Refrigerated courier service
A dedicated refrigerated van taking your chilled consignment straight to its destination anywhere in mainland UK. We agree the temperature range with you at booking, bring the load area to temperature before loading where the booking requires it, and keep the doors shut until delivery.
- Load area brought to temperature first
- Temperature range agreed at booking
- Direct, with no depot stops
What a refrigerated courier actually does for you
A refrigerated van is an ordinary panel van with an insulated load area and a refrigeration unit, usually driven from the engine. Its job is to hold goods at the temperature they were loaded at. It cannot rescue a pallet of yoghurts that has sat on a warm loading bay for an hour, and it is not designed to chill warm product quickly.
So most of what makes a cold chain delivery succeed happens before the wheels turn: the load area is brought to temperature before loading where the booking requires it, you pack at temperature, the driver loads fast, and the doors stay closed until the consignee is ready to receive.
Every refrigerated job is a dedicated vehicle: one van and driver going directly from collection to delivery, with no depot or cross-dock where chilled goods usually warm up.
Agreeing the temperature range at booking
When you book, we ask for the range your goods must stay within, not just "chilled". Typical bands are:
| Band | Typical range | Common examples |
|---|---|---|
| Chilled food | commonly 0–5 °C; most chilled food must be kept at 8 °C or below | ready meals, dairy, cooked meats |
| Medicines and diagnostics | commonly 2–8 °C | many medicines, diagnostic kits |
| Cool | agreed with you at booking | chocolate, some produce, certain reagents |
These are typical figures, not guarantees. We confirm at booking whether the allocated van can hold your range for the expected trip, including waiting at either end. If your product has a tighter tolerance, say so: a range of 2–8 °C and a range of 3–5 °C are very different requests.
We also ask how the goods are packed and whether the receiving site has a cold store or a goods-in team. A hospital pharmacy that receives around the clock is planned differently from an exhibition hall where the stand fridge is not switched on until 10.00 am.
How a typical refrigerated job runs
A typical refrigerated job runs in four stages: the load area is brought to the agreed temperature, your goods are loaded quickly from your cold room, the van goes directly to the delivery address with the doors kept shut, and the recipient signs on arrival. A temperature record can follow where the vehicle supports it.
- Load area at temperature
Where the booking requires it, the load area is brought to the agreed temperature before your goods go in. Loading chilled goods into a warm box is a common cause of a temperature excursion.
- Quick loading
Have the consignment staged inside your cold room or fridge, labelled and ready. The driver loads straight from your controlled area to the van, leaving space around the load so cold air can circulate.
- Doors closed
Once loaded, the doors stay shut. The van goes directly to the delivery address with no stops for other customers, and we send you live updates along the way.
- Handover and records
At delivery the recipient checks the goods, signs, and the driver records the time and name on the proof of delivery. Where the vehicle supports it, we can send a temperature record for the trip afterwards.
Ask for a temperature record when you book
Not every refrigerated van produces a downloadable temperature trace. If you need one, say so at booking so we allocate a vehicle that can.
What we carry in refrigerated vans
We carry chilled and temperature-sensitive goods for businesses in refrigerated vans: food such as ready meals, event platters and trade samples, and pharmaceuticals, diagnostic reagents, laboratory samples and clinical trial supplies. All of it is business-to-business work, so grocery boxes, meal kits and other consumer orders going to households are outside this service.
Food for businesses
Chilled ready meals from a production kitchen to a retailer's distribution centre. Platters for a corporate event in Manchester. A cheese producer's samples for a buyer's tasting in London. These are typical refrigerated jobs, and all of them are business-to-business.
Chilled samples for trade shows are a regular request, delivered into the venue's goods-in slot. Our events and exhibitions courier page covers venue access and timed slots.
Florists' stock and bouquets going to households are also outside this service.
Pharmaceuticals, samples and clinical supplies
Temperature-sensitive medicines, vaccines moving between sites (where your quality system allows a carrier without GDP certification), diagnostic reagents, laboratory samples that must stay chilled, and clinical trial supplies being sent to an investigator site. For these consignments we follow the temperature, handling and documentation requirements you set out, including temperature records where the vehicle supports them.
We work to your own standard operating procedures; our medical and pharmaceutical courier page covers specimens and chain of custody.
What you need to do as the sender
As the sender, you need the goods at temperature before the van arrives, packed and labelled for any time spent outside the van, and someone at the delivery end ready to put them into storage straight away. A refrigerated courier and the sender share the cold chain, and these points are on your side of it:
- Pack the goods at temperature. Product should already be inside its range before the van arrives.
- Use insulated packaging and coolant appropriate to your product if it will spend any time outside the van, such as carrying through a building.
- Label each package with its temperature requirement and orientation.
- Add your own calibrated data logger if you need independent temperature records.
- Tell us about dry ice at booking, so we can confirm whether and how it can be carried.
- Make sure someone at the delivery address can receive and put the goods into storage straight away.
The last point is the one most often overlooked. A van can hold temperature perfectly for three hours, but if the consignment then sits in a reception area, the van's record will not save it. Give us a named contact at the destination with a mobile phone number.
For general advice on getting a consignment ready before the driver arrives, see our guide to preparing goods for urgent collection.
Get a quote for this jobor call 020 4525 2039, any time
Choosing the right refrigerated vehicle
Refrigerated vans are conversions, so load space and payload vary. Insulation takes up internal width and height, and the unit and panels add weight, reducing payload compared with the same van in standard form. Our van size guide explains standard load spaces; for a refrigerated job we confirm the actual dimensions of the allocated vehicle at booking.
For an accurate quote, tell us the number of boxes, roll cages or pallets with dimensions and weight, the temperature range, both postcodes, the ready time and latest delivery time, and any access limits such as a height barrier.
Timing, distance and regular runs
We run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including bank holidays, so an early delivery to a kitchen before service or a Sunday collection from a laboratory is normal work. Under the GB domestic drivers' hours rules a driver can drive up to 10 hours a day, so very long runs may need an overnight plan, which we explain at booking.
If you send chilled goods every week, the same route on the same days, a scheduled courier arrangement saves you booking each time and helps us make sure a refrigerated vehicle is set aside. For one-off emergencies, such as a failed fridge at a satellite clinic or a missed wholesale delivery, book through our urgent courier service and tell us the temperature requirement up front.
Every job comes with live updates, a signed proof of delivery and goods in transit insurance cover as standard. Cover limits and exclusions are set out in our terms; tell us the value of the consignment when booking and we will confirm cover, or arrange additional cover for high-value goods. Ask specifically about spoilage cover. Our guide to proof of delivery explains what the signed record contains.
When you are ready, request a refrigerated quote with your temperature range and timings, or call 020 4525 2039 to talk it through.
FAQ
Common questions
Can you keep my goods at an exact temperature, such as 4 °C?
We agree a range rather than a single figure, because every refrigeration unit cycles up and down slightly as it runs. Tell us the range your product must stay within, for example 2–8 °C for many medicines, or the 0–5 °C that many chilled food producers specify (most chilled food must be kept at 8 °C or below), and we will confirm at booking whether the vehicle we allocate can hold it for the length of the run.
Do you carry frozen goods?
We specialise in chilled consignments. If you have frozen goods to move, call us to discuss the requirement before you book: tell us the product, the temperature it must stay at, the route and the timing. We will tell you honestly whether we can meet it, and we will not take the job on if we cannot.
Will I get a record of the temperature in transit?
Where the vehicle's unit or telematics can produce a temperature record for the trip, we can supply it after delivery; ask for this when you book so we allocate a suitable van. If you need records that are independent of the carrier, for an audit or a customer complaint, pack your own calibrated data logger inside the consignment.
How far in advance should I book a refrigerated van?
Refrigerated vans are fewer in number than standard vans, so the earlier you book, the better your choice of vehicle and time. Same-day bookings are often possible, and we will tell you straight away what we can offer. For regular runs, a standing booking through our scheduled courier service secures the vehicle in advance.
Can a refrigerated van make several drops on one run?
Yes, but every stop means opening the doors, and every door opening lets warm air in. We plan the route so that drops are quick, put the first delivery nearest the doors, and advise you if the number of stops makes the temperature range harder to hold. Fewer, faster stops are always kinder to the load.
Do you deliver flowers or chilled food to people at home?
No. Our refrigerated service is for business consignments: food producers, caterers, laboratories, clinics, pharmacies and similar senders. We do not run consumer deliveries such as bouquets, florists' orders or grocery boxes to households. If you are a food business sending to trade customers, we are happy to quote.
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