Where did my mail go?

dkrap · 04-01-2016, 01:48 PM

I have more trouble with the post office trying to hold my mail when on a trip of more than 30 days. Hoe do you all handle this problem?

BandJCarm · 04-01-2016, 01:57 PM

Agreed!!! When I heard they were considering eliminating Saturday delivery, I said "I wish I got mail ONE day a month!!"

You can go online and do a 'Hold Mail'. But you MUST guess the end date (restart mail date) correctly. And like you say, 30 days is the max. And they WILL deliver on that date, it can't be extended. I just ran into this. My online prescriptions sat tied to my mailbox with a rubber band, in a cardboard box, for 3 days in the rain!

I gave up and went and got a Private Mail Box. They are at most shipping stores, UPS stores, and the like. 1/3 the price of a US Post Office Box, and they accept FedEx and UPS box deliveries. They will put your overflow mail that doesn't fit in a separate box for you, and hold it till you come in, however long that is!!

I just started it, and haven't changed a lot of my addressing yet, but so far, so good. And when I get my camper and we're gone a lot, it will be great. I can even call and ask if XYZ has arrived yet, or things like that.

richardelarson · 04-01-2016, 05:09 PM

What ever you do DO NOT have your mail forwarded anywhere. It took us a year to get everything stopped. There is mail we never received and other mail still forwarded 6 months after we stopped it!

Campingchick · 04-01-2016, 05:44 PM

As an employee of the USPS, I would like to comment on this topic. USPS policy is we can only hold mail for 30 days, basically because most offices don't have the room to store mail for long periods of time. Keep in mind you are not the only person who travels or leaves their homes for extended periods of time. I have an average of 15 people on my route who are "snowbirds" (travel south for the winter) and there is no way I could just hold their mail for 6 months at my casing station, I would have no room to work! I have to admit that the above suggestion of a private mailbox is probably a good solution, because they will accept fed ex and ups parcels and hold them till you get back. When you are traveling around in a camper, there is no way the USPS can keep up with all the different addresses we would have to input into the change of address system to get your mail to you. If you traveling to one specific address for an extended length of time, then you can submit a Temporary change of address, which is good up to 6 months and does not change your current address with the mailers. If you submit a permanent change of address, your mailers will be informed of your new address. This is a common mistake with "snowbirds" because the distinction between the temporary and permanent is not explained well. Another suggestion is to have someone you trust pick up your mail on a regular basis, but I have found that even the most trustworthy will become compliant with leaving the mail in the box for extended periods of time. People who travel in campers really have the biggest delimma with their mail, and the above suggestion of a private mailbox is a good one.

wahoonc · 04-01-2016, 08:00 PM

I have what the call a Ranch box at my house. We have a neighbor check it every couple of weeks if we are gone that long. Holds an amazing amount of stuff.

Aaron

Mikele · 04-01-2016, 08:50 PM

We travel full-time as my wife is a travel nurse. We just d o temp address change as mentioned above. So far so good...ish..this is the federal government were dealing with..lol..

dkrap · 04-02-2016, 09:06 AM

Thanks Campingchick for your professional input. I certainly know it can be a problem with so many requesting "holds". I tried the temporary change of address. It just did not go smoothly.
Thanks for everyone's input.

bubbles · 04-02-2016, 09:20 AM

I fill out the hold mail form at my post office and just say "all mail" where it asks for names. I check "will pick up upon return" with no restart date. The mail is held for 30 days and when that time is getting close I go on line to the web site and request another 30 day extension with the same details as originally made. I haven't gone past 60 days but have never had an incident with my mail hold. As far as space at a post office to hold mail it is a post office responsibility if the hold mail requirements are met per the USPS guide lines. If the extended hold mail request is at a post office that cannot accommodate the request it should state that fact on their (USPS) web site and maybe it does.

Hoffwmn · 04-02-2016, 12:04 PM

We have a friend pick up our mail every couple of days. Anything that she feels may need our attention, she texts a photo of and we tell her whether or not to open it and send us a photo text of the letter/bill. It has worked great and we always bring her a nice gift from someplace we traveled.

Myrle · 04-02-2016, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Campingchick

As an employee of the USPS, I would like to comment on this topic. USPS policy is we can only hold mail for 30 days, basically because most offices don't have the room to store mail for long periods of time. Keep in mind you are not the only person who travels or leaves their homes for extended periods of time. I have an average of 15 people on my route who are "snowbirds" (travel south for the winter) and there is no way I could just hold their mail for 6 months at my casing station, I would have no room to work! I have to admit that the above suggestion of a private mailbox is probably a good solution, because they will accept fed ex and ups parcels and hold them till you get back. When you are traveling around in a camper, there is no way the USPS can keep up with all the different addresses we would have to input into the change of address system to get your mail to you. If you traveling to one specific address for an extended length of time, then you can submit a Temporary change of address, which is good up to 6 months and does not change your current address with the mailers. If you submit a permanent change of address, your mailers will be informed of your new address. This is a common mistake with "snowbirds" because the distinction between the temporary and permanent is not explained well. Another suggestion is to have someone you trust pick up your mail on a regular basis, but I have found that even the most trustworthy will become compliant with leaving the mail in the box for extended periods of time. People who travel in campers really have the biggest delimma with their mail, and the above suggestion of a private mailbox is a good one.

Have never had any problems with USPS holding my mail. Just go in ask them to stop mail, fill out the form with month I'm returning, don't know definite date but I'm in when I get home.

vasnipe · 04-02-2016, 01:28 PM

You could use on of these like wahoonc
Saw this Male Box in West Virginia while on the job.
Just had to stop and take a photo, truth IS stranger than fiction.
You have to admire the sense of humor that that homeowner has.

dkrap · 04-02-2016, 01:31 PM

And is that a "satellite dish" next to it?

RVPP · 04-02-2016, 01:31 PM

My wife and I used St. Brendan's Isle in Green Cove Springs, Fl. while we were traveling in our sailboat years ago. You change your address to a PMB, personal Mail Box, at their location. When we wanted a mail 'drop' we'd e-mail them and they would send it out, UPS mostly. They sort the junk from the first class. Different plans make it easy. Worked very well for us.

vasnipe · 04-02-2016, 01:53 PM

Nah,
That was this guy living at the bottom of the "holler".
Saw this about dawn and thought "what the heck is that?"
Looked up the ridge beside / behind the house (not a mobile home) and saw the height of the tower and how it had been extended and then the angle of the dishes. Ah ha! He built the the tower to "see" the satellite over the ridge top and had to extend it to avoid climbing the ridge and cutting down somebody's trees.
Talk about smart like a fox

hankpac · 04-02-2016, 02:09 PM

We have the mail held until we arrive at our southern destination, then have it boxed and shipped. The post master stuffs a flat rate box, and we get it all once a month.
For meds from the V.A., I simply have them hold all shipments (since they come at unguessable intervals) until I arrive, then ship anything that has accumulated.
This works especially nicely from Insulin: They ship insulin in a styrofoam box with freezer bags. This isn't their first rodeo, so when I tell them I am in Texas, they simply put extra bags in the box, and wrap everything inside in paper, and it gets here in one extra day (three days total). The bags are usually still hard.
I speak directly to the pharmacist on the phone, and have done this so many years that they have both addresses firmly in place on the computer.
If you travel, the V.A. will hold and send where ever you are.
Local V.A. clinics prefer that you call your home V.A. to get your refills.

willietx · 04-02-2016, 04:33 PM

You can set up a hold mail with USPS on the web, no need to go to the Post Office. We do this 8 - 10 times per year and have had good results. The worst problem is that we often return on Thursday, our regular carrier's day off. He catches it the next day.

Cindimac · 04-02-2016, 04:46 PM

Also for us I've notified all my friends,credit card, SS,account (banks,investments company, ) to email not send paper.. This saves a lot of time and its paperless, pay bills on line..just a thought. Will start our year trip June 1, so excited, house sold, just packing up..
Happy trails
Cindi

360true · 04-02-2016, 04:46 PM

About a year before we went FT, we rented a PO box in a small town that permits us to use their Street address as well as the po box. This permits is to get FedEx and UPS when we are in town. We went completely digital for bills received and paid. By writing return to sender for all junk first class, we eliminated most of the junk mail. We called as many 3rd class mailers and asked to be removed. We now get almost no mail, so there is plenty of room in our po box for months on end!

MacGumbo · 04-02-2016, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkrap

And is that a "satellite dish" next to it?

Low quality wheelbarrow.

nikita · 04-03-2016, 05:58 AM

We have been 4 month Snowbirds since 2009. We use TEMPORARY FORWARD with the USPS. It is absolutely HORRIBLE!! Back home, every Saturday, mail is put in our box. Neighbor checks on it. We call the post master at home to report, but it still keeps happening. All the important bills are paid on the internet, the utilities are set up with our checking account. But there are still important things that we do want. The Perscriptions are with Express Scripts and we can change our address to the campground address, so that is no problem. I started a Thread on this a couple of days ago and someone said there is a mail service with Good Sam, but you pay for it. This will always be an ongoing problems

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