Help & Suggestions please as next year I will have no UK address

[Keith5588]

I am a UK male. I have no children or immediate family in the UK.

 

I bought my first house in the UK aged 21 then worked for 40 years in the UK, a very simple life.

Next year I plan to sell my UK house, so after that I will not have a UK address. I do have some friends who would say it’s OK to use their address for correspondence but I don’t like to impose too much, I think I am very independent.

 

I have been living in Thailand the last few years with my Thai gf /partner and love life here in Thailand.

 

It’s a new concept to me to not have an address in the UK!  I’m trying to come to terms with it and am about half way there. Sort of a planned no fixed abode as I now know that I want to spend the rest of my life in Thailand.

 

I haven’t started my UK state pension yet. For those that think I am planning to later deceive the DWP into thinking that I am still in the UK that is not the case, when I am receiving my state pension and I move permanently to Thailand I do not have a problem in informing them. Saying that I also have no moral judgement upon those that do not as freezing UK state pensions in one country and not another I think is unfair and wrong.

 

I have tried to go totally paper free but some UK banks and also some investments still insist on sending letter post.

 

I have done quite well as over the past 5 months I received just 5 letters in the post.

I am thinking of paying for a mail forwarding company for the initial few years after selling my house.

 

I did post in this forum on a different topic and had a suggestion of  https://www.myukpost.com/

It does look good but the prices are £20 per month + £1.50 per letter handled. Assuming 10 letters per year that would be £240+£15 = £255 per year.

 

I would not want any opening of letters or scanning done. I would instruct them just to send all letters to my friend in the UK.

 

I would like to find somewhere cheaper than the above. Ideally a place that someone has used and recommends?

 

Thank you

Keith

[oliverphoenix2]

       I use Ghost Mail Limited,  GBP29 +VAT per year for a low user mail forwarding account + handling/posting fee per item. If you're forwarding to UK address it will cost much less per year than your example, even forwarding 1 item/month to Thailand will probably cost GBP150/year. I think the last debit card I had forwarded to Thailand was around GBP10, it depends on whether you want it tracked or not. They offer different subscriptions depending on your needs - google it for their website. 

 

        It will be cheaper if you have at least some stuff scanned and emailed to you. When they receive something for me (nothing so far this year) they email me and I instruct them what to do. I've been satisfied with their service over 4 years.

[Keith5588]

1 hour ago, oliverphoenix2 said:

       I use Ghost Mail Limited,  GBP29 +VAT per year for a low user mail forwarding account + handling/posting fee per item. If you're forwarding to UK address it will cost much less per year than your example, even forwarding 1 item/month to Thailand will probably cost GBP150/year. I think the last debit card I had forwarded to Thailand was around GBP10, it depends on whether you want it tracked or not. They offer different subscriptions depending on your needs - google it for their website. 

 

        It will be cheaper if you have at least some stuff scanned and emailed to you. When they receive something for me (nothing so far this year) they email me and I instruct them what to do. I've been satisfied with their service over 4 years.

Thanks @oliverphoenix2

I have had a look and see what you mean. £29 per year then £2.50 per letter.

+ a min of 2 X £1.55 (Royal Mail large letter charge) if they forward the letter

Or if they scan and email is just 15p per side of paper then 20p for disposal.

All fees + VAT

 

So assuming I have 10 letters and have them all forwarded it would be £29 + £25+ £31 = £85+VAT = £102

 

As you write it will be less if I have some scanned and emailed.

 

Thanks again, it sounds good and is helping me decide what to do.

 

[dayo202]

I been using ukpostbox.com for the past 8 years.

£12 for a UK address, plus extra for they service's 

 

[Keith5588]

10 hours ago, dayo202 said:

I been using ukpostbox.com for the past 8 years.

£12 for a UK address, plus extra for they service's 

 

Thank you  @dayo202  ukpostbox also looks good, and it helps to know that you have been using them for 8 years.

Cheers

Keith

[Keith5588]

I think I will use a mail forward company but at the moment am having difficulty fully understanding.

 

Concerning the UK address that they give you.

A “Street address” has been mentioned  or “A virtual address”.

I assume that they cannot give everyone an actual physical address, that would be totally unmanageable.

 

So what address do they give you? Some offer up to 10 different address locations. Let’s say we select Manchester. Do they give the same Manchester “Street address” to all their customers which is actually their office?

Then they sort all deliveries by the persons name?  Or maybe they give the same address to every customer but add a reference number at the end which is different for each customer.

 

Thanks for any help with this

Keith

[topt]

2 hours ago, Keith5588 said:

I think I will use a mail forward company but at the moment am having difficulty fully understanding.

 

Concerning the UK address that they give you.

A “Street address” has been mentioned  or “A virtual address”.

I assume that they cannot give everyone an actual physical address, that would be totally unmanageable.

 

So what address do they give you? Some offer up to 10 different address locations. Let’s say we select Manchester. Do they give the same Manchester “Street address” to all their customers which is actually their office?

Then they sort all deliveries by the persons name?  Or maybe they give the same address to every customer but add a reference number at the end which is different for each customer.

 

Thanks for any help with this

Keith

If you are going to have the mail forwarded to a friend in the UK why not just use Royal Mail Redirect? One price for the whole year no matter how few or many letters and you can keep it going for 4/5 years on the trot.

https://www.royalmail.com/personal/receiving-mail/redirection

 

£84 currently for 12 months

 

[Keith5588]

13 minutes ago, topt said:

If you are going to have the mail forwarded to a friend in the UK why not just use Royal Mail Redirect? One price for the whole year no matter how few or many letters and you can keep it going for 4/5 years on the trot.

https://www.royalmail.com/personal/receiving-mail/redirection

 

£84 currently for 12 months

 

Thanks @topt  I have used Royal Mail Redirect in the past but they refused to continue after about 3 years. It might be possible to do it again but there will always be a time limit of them doing it and when that happens I will have to update to a new corrospondance address at my banks etc.

I am starting to like the thought of a permanent address at a mail forwarding company as long as it does not cost too much.

As my message above I am not sure what address these companies give you, what exactly they mean by virtual address. I have just send 3 messages to 3 different mail forwarding companies to ask.

[phetphet]

If you have a friend that you can trust, that is willing to let you use their address, I would ask them.

Having a UK address to accept mail, new credit/debit cards, and so many other unexpected things is so handy.

 

Your UK bank will likely close your accounts without a UK address. So bear that in mind. In my opinion it should be avoided at all cost to prevent great inconvenience.

 

You have already stated that you would ask for your mail to be sent to a friend anyway, so don't complicate things.

 

it's good that you are planning ahead. It will give you time to iron out the kinks.

 

Just going into your the bank branch where your account is held, and changing your UK address might not require any further proof than ID and bank card, but if it is required, you would also need to ask your friend to put you on their Council Tax for a month or two so you could obtain proof of address. Obviously this would entail a couple of months payment.

 

Another thing. Also change your UK driving licence address. My one recently expired and I have no way of renewing it now here in Thailand. I wanted to keep it, as once expired, I may have to  retake a UK driving test to regain it.

[scottiejohn]

Mail Forwarding | Mail Scanning | Mail Redirection | Mail Address

I have used this company for many years and yes they do provide a full UK address.  I am even registered to vote using that address.

 

One point of warning is that you MUST set it up whilst you still have a UK address that you can prove.  They explain all this in detail!

[Keith5588]

56 minutes ago, phetphet said:

If you have a friend that you can trust, that is willing to let you use their address, I would ask them.

Having a UK address to accept mail, new credit/debit cards, and so many other unexpected things is so handy.

 

Your UK bank will likely close your accounts without a UK address. So bear that in mind. In my opinion it should be avoided at all cost to prevent great inconvenience.

 

You have already stated that you would ask for your mail to be sent to a friend anyway, so don't complicate things.

 

it's good that you are planning ahead. It will give you time to iron out the kinks.

 

Just going into your the bank branch where your account is held, and changing your UK address might not require any further proof than ID and bank card, but if it is required, you would also need to ask your friend to put you on their Council Tax for a month or two so you could obtain proof of address. Obviously this would entail a couple of months payment.

 

Another thing. Also change your UK driving licence address. My one recently expired and I have no way of renewing it now here in Thailand. I wanted to keep it, as once expired, I may have to  retake a UK driving test to regain it.

 @phetphet 

Thank you for all the good advice.

 

I do have one good friend that I can totally trust and he has already helped me in the past with receiving my letter post as he lives very close to my house.

Next year if all goes to plan I will not have a house. My friend has a large family and usually very busy, I think he would continue to help but he is also thinking of downsizing to a smaller house.  

 

I have done a lot over many years to minimise my possessions, in todays digital world you don’t need many physical items. Next year I will be opening some new bank accounts while living in my house and getting it ready to sell, these banks will have no physical branches.

 

I will have no need for UK debit or credit cards, over the last few years I have only used my credit card to buy my house insurance.

 

Thanks a lot for your comment about Driving Licence, next year I will also renew it. Last time I renewed it online I used my UK credit card but I guess a bank transfer would be OK and I do intend to have a Wise card. Now thinking about I will not be concerned if I cannot renew my UK driving licence as I don’t intend to visit the UK after my house is sold. I also now have a Thai Driving Licence. So another item I not need 😊

 

I was aware of keeping a UK address with all my UK banks, mostly why I am doing this address planning. Thanks for the comment, I might ask my friend if he would mind me entering his address at a couple of banks.

 

Concerning your UK driving licence. I renewed mine while I was in Thailand a few years ago. I did it all online I think at  www.direct.gov.uk/DrivingLicence

DVLA processed it and sent me an email. At that time I had a UK address. I had no trouble at all but there might have been some automatic checks that I passed and you may not?  It might be worth you trying if you haven’t already.

[Keith5588]

47 minutes ago, scottiejohn said:

Mail Forwarding | Mail Scanning | Mail Redirection | Mail Address

I have used this company for many years and yes they do provide a full UK address.  I am even registered to vote using that address.

 

One point of warning is that you MUST set it up whilst you still have a UK address that you can prove.  They explain all this in detail!

@scottiejohn  

Thank you so much. Thanks for the advice about doing it while I am in my house before I sell it, I might have not done that.

 

Can I ask something, you say that they provide a full UK address. My thinking is that it cannot be an individual UK address just for you and that most of their customers will have this address which is a house that they use to receive all mail, maybe also where they work.

 

For instance you give this address to your bank and then your bank sends you a letter via Royal Mail to this address. If Myukpost has 5,000 customers it cannot provide 5,000 houses?

 

I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with this setup at all. I’m just trying to understand.

 

Thanks again for the information, it has helped me.

[scottiejohn]

15 minutes ago, Keith5588 said:

@scottiejohn  

Thank you so much. Thanks for the advice about doing it while I am in my house before I sell it, I might have not done that.

 

Can I ask something, you say that they provide a full UK address. My thinking is that it cannot be an individual UK address just for you and that most of their customers will have this address which is a house that they use to receive all mail, maybe also where they work.

 

For instance you give this address to your bank and then your bank sends you a letter via Royal Mail to this address. If Myukpost has 5,000 customers it cannot provide 5,000 houses?

 

I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with this setup at all. I’m just trying to understand.

 

Thanks again for the information, it has helped me.

I do not know how they handle each account holder's address!  What I do know is that my UK banks, credit cards, mobile phone (SIM) etc are all registered at the address they have provided for me to use.  It cost £12 /month plus fees for actions they take like forwarding Cards etc!

WRT to letters etc they scan it (the first page if a big document) and you decide if they should destroy it, scan the whole thing or send the original by DHL!

 

PS;  You do not need to provide the Mail company your actual permanent address, if you have one!  Just tell them for each mail forwarding what address to use; ideal if like me your job took you all over the world at short notice!

[georgegeorgia]

1 hour ago, scottiejohn said:

Mail Forwarding | Mail Scanning | Mail Redirection | Mail Address

I have used this company for many years and yes they do provide a full UK address.  I am even registered to vote using that address.

 

One point of warning is that you MUST set it up whilst you still have a UK address that you can prove.  They explain all this in detail!

Do they provide addresses in the Loch Ness river in Scotland 

I would love to live on that river on a houseboat Scottie ,please find out for me 

[sandyf]

4 hours ago, Keith5588 said:

I think I will use a mail forward company but at the moment am having difficulty fully understanding.

 

Concerning the UK address that they give you.

A “Street address” has been mentioned  or “A virtual address”.

I assume that they cannot give everyone an actual physical address, that would be totally unmanageable.

 

So what address do they give you? Some offer up to 10 different address locations. Let’s say we select Manchester. Do they give the same Manchester “Street address” to all their customers which is actually their office?

Then they sort all deliveries by the persons name?  Or maybe they give the same address to every customer but add a reference number at the end which is different for each customer.

 

Thanks for any help with this

Keith

I also use Ukpostbox and have done so for over 12 years. I started with my son but he kept putting letters to one side and then forgetting.

I have found the service quite useful, I took BA to court while in Thailand which would be a bit difficult under any other arrangement. They initially send you a copy of the enevelope and you have the option for each item on what to do with it.

With the basic service you get an ID number which you use in conjunction with their address. If you go for the Street address you choose an address from the list, mail is then just sorted on the name.

They will also send out letters for you, upload the letter and they will envelope it and post in UK, far quicker than any other method.

It is all about considering the pros and cons and deciding what suits best. One downside, which probably applies to all the services, post that requires a signature from addressee is not accepted.

[scottiejohn]

15 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Do they provide addresses in the Loch Ness river in Scotland 

I would love to live on that river on a houseboat Scottie ,please find out for me 

I suggest you keep stupid pointless unfunny posts out of serious discussions!

BTW can I also suggest you learn the difference between a "Loch" and a "river"!

[scottiejohn]

14 minutes ago, sandyf said:

One downside, which probably applies to all the services, post that requires a signature from addressee is not accepted.

Not a problem with the company I use, although it is many years ago that it was last needed/used by me!

it may have changed since then!

[sandyf]

10 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Do they provide addresses in the Loch Ness river in Scotland 

No such river, there is Loch Ness and the River Ness, which runs between Loch Dochfour and Inverness.

 

[sandyf]

3 minutes ago, scottiejohn said:

Not a problem with the company I use, although it is many years ago that it was last needed/used by me!

it may have changed since then!

There will be variations with each. I didn't need to have a UK address when starting, I didn't pay VAT as an overseas user for several years, but think  it is now only overseas business accounts that escape the VAT.

[Virtualrecluse]

Same question, different issue. I may also lose my UK address (my sister's) next year. It's useful for showing proof to the bank of residence and other financial services but  I receive their monthly statements electronically anyway. I'm more concerned about how it would change my status vis the Inland Revenue and my claim to UK residency, tbh, esp. in view of when I have to ask for a new passport. In fact, I have permanent residency in Spain but I am not a citizen. Bit worried about not having any real claim to proper citizenship. Any advice much appreciated. 

[scottiejohn]

6 minutes ago, Virtualrecluse said:

Same question, different issue. I may also lose my UK address (my sister's) next year. It's useful for showing proof to the bank of residence and other financial services but  I receive their monthly statements electronically anyway. I'm more concerned about how it would change my status vis the Inland Revenue and my claim to UK residency, tbh, esp. in view of when I have to ask for a new passport. In fact, I have permanent residency in Spain but I am not a citizen. Bit worried about not having any real claim to proper citizenship. Any advice much appreciated. 

I cannot comment on Citizenship as such but do not believe that there is any direct connection between your postal address and citizenship!

See comments above re two UK postal companies.  I suggest you use the UK Mail Company for UK financial documentation etc,  not connected to Spain or any other country other than the UK!

 

PS;  As I have stated above you must set up a UK forwarding company account whilst you still have proof of a present UK address, i.e. Bank statement etc!

[Keith5588]

@scottiejohn

Thanks again Scottiejohn I referred to Myukpost in my opening post as I had seen you mention them before in another thread.   I have just had another look and I think they charge £20 per month and not £12, and they charge more for other work. Maybe you pay £12 as you started with them 8 years ago.

Saying that as with many things I would rather pay more if the service is better.

 

@sandyf  thanks for the extra information. You and scottiejohn have both used Myukpost for many years and you are both are satisfied with them which is good information for me.

[Nick Carter icp]

I would keep the property and rent the property out , that way you will always have somewhere to return to live in the UK

[Keith5588]

1 minute ago, Nick Carter icp said:

I would keep the property and rent the property out , that way you will always have somewhere to return to live in the UK

I think for someone younger than myself that would be good advice. I will be 72 next year, it will become more and more of an agrevation to sell it. Also I can see no financial advantage in keeping it at my age. Also it will be very unlikely that I will ever want to return to the UK but if that unlikely event happens I can rent a place to live.

[scottiejohn]

8 minutes ago, Keith5588 said:

@scottiejohn

Thanks again Scottiejohn I referred to Myukpost in my opening post as I had seen you mention them before in another thread.   I have just had another look and I think they charge £20 per month and not £12, and they charge more for other work. Maybe you pay £12 as you started with them 8 years ago.

Saying that as with many things I would rather pay more if the service is better.

 

@sandyf  thanks for the extra information. You and scottiejohn have both used Myukpost for many years and you are both are satisfied with them which is good information for me.

@sandyf is actually using a different company to the one I use and we both seem to be happy with our respective companies,

PS;  I did not know that the company I use are now charging £20/month, (have checked they are still charging me £12!) but I think I would still pay that!

 

[Keith5588]

2 minutes ago, scottiejohn said:

@sandyf is actually using a different company to the one I use and we both seem to be happy with our respective companies,

PS;  I did not know that the company I use are now charging £20/month, (have checked they are still charging me £12!) but I think I would still pay that!

 

@scottiejohn the link you posted takes me to   https://www.myukpost.com/   and I think they now charge  £20/month so you now have a good deal I think.

My mistake and appologises @sandyf stated "I also use Ukpostbox" and I thought it was the same as you. Similar name but different.  I now see that someone else mentioned Ukpostbox.   

My mistake. 

[scottiejohn]

4 minutes ago, Keith5588 said:

@scottiejohn the link you posted takes me to   https://www.myukpost.com/   and I think they now charge  £20/month so you now have a good deal I think.

My mistake and appologises @sandyf stated "I also use Ukpostbox" and I thought it was the same as you. Similar name but different.  I now see that someone else mentioned Ukpostbox.   

My mistake. 

With one exception I think it has been great to see a forum being used to provide positive and I hope helpful information!

I hope you get your situation sorted out to your satisfaction now that you have received what I believe has been some serious and accurate advice from a couple of posters!

[Keith5588]

1 hour ago, Virtualrecluse said:

Same question, different issue. I may also lose my UK address (my sister's) next year. It's useful for showing proof to the bank of residence and other financial services but  I receive their monthly statements electronically anyway. I'm more concerned about how it would change my status vis the Inland Revenue and my claim to UK residency, tbh, esp. in view of when I have to ask for a new passport. In fact, I have permanent residency in Spain but I am not a citizen. Bit worried about not having any real claim to proper citizenship. Any advice much appreciated. 

 @Virtualrecluse 

I don’t think you will have a problem applying to renew your UK passport. I renewed my UK passport a couple of years ago in Bangkok. The processing company that works for the British Embassy needed copies of all pages of my existing passport, my email address, my current address where I was living (I think) and payment. I think your passport states where you were born etc. but not your UK address …… have a look in your passport.

I’m not an expert but having a mail forwarding address would not give proof of residency, no utility bills etc. but they will only enquire about that if they have a reason to I guess.

[scottiejohn]

15 minutes ago, Keith5588 said:

 @Virtualrecluse 

I don’t think you will have a problem applying to renew your UK passport. I renewed my UK passport a couple of years ago in Bangkok. The processing company that works for the British Embassy needed copies of all pages of my existing passport, my email address, my current address where I was living (I think) and payment. I think your passport states where you were born etc. but not your UK address …… have a look in your passport.

I’m not an expert but having a mail forwarding address would not give proof of residency, no utility bills etc. but they will only enquire about that if they have a reason to I guess.

I agree!

I used a visa agency in CM and as proof of address just got BKK to print out my BKK bank statement with my CM address in English!

 

PS; this was last year!

[topt]

3 hours ago, Virtualrecluse said:

I'm more concerned about how it would change my status vis the Inland Revenue and my claim to UK residency, tbh, esp. in view of when I have to ask for a new passport.

Inland revenue is one thing, passport renewal is completely separate.

I am non resident for tax in UK and HMRC have my address here. No issue when I have renewed my passport. 

 

Resident or non resident for tax has no affect on citizenship or more accurately your domicile - although that may be changing.

 

Strictly speaking if you spend less than a certain amount of time in the UK you automatically should become non resident however I think if you don't make it clear to them(HMRC)/give them another address/complete a tax form etc then possibly unlikely they will notice.......

Not sure how the Spanish residency affects that because I believe that comes with tax implications?