Most pallets are collected on the date booked, and PalletOnline leads the industry for on-time collection performance. However, standard pallet-network collections are not guaranteed appointments.
Your selected collection date is the date we ask the depot to collect. Collections can take place at any time between 9am and 5pm. In rare cases, operational delays mean the collection moves to the next working day.
How pallet collections work
PalletOnline operates through a national network of local transport depots. Unlike a dedicated courier, a vehicle is not normally sent directly from the depot just to collect your pallet.
Vehicles usually:
- Leave the depot carrying deliveries.
- Make deliveries across their planned area.
- Collect pallets as space becomes available.
- Return the collected freight to the depot for scanning and onward movement.
Sharing vehicles and routes keeps pallet transport affordable and reduces empty mileage. The trade-off is that standard collections cannot be given guaranteed arrival times.
Each depot plans its own vehicles and routes differently. Routes may also change during the day because of traffic, breakdowns, delays at earlier stops, freight volumes or vehicle capacity.
Is it better to book in advance?
Yes. Booking earlier gives the depot the best chance to include your collection in its route plan from the beginning.
Same-day collection is available for up to three pallets when booked before 11:45am on a working day. Most same-day bookings are collected as planned, but the depot’s vehicles may already be out completing routes when your booking arrives.
Your collection is sent to the depot immediately and added to the most suitable active route. This depends on:
- Your location in relation to the vehicle.
- The space remaining on the vehicle.
- The collection requirements selected.
- The progress of deliveries and collections already planned.
- Which suitable vehicles and drivers are available.
There is naturally less time to recover from a route delay when the collection is booked on the same day.
If collecting on your chosen date is particularly important, book by the previous working day wherever possible. This gives the depot more planning time and the greatest choice of suitable vehicles.
Specialist vehicles and services
Some collections need a particular type of vehicle, equipment or extra time at the collection point. This reduces the number of vehicles that can complete the job.
Small vehicles
Small collection vehicles are available in more limited numbers than standard vehicles. Requesting one means the depot can only allocate your collection to a suitable smaller vehicle.
Small vehicles may not have a tail lift. If restricted access means a small vehicle is required, you may need to load the pallet manually or provide a forklift.
Please give us as much notice as possible when requesting a small vehicle.
Tail lifts and lift assist
A tail lift can be selected for pallets weighing up to 750kg where no forklift is available.
Pallets weighing between 751kg and 1,000kg require lift assist. This needs suitable equipment and further limits the vehicles that can be allocated.
Pallets weighing more than 1,000kg require a forklift at both collection and delivery.
Pallet and Wrap
Pallet and Wrap requires additional vehicle space, equipment and time. It must be booked before 4:45pm on the previous working day and is not available for same-day collections.
The service is available for a maximum of three single pallets per booking.
Other specialist requirements
Oversized pallets, larger bookings, restricted access and other handling requirements can also reduce vehicle availability.
Our booking system adds extra preparation time or prevents unsuitable dates where a service needs more notice. These safeguards improve the likelihood of the correct vehicle being allocated, but they do not turn a network collection into a guaranteed appointment.
Always enter the correct pallet size, weight, access and handling requirements when booking.
When will my pallet be collected?
Collections take place between 9am and 5pm, with many happening later in the day.
Vehicles often leave the depot full of deliveries and collect pallets on their return journey. Many depots also run a second route during the afternoon, so a collection that has not happened by lunchtime may still be planned between 3pm and 5pm.
Someone must be available throughout the collection window unless safe unattended collection instructions have been agreed. Goods left outside or unattended remain at your risk until collected.
Why is there no live tracking before collection?
Your pallet has not entered the network until it has been collected and returned to the depot for its first scan. There is therefore no pallet movement to track beforehand.
PalletOnline does not have a live GPS view of vehicles operated by local depots. If you ask our support team for an update, they will contact the depot and relay the latest information provided by the people managing the route.
Any estimated arrival information is an operational update, not a guaranteed arrival time. Routes can still change after an update has been given.
Why might a collection be missed?
Occasional failures can be caused by:
- Traffic or road closures.
- Vehicle breakdowns.
- Delays at earlier deliveries or collections.
- Unexpected freight volumes.
- The vehicle reaching its capacity.
- Limited availability of a specialist or small vehicle.
- Incorrect access, weight or handling information.
- Goods not being ready when the driver arrives.
- Nobody being available to release the goods.
- Unsafe loading conditions or unsuitable ground.
We complete thousands of pallet movements every week, and missed collections are isolated. When one does occur, our systems identify it and begin the recovery process.
What happens if the depot misses my collection?
Our automated system checks the depot’s scan information on the next working morning.
If your pallet has not been scanned:
- We identify the failed collection automatically.
- We contact the depot to establish what happened.
- We rebook the collection for the next working day.
- The depot is asked to prioritise the new attempt.
- We email you with the updated arrangements.
- Where possible, a two-day delivery is upgraded to next-day delivery to protect the original delivery plan.
If the new date is unsuitable, reply to our email and we will arrange another working day.
What happens after two depot-caused failures?
If a standard network pallet collection fails twice and both failures are confirmed as the collecting depot’s fault, PalletOnline can request a dedicated courier collection through the pallet network.
This is a recovery option that we can request, but it is not guaranteed. Approval depends on the network, the collecting depot, suitable courier availability and the requirements of the collection. A courier should not be treated as confirmed until PalletOnline has provided the new collection arrangements.
This safeguard applies to standard UK network pallet collections. It does not apply to Amazon or international bookings.
Will I be charged?
There is no additional collection charge when the depot fails to attend because of its own operational issue.
A wasted journey charge may apply if the driver attends but cannot collect because:
- The goods are not ready.
- Nobody is available.
- The pallet differs from the size or weight booked.
- The required loading equipment is unavailable.
- Access is unsuitable for the vehicle booked.
- The goods or collection conditions are unsafe.
Any applicable charge may need to be paid before another attempt can be arranged.
The key points
- Your selected collection date is preferred but not guaranteed.
- Standard collections take place between 9am and 5pm.
- Booking before the collection day gives the depot more planning time.
- Same-day bookings are added to routes that may already be underway.
- Specialist services reduce the number of suitable vehicles.
- There is no live pallet tracking before the first depot scan.
- Our support team can only relay the information supplied by the local depot.
- If a depot misses the collection, our recovery process starts automatically.
- After two confirmed depot-caused failures, we can request (but cannot guarantee) a dedicated courier collection for a standard UK network booking.
If you need help choosing the correct service or vehicle, please contact us on Live Chat before booking.