Baby Milk Information

Aims: This web page has been created for general information about shipping baby milk to other countries, but more specifically to highlight any potential problems that we're aware of with importing to certain countries

Expat Essentials is an online shopping service for British Expatriates all around the world, missing their favourite foods from home or needing particular products, such as Cow & Gate and Milupa Aptamil baby formulas.

On our website, www.expatessentials.com, under the "baby shop" category, we list the full range of Nutricia products available from the major supermarkets in our area. (Please note that unfortunately, we cannot supply specialist or prescription products for pre-term babies). Once a customer has ordered the goods they require, we then shop for the products and wrap and pack them extremely well, to ensure the parcel will survive any rough handling and prepare all necessary customs documentation. The prices shown on the website include all our overheads for petrol, packaging, website costs etc. the only additional charge is for delivery. We generally allow 4 days to process and despatch orders but where baby milk is concerned, we always try to despatch within 3 working days, as it's usually needed urgently. All orders can be placed securely on our website.

Although we have to add our overheads to the product prices, making them naturally more expensive than supermarket prices, we pass on our delivery charges at cost and as we send out so many parcels, we can offer extremely good rates, generally about 30-40% cheaper than standard postage rates. Within Europe, we offer a flat rate fee for parcels up to a maximum actual or volumetric, total packed weight of 30kg, (up to 20 x 900g cartons or 90 x 200ml Ready Made) and these rates start from just £14.40 to Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands. Outside of Europe, the rates are dependent on weight and start from about £24 to the USA for 2.5kg. (Full details can be found on the "delivery info" page on the website).

We have received countless testimonials from our customers about our service and our packaging and it's very rare for a parcel to arrive with damaged goods, however, if this does happen as a result of our packing or our carrier, we offer a no quibble guarantee and will reimburse our customer with the full price of the damaged product. The only time that we can't offer this, is if the goods have been damaged or confiscated by customs. Unfortunately, neither we, nor our carrier (ParcelForce) have any control whatsoever over what customs choose to do and again, although it's very rare to have something refused totally or destroyed, we do like to warn our customers about the possibility, especially if the destination has shown to be problematic in the past, such as Malaysia and South Africa. We also ask customers to bear in mind that there may be delays caused by customs being slow to clear parcels and once again, we can't do anything about this unfortunately, although we're always happy to supply any additional information that may help. Some countries, particularly Switzerland, may also charge duty on certain goods, (not usual for baby formula, but often charged on baby toiletries, medicines etc) and this is accepted by our customers when they place their orders, as once again, it is beyond our control and we would advise our customers to check this before ordering.

We do try to keep up with all the latest customs and country issues, but as you'll appreciate, when delivering Worldwide, it's not always possible, so we do ask our customers to check with their particular destination, but hopefully the following information will also help. Generally, deliveries to major cities within the EU are without problems and most areas will receive parcels within about 3-4 days from despatch. Spain & Portugal can sometimes take longer, 5-7 days, depending on the local delivery agent and if the address is in a rural location.

Outside of Europe, the majority of countries are trouble-free, most of the time, although some are very difficult and we supplied additional information about the countries that we're aware of, in the summary below. Please note however, that this can and does change due to new regulations and/or world events.

USA-
We are required to submit a "prior notice" to the F.D.A. before shipping and although this is very time consuming for us, once the correct procedure has been followed, there are generally no problems and delivery is very quick and efficient, usually within 3-4 days of despatch.

Canada-
Occasional delays with customs but no major problems. Parcels generally received approx. 5-7 days from despatch.

Australia & New Zealand-
We needed special permission from NZ Quarantine for Aptamil products due to the egg content and we now enclose a copy of the permission email received from them and this usually ensures a quick clearance however, there are still some delays with customs checking the goods and this generally adds about 2 days to the normal 6-7 day delivery time. Regarding Australia, as long as the quantity is no more than 3 months supply and for personal use only, it generally clears customs quickly, assuming there are no issues within the UK, such as the recent Foot & Mouth breakout, which can change the situation.

China and Japan-
No problems with either country so far. Delivery is usually within 5-6 days from despatch.

South Africa-
Parcels do get there eventually but customs in this country are particularly difficult and delays could be up to 3-4 weeks. We always ensure we make customers aware of this before processing their orders. Occasionally, customers have been required to collect their parcels from the local delivery agent.

Malaysia, Indonesia, Africa, Mexico, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Romania-
These areas are very unreliable and we prefer not to send here due to the delays and damage caused by customs. Goods are often subjected to close scrutiny by cutting open the contents of the parcel, so unfortunately it's too risky to send here, unless the customer can make arrangements with their local customs dept. Some of the countries above, such as Turkey and Mexico have actually been removed from our listing altogether, as the problems experienced in the past are too severe to take the risk.

Rest of the World-
We would expect similar problems to above and not recommend sending goods out.

If a customer places an order and we become aware of a problem with the country, we will always email our customer to explain the situation and give people the opportunity to cancel their order and receive a full refund straight away.

We hope you find this information helpful but please feel free to contact us if we can help in any way or provide any additional information.