garages and fleet managers with a vehicle off the road and a customer waiting.
Healthcare and NHS
Wards, labs and pharmacies needing something moved after the regular rounds have gone home.
Legal and Financial
Solicitors and finance teams with signed originals that must arrive before a hard cut-off.
Events and Exhibitions
Stand builders missing a crate, a screen or the printed graphics hours before doors open.
Retail and eCommerce
Stores and warehouses short of stock for a launch, or moving goods away from a flooded unit.
Why an Emergency Courier Should Never Co-Load
Nobody plans an emergency, which is the whole problem. A stopped press can run up costs every minute it sits there, and one trade survey puts unplanned downtime at up to £736 million a week across UK manufacturing. A van with a seized engine, a lab sample nobody collected and a contract unsigned at 5pm all have the same shape: one missing item, a clock, and people standing around. If you’re reading this mid-crisis, you don’t need a slot tomorrow. You need a driver now.
A network parcel is handled four to six times and sorted through at least two depots on its way. Ofcom found that 68% of people had a problem with a delivery over six months. That’s tolerable for a book. It isn’t for a gearbox the workshop has promised back today. Yours is loaded once and unloaded once. Not sure whether you need us or something slower? Our guide on how emergency and urgent jobs differ sets it out plainly.
When you call, the controller who answers dispatches the nearest suitable van while you’re still on the line. In London and the South East a driver is usually with you within 30 to 60 minutes, and elsewhere you get an honest ETA before you commit. You get a text at collection, a call if traffic moves the ETA, and photo or signature proof at the end. Our VOR parts runs and out-of-hours clinical runs work exactly this way.
Most emergency jobs fit a small van carrying around 400kg, or an SWB at around 800kg. A Luton with a tail lift handles heavy kit when there’s no forklift on site. One written price covers fuel, tolls, ULEZ, the Congestion Charge and ferry fares, with goods in transit cover to £10,000 per consignment. Firms that get regular emergencies often set up standby contract arrangements so the paperwork is done before the next call, and our emergency booking checklist covers what to have ready.
Emergency, Urgent or Same Day: Which Do You Need?
Same van, same driver, different starting point. The difference is how much notice you have and how soon the driver leaves, and the right answer saves you money.
| What you need to know | Emergency | Urgent | Same day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical situation | Something has failed and every hour costs money | A hard deadline later today | Needs to arrive today, with some slack |
| When the driver leaves | Straight away, any hour | Straight away or at a set time | At a collection time you choose |
| Night and weekend calls | Yes, 24 hours a day | Yes, 24 hours a day | Yes, booked ahead |
| Vehicle | One dedicated van, your job only | One dedicated van, your job only | One dedicated van, your job only |
Honest advice: if the item can safely arrive tomorrow morning, an overnight or next-day service will cost you less. We’d rather you choose the right service than the one we happen to sell. Book an emergency run when waiting is the expensive option.
How Far Can an Emergency Run Go Tonight?
Anywhere on the UK mainland, driven non-stop apart from legal breaks. These are typical drive times from central London in clear traffic. The controller gives you a real ETA for your exact postcodes when you call.
| Destination | Distance (approx.) | Drive time (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | 120 miles | 2.5 to 3 hours |
| Manchester | 200 miles | 4 to 4.5 hours |
| Leeds | 195 miles | 4 hours |
| Glasgow | 400 miles | 7.5 to 8 hours |
| Aberdeen | 540 miles | 10 hours or more |
Driving hours have limits for good reason. Under the GB domestic rules a van driver must not drive for more than 10 hours in a day or be on duty for more than 11. So on the longest runs, such as London to Aberdeen through the night, we plan a driver change or a two-person crew rather than pushing one tired driver past the limit. You’ll know which before you book, and it’s inside the fixed price.
Islands are fine too. A ferry crossing to the Isle of Wight or elsewhere is included in the quote, with no rural or postcode surcharge on top.
What to Tell Us When You Call
A panicked call is normal. These six details get a van moving fastest, and the controller will ask for anything you’ve missed.
The Real Deadline
When the part must be fitted or the bundle filed, so we plan back from that time.
Both Full Postcodes
Plus a contact name and mobile at each end, ideally someone awake at 4am.
Size and Weight
Rough dimensions and kilos, so the right van turns up first time and nothing gets left behind.
Site Access
Gate codes, security lodges, loading bays and whether anyone on site has a forklift.
Declared Value
Anything worth more than £10,000 needs higher cover agreed in writing before we collect.
A Fallback Plan
Who takes delivery, and where, if the named person can’t be reached on arrival.
What we can’t take: dangerous goods that need an ADR-qualified driver and a placarded vehicle, such as many gas cylinders, fuels and lithium batteries shipped loose. Tell us exactly what’s in the box and we’ll say straight away whether it’s a job for us. Better a quick no than a van turned away at collection.
Emergency Courier Service Prices and Vans
You pay for a van that fits and the miles it drives. Here are our published guide prices. Your final figure is fixed in writing before we collect.
| Vehicle | Guide price | Typical emergency load |
|---|---|---|
| Small van (around 400kg) | from £39 | A part, a laptop, documents or a box of spares |
| SWB van (around 800kg) | from £49 | A pallet of stock or a motor and its fittings |
| LWB van (around 1,200kg, 4m loads) | from £69 | Long pipework, exhibition stands or several pallets |
| Luton with tail lift (around 1,000kg) | from £89 | Heavy kit going to a site with no forklift |
Longer journeys work out at roughly £1.10 to £1.80 per mile depending on vehicle size, distance and urgency. Nights, weekends and bank holidays cost a little more, and that’s already inside the fixed quote you agree. There’s no postcode or rural surcharge, ferry fares are included, and nothing appears on the invoice afterwards.
How It Works
Four steps from your phone call to signed proof, with the price agreed before anyone moves.
Get a Fixed Quote
Give us both postcodes, what’s moving and the deadline. One all-inclusive figure comes back within minutes, so you know the cost before you decide.
Book Your Delivery
Say yes and the nearest suitable van is dispatched while we confirm the price, ETA and recipient in writing. The invoice matches that figure.
We Collect
A driver arrives, usually within 30 to 60 minutes in London, checks the load, straps it in and texts you the time it left.
We Deliver Direct
No depot and no other drops on the way. The recipient’s name, signature or photo and the exact time reach your inbox straight away.
Worried the Courier Won’t Turn Up at 3am?
You won’t be left guessing. A controller confirms the driver’s name and ETA on the call, and rings you if anything changes before you have to chase.
Fixed All-Inclusive Quote
Driver, fuel, tolls, ULEZ, night hours and ferry fares in one written figure, with nothing added later.
Dedicated Vehicle
Your consignment is the only job on board, so the van goes straight from your door to theirs.
Photo and Signature POD
Recipient’s name, signature or photo and the exact handover time, emailed the moment it’s done.
24/7 Human Support
A real person answers at any hour, knows where your driver is and can ring them for you.
Clock Already Running?
Skip the reading. One call gets you a fixed price and a driver on the way within minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What people search for before they book an emergency courier, answered straight.
What is an emergency courier service?
An emergency courier service is a courier you can book for immediate dispatch at any hour, when an item has to move now. We send one dedicated van and driver for your consignment alone. In London and the South East the driver is usually with you within 30 to 60 minutes, then drives direct with no depot stop and sends photo or signature proof on delivery.
How much does an emergency courier cost?
Our guide prices start from £39 for a small van, £49 for an SWB, £69 for an LWB and £89 for a Luton. Longer journeys work out at roughly £1.10 to £1.80 per mile depending on vehicle size, distance and urgency. The quote is fixed and covers fuel, tolls, ULEZ, the Congestion Charge and ferry fares.
Is there a 24 hour emergency courier near me?
Yes, if you’re anywhere on the UK mainland. We answer 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and dispatch the nearest suitable van. In London and the South East a driver is usually with you within 30 to 60 minutes. Elsewhere the controller gives you an honest ETA for your postcode before you commit to anything.
Do emergency couriers charge more at night or at weekends?
A little, yes. Nights, weekends and bank holidays cost slightly more than a weekday daytime run, but that’s built into the fixed quote you agree before booking. Nothing is added afterwards, and there’s no postcode or rural surcharge on top.
Can an emergency courier do long-distance jobs?
Yes. One dedicated van runs the whole distance non-stop apart from legal breaks. London to Manchester takes around 4 to 4.5 hours and London to Glasgow around 7.5 to 8 hours. Van drivers can’t drive more than 10 hours a day, so on the longest runs we plan a driver change or a two-person crew.
What’s the difference between an emergency job and an urgent one?
Mostly the starting point. An emergency job means something has failed and the van leaves straight away, often at night. An urgent job has a hard deadline later the same day and may be booked for a set collection time. Both use one dedicated van with no other stops, and both get a fixed quote.
Something Stopped That Can’t Wait? Call a Real Controller
No call centres and no queues. You speak to the team who’ll run your delivery, with a fixed quote in minutes and a driver usually with you within the hour in London.