Unusual inquiry

[gspod]

Hi
I recently had my bike shipped back from Kurdistan, by a Polish company, but it arrived with 2 bags missing. The bags got stuck in Polish customs after coming through Belarus.
It is much easier for onward carriage if they travelled within the EU.
So my question is:
Does anyone know an address near Calais that I could have the bags sent to - then I could pop over on a ferry and pick them up.
Thanks for any help.

 

[Wapping]

Are the bags empty or full?

In the meantime, this might help:

Yes, you can use the Poste Restante service in France, which is operated by La Poste, to receive mail or parcels at a post office in Calais or any other city. You will need to address your mail with your name followed by "POSTE RESTANTE," and then the name or address of the specific post office in Calais and its postal code. There is a fee for each item and they will only hold mail for a limited time, typically 15 days.

How to Address Your Mail
Your address should look like this:

• Your First Name Last Name
• POSTE RESTANTE
• Name of the Post Office (if there are multiple in Calais)
• Postal Code
• Calais, France

Key Things to Remember

• Fees:
  There is a cost associated with receiving mail or parcels through this service.
  
  
• Duration:
  Mail is usually held for a short period, around 15 days.
  
  
• Sender's Service:
  The package must be sent via La Poste's postal service, not by a private courier like DHL or FedEx, as these are not considered postal services.
  
  
• Customs Duties:
  If the parcel is coming from overseas, there's a chance they may reject it or there may be customs duties to pay.

 

[gspod]

Are the bags empty or full?

In the meantime, this might help:

The bags were full when they left Kurdistan and I’m hoping they still are.

Thank you, I did see this service when doing some research but not this amount of information so I will look further.
My other thoughts were possibly a hotel that would accept and store the luggage, for a short period, until I went to stay there.
Or a biker mate of a mate who lives near Calais.

 

[SBD]

I’m less than thirty miles from Calais, I can see Cap Gris Nez on a good day.

 

[Robbi]

I’m less than thirty miles from Calais, I can see Cap Gris Nez on a good day.

Are you offering ?

 

[wessie]

Are you offering ?

maybe look at the location field under his name ...

 

[Robbi]

maybe look at the location field under his name ...

I did...as he said, only 30 miles

 

[wessie]

I did...as he said, only 30 miles

northwards

has Kent joined the EU now to meet the requested criterion?

 

[Robbi]

northwards

has Kent joined the EU now to meet the requested criterion?

Night.

 

[Wapping]

My suggestion:

If you use a decent courier (such as DHL) to take the bags from Poland to France, the courier should know very accurately when the bags will arrive. Arrange to pick the bags up from the courier’s depot or service point, in or near Calais. This will save you guessing the arrival, if you use a postal service.

DHL seem to have lots of collection points in or near Calais.



I have found that, if you go to a DHL office / depot in the UK, they are pretty helpful.

This method might save you trying to find a hotel in Calais, to then explain to the owner that you are expecting two bags of your worn underwear to arrive at his hotel, at some point, from Poland. Could the owner:

A. Let you know when the two bags arrive on his check-in desk.

B. Hang on to the two bags, until you come over.


Me? I’d probably try to arrange DHL, to courier them from Poland to my home in the UK.


PS Try contacting Grantmac on the forum. From memory, he lives near Rotterdam but comes over to London (Docklands) quite regularly. He might be persuaded to act as an arrival host and courier.

 

[SBD]

northwards

has Kent joined the EU now to meet the requested criterion?

I wish…

 

[gspod]

Thanks for all the replies.
Yes, I should have thought about the courier’s depot.
It’s the Polish motorcycle shipping agent that is organising it and they’re not the best to deal with .
As it’s a lot more than dirty underwear I will offer to organise and pay for it myself, might be easier

 

[Wapping]

I will offer to organise and pay for it myself, might be easier

Looks like a sensible course of action.

 

[Ectopic]

northwards

has Kent joined the EU now to meet the requested criterion?

Never!

 

[Ectopic]

I think hotels might be a little bit reluctant to receive unaccompanied packages. Courier depot seems like the best idea.

 

[Wapping]

I think hotels might be a little bit reluctant to receive unaccompanied packages

We bounced ChasMill’s son’s clothes around Europe, hotel to hotel, all by post.

 

[gspod]

Sorry I didn’t post up earlier.
We found a solution. A friend’s brother lives an hour north of Paris so the bags were sent to him and she happened to visit him last week.
The bags are now in the London suburbs and I’m picking them up, sometime, this week - hopefully with all their contents

 

[Northern jock]

We bounced ChasMill’s son’s clothes around Europe, hotel to hotel, all by post.

Were you bored? Not a game I’ve tried but I’ll keep it in mind for a rainy day in small town France

 

[Wapping]

Were you bored? Not a game I’ve tried but I’ll keep it in mind for a rainy day in small town France

He left his bag of clothes in Germany. We discovered the loss, three quarters of the way to the Dolomites.

 

[Ectopic]

We bounced ChasMill’s son’s clothes around Europe, hotel to hotel, all by post.

I should have said "hotels in Calais."