Anyone experiencing extremely slow mail deliveries?

[giddyup]

I just got a letter (from bank) posted from Australia in May. This isn't the first time, sometimes I might get 3 or 4 letters all a few months old, posted on different dates, but received together. Sometimes this can cause real problems if it's someone like Centrelink asking you to reply within a certain time or else pension can be stopped.

Edited July 17 by giddyup

[mfd101]

Yes, exactly the same experience here in Surin in the last 2 weeks. NAB and CSC (super) threatening me with dire consequences if I didn't reply by 2 or 3 weeks before I actually received their letters. NAB had already frozen one of my accounts.

 

In both cases I sent them a firmly-worded email that said that sending letters by snailmail to rural parts of a Third World country was not a sign of an effective and productive organisation. NAB sent me a holding reply by email saying they were overwhelmed with messages and would reply in due course ... 😀

[JimHuaHin]

18 hours ago, mfd101 said:

Yes, exactly the same experience here in Surin in the last 2 weeks. NAB and CSC (super) threatening me with dire consequences if I didn't reply by 2 or 3 weeks before I actually received their letters. NAB had already frozen one of my accounts.

 

In both cases I sent them a firmly-worded email that said that sending letters by snailmail to rural parts of a Third World country was not a sign of an effective and productive organisation. NAB sent me a holding reply by email saying they were overwhelmed with messages and would reply in due course ... 😀

 

I have had similar problems in Hua Hin with mail from Australia and USA, with some mail (including packages) from the USA never arriving.

 

My NAB account (since they took over CitiBank Australia) has been suspended also, as they have not accepted my reason for not having a Thai TIN.  I have replied 4 times as to why I do not have a Thai TIN (do not have any accessable/taxable income above the tax free Baht 150,000 limit).

[mfd101]

1 minute ago, JimHuaHin said:

I have had similar problems in Hua Hin with mail from Australia and USA, with some mail (including packages) from the USA never arriving.

 

My NAB account (since they took over CitiBank Australia) has been suspended also, as they have not accepted my reason for not having a Thai TIN.  I have replied 4 times as to why I do not have a Thai TIN (do not have any accessable/taxable income above the tax free Baht 150,000 limit).

Yes, the absence of Thai TIN seems to be my issue with NAB too. Of course NAB - as, I assume, all Oz banks - are responding to ATO pressure on the matter. What in practice they expect us to do in the current in-between Thai context is unclear.

[giddyup]

37 minutes ago, JimHuaHin said:

 

I have had similar problems in Hua Hin with mail from Australia and USA, with some mail (including packages) from the USA never arriving.

 

My NAB account (since they took over CitiBank Australia) has been suspended also, as they have not accepted my reason for not having a Thai TIN.  I have replied 4 times as to why I do not have a Thai TIN (do not have any accessable/taxable income above the tax free Baht 150,000 limit).

When you say suspended does that mean you have no access to funds in that account? I transfer my pension and super three times a year, a total of around 700,000 baht, that's what I need to live on here, how would I survive if the bank (ANZ) prevented me doing that?

[Tropicalevo]

Almost no post where I live on Samui since Covid.

No postmen.

If I do receive a letter, it is usually 3 -6 months old.

[Dcheech]

Thai mail has NOT been good for some time, and can be a real problem. BTW I blamed this on my own home country (US) mail service until people from other countries, complained of the same problem. A bummer as the Thai post used to be really good.

[ezzra]

I have already posted this before, it took Thai post 40 days to post a letter from pattaya to Melbourne, 40 days!!!

so nothing surprise me anymore when it come to Thai post... 

[msbkk]

4 minutes ago, ezzra said:

I have already posted this before, it took Thai post 40 days to post a letter from pattaya to Melbourne, 40 days!!!

so nothing surprise me anymore when it come to Thai post... 

To be fair Thai Post does not transport your letter to Melbourne. Once an airmail letter arrives at the airport of the destination country it is the resposibility of the local post over there.  I was waiting for a UPS letter some time ago only to see online that it travelled to different countries on other continents. In this case it was probably loaded on the wrong plane during transit somewhere. It is difficult to say where delays are caused.

[Guderian]

20 hours ago, giddyup said:

sometimes I might get 3 or 4 letters all a few months old, posted on different dates, but received together

 

Yep, it's been like that for quite a while and I have no idea why. The postman is around the village every day as he should be, I often see him, but my mail usually consists of a single delivery of a number of items once every few weeks. 

[ezzra]

Just now, msbkk said:

To be fair Thai Post does not transport your letter to Melbourne. Once an airmail letter arrives at the airport of the destination country it is the resposibility of the local post over there.  I was waiting for a UPS letter some time ago only to see online that it travelled to different countries on other continents. In this case it was probably loaded on the wrong plane during transit somewhere. It is difficult to say where delays are caused.

What is fair here when you're not privy to all those arrangements? all i wanted is for a simple letter

to take the reasonable time to arrive and NOT 40 days, and I don't care much how they do it and that's because

i pay for a service and i expect to get one...

[Pouatchee]

same here in rayong... sometimes, as others have pointed out, it doesmt even get here. i asked my wife to contact the post office... for them, nothing is wrong

[ignis]

No idea how normal mail comes/goes to Australia

 

From UK to Thailand normal mail > re Royalmail.co.uk  website states they aim delivery in 59 days.

I did asked Royal Mail  a few years ago > the answer was normal post > truck to sorting office > truck to Southampton > ship to Singapore > truck to sorting office > over land to Malaysia sorting office > overland to Thailand sorting office > truck to local office > out for delivery

 

Now a day the only mail sent, as they still insist to send so say is my Pension letters, out of 5 said 100% sent letter, only 1 arrived and took 18 months to arrive..  = every 2 year have to go to the great expense on phoning them [phone answered then on hold then to all the options then wait for someone to answer, then a pile of security questions = normal take 45 mins on a mobile phone = then then ask if I still have the same email = then send the forms via email within a hour > No they cannot email me without sending a letter which never arrives first   !!  that is progress in the modern day ? 

 

in the old days here the postman came 1 x a day to the Village if anyone had post, these days there are 3 post delivery men per day.  

[SpaceKadet]

I stopped receiving mails, domestic and external, in October last year. Things like end of year statements from my banks and investments, renewed credit card, and all local invoices never got to me. No mail at all for several months. Eventually I went to the local post office and spoke to the postmaster. She was all apologies and smiles, but said there was no mail for me in the post office. She gave me the phone number for the local postman. I thought it would be pointless to talk to him, and was preparing to complain higher up, when the post started to arrive again. Only external though, no local bills or invoices. Later we found out that they hired a new postman and he didn't deliver to anybody in his area. Many complained and eventually the postman got replaced. Still not getting local bills for internet, satellite subscription and such. Will probably have to call them and let them handle the post office.

 

Edit:

In retrospect, the post serviced in Thailand got much worse after covid. Before 2022 all the mail arrived very promptly. Of course, the external mail would take 10-14 days, but it arrived.

Edited July 18 by SpaceKadet

[msbkk]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

What is fair here when you're not privy to all those arrangements? all i wanted is for a simple letter

to take the reasonable time to arrive and NOT 40 days, and I don't care much how they do it and that's because

i pay for a service and i expect to get one...

You will get this service when you pay for EMS so it can be tracked all the time. I agree however that 40 days is too long.

[ignis]

29 minutes ago, msbkk said:

You will get this service when you pay for EMS so it can be tracked all the time. I agree however that 40 days is too long.

Be sure it says AIR MAIL on the Envelope

 

Registered mail is a lot cheaper than EMS..... Air mail is just that it goes by plane, I find it has arrived within 6 days 

[jacko45k]

I recall not receiving mail for some time and getting the Mrs to go to the Post Office and ask why, next day got several letters delivered. Heaven knows where they had put them. Really frustrates me that 'proof of life' and such important items are still sent via snail mail!

[JimHuaHin]

22 hours ago, giddyup said:

When you say suspended does that mean you have no access to funds in that account? I transfer my pension and super three times a year, a total of around 700,000 baht, that's what I need to live on here, how would I survive if the bank (ANZ) prevented me doing that?

Correct, I have no access to the funds in that account.

 

My detailed explainations as to why I do not have a Thai TIN, including my supplying links to various Thai RD websites and Thai legal websites, have been rejected by NAB's morons.

[Robert Paulson]

Covid basically ruined everything. And for no reason too. We could have just kept everything normal and the same amount of people would have died. That’s what people are not understanding. But whatever 

[giddyup]

32 minutes ago, JimHuaHin said:

Correct, I have no access to the funds in that account.

 

My detailed explainations as to why I do not have a Thai TIN, including my supplying links to various Thai RD websites and Thai legal websites, have been rejected by NAB's morons.

So what's the solution? I had so many difficulties dealing with the ANZ that I ended up transferring all money in my account, around 7 million baht, to Thailand. Now the only money in there is what gets paid in like super and C'link pension.

[giddyup]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I recall not receiving mail for some time and getting the Mrs to go to the Post Office and ask why, next day got several letters delivered. Heaven knows where they had put them. Really frustrates me that 'proof of life' and such important items are still sent via snail mail!

I agree, especially when they have email details. My pension fund asked for my proof of life be sent by Fax. Who uses faxes anymore?

[Galong]

15 minutes ago, giddyup said:

I agree, especially when they have email details. My pension fund asked for my proof of life be sent by Fax. Who uses faxes anymore?

There are a few Fax software programs whereby you scan your document and 'fax' it to a fax machine on the other end.

[Galong]

17 hours ago, ignis said:

Be sure it says AIR MAIL on the Envelope

 

Registered mail is a lot cheaper than EMS..... Air mail is just that it goes by plane, I find it has arrived within 6 days 

Airmail with tracking is what I do. EMS is not faster and costs a lot more.  I sent my 'proof of life' document and the post office said 7 - 10 days. It arrived within 10 days. 

[giddyup]

6 minutes ago, Galong said:

There are a few Fax software programs whereby you scan your document and 'fax' it to a fax machine on the other end.

Why make it difficult for people? All the online fax programs I looked at required signing up and giving credit card details, even the supposed "free" programs. Surely it's easier for the form to be returned as a PDF document by email?

[SpaceKadet]

Just for info to other posters here. Today I received a letter from my Pension Authority. It was dated June 26, that's four weeks ago.

[Galong]

6 hours ago, giddyup said:

Why make it difficult for people? All the online fax programs I looked at required signing up and giving credit card details, even the supposed "free" programs. Surely it's easier for the form to be returned as a PDF document by email?

Yeah, it seems like everything is getting more challenging than easy and straightforward these days, especially for expats.  I used Fax Plus a few years ago. It was free and I don't recall giving personal info out. That might have changed.  I've got a mini post office near me that has a fax machine. I'm not sure if rural areas would have the option, but I'd guess that some research might reveal someone with one in your town.  Good luck. 

[JimHuaHin]

23 hours ago, giddyup said:

So what's the solution? I had so many difficulties dealing with the ANZ that I ended up transferring all money in my account, around 7 million baht, to Thailand. Now the only money in there is what gets paid in like super and C'link pension.

 

This is getting a bit off topic, I hope the moderators do not mind.

 

The only real solution I can see to NAB's inflexibility, is to go to your nearest RD office and demand a Thai TIN, and pass on the number to NAB's morons.

 

The only reason I have a NAB account is that I previously had a CitiBank Australia account.  CitiBank sold off many of there overseas operations - NAB acquired CitiBank Australia and UOB acquired CitiBank Thailand, for example.

 

Last year CitiBank Australia asked me for my Thai TIN, I explained that I did not have one and why I did not have one - CitiBank Australia accepted my explanation.

 

I have accounts with another Australian bank, which I have never had any problems with, into which my super is paid.

[soalbundy]

On 7/17/2024 at 1:46 PM, giddyup said:

I just got a letter (from bank) posted from Australia in May. This isn't the first time, sometimes I might get 3 or 4 letters all a few months old, posted on different dates, but received together. Sometimes this can cause real problems if it's someone like Centrelink asking you to reply within a certain time or else pension can be stopped.

That is the norm here. Often the fault lies with the postman and not with the system per se, if feeling tired they may cut their round short and take the letters home, once they have done this several times a heap gets created that takes time to resolve. I once had to ask my German bank to send me 3 bank cards before they were all delivered on the same day with different sending dates, the first one 2 months late. I complained to the post office and they inspected his house finding several letter heaps in his living room, he was sacked. We now have a woman from our village delivering, she is consciences and delivery times have been cut to 3 weeks.

[connda]

Within Thailand - No.
Anything coming from the US - Yes.

I hate to tell those who try to pass this off on the Thai Post, but Thai Post ain't the problem.  Most mail transits Thailand and is delivered between 24 to 72 hours after mailing.  I know from having tracked numerous mailing from the US that the USPS service in the US is abysmal.  And tracking numerous mailings in Thailand that Thai Post is efficient.

[Espanol]

 

So far I have had no problems with mail shipments from Spain. 10 days maximum.