I've read others reported it also, anyone know why? are they stored somewhere? stolen? or just lost in transit?

Seems to happen often and particularly this time of year, they usually catch up soon in the New Year. I did send the Mrs to 'go ask' once and she went to our PO in Sawang Fah, Naklua. Mail turned up a few days after.

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

I've read others reported it also, anyone know why? are they stored somewhere? stolen? or just lost in transit?

It's six months now since an overseas letter arrived at my house. I know for a fact that my bank in Jersey sends me a statement every month, but only half of them ever arrive and, when they do, it's always three or four together with an elastic band around them. I also know that several people have sent me Christmas cards as they told me so, but nothing has arrived yet.

15 minutes ago, Guderian said:

It's six months now since an overseas letter arrived at my house. I know for a fact that my bank in Jersey sends me a statement every month, but only half of them ever arrive and, when they do, it's always three or four together with an elastic band around them. I also know that several people have sent me Christmas cards as they told me so, but nothing has arrived yet.

Christmas cards. How quaint.

When I lived in Sri Racha, I came to learn that post would remain in that huge sorting centre opposite the Transport Department on the spur of the 7 motorway for months at a time.

This led me to asking posters to register anything important. Sadly, this is of course expensive.

I usually blame it on the postmen who whizz around on their motorcycles coupled with their inability to read English.

Sometimes, not only English, but Thai! Eg: Thanks to the Thai man who lives three soi's away and had the good heart to deliver my wrongly mailed internet bill! 🙄

I had a similar issue last year after a new mailman started, where we were receiving letters addressed in Thai, but not those in English. My wife went to the local post office at the time they were distributing the mail to the mailmen and sorted out with the mailman and postmaster that any mail in English with our house and village numbers on it should be delivered to us. The Amphur, village and house are all easily identified by number / postcode, but the Tambon isn't, and it was the latter that was causing the problem. I don't know why they can't start numbering them too. Since then I've received all mail that I was expecting. I figure the chances of another foreigner living in exactly the same house-village number combination in a different Tambon are fairly low, and haven't received anything addressed to someone else. If I did, I'd drop it back at the post office.

I actually think they do a pretty good job over all though. On one occasion I received an important letter from the Australian Tax Office, which was addressed:

Name

House number

Province

Thailand

To make matters worse, the Australian postal system sent it to Taiwan (as indicated by markings on the envelope), and they forwarded it to Bangkok, who must have sent it to the right province. From there it's a mystery to me how they figured out who to deliver it to, but they managed it. (Albeit three months late, but that was due purely to the Australian end).

The last piece of mail from the UK I received arrived was last March, and that was a Christmas card posted in 2024. I do not usually receive much mail, a letter every month or so, but have had nothing for the last 9 months!

I am supposed to receive a newsletter from the Armed Forces Pension provider every three months or so but they have stopped.

Part of the problem is that any mail sent from official sources in the UK is second class, and is despatched on what appears to be the proverbial "slow boat to China". Someone posted that conventional mail was "quaint" but as most government agencies refuse to use email - apparently it is "not secure" we are stuck with a hopeless system.

Interestingly my pension update letter from April 2004, sent by "secure" second class mail had been opened at the International Mail Centre in Bangkok, and the amount I receive monthly and the annual total were written on the envelope in Thai script (I can read Thai numbers). I reported it by email, and was told I must do so in writing - it is like trying to swim in Marmite!

I used to blame it all on my country of origin. However, the Thai post, which once upon a time was OUTSTANDING, is no longer so. Where does it go? No idea. I do make & send multiple copies of important mail, such as the US pension SSA-7162 R U Alive form. That because of past experience.

I have had important, very important, mail sent by courier to Thailand also.

1 hour ago, Dcheech said:

I used to blame it all on my country of origin. However, the Thai post, which once upon a time was OUTSTANDING, is no longer so. Where does it go? No idea. I do make & send multiple copies of important mail, such as the US pension SSA-7162 R U Alive form. That because of past experience.

I have had important, very important, mail sent by courier to Thailand also.

Agree, it is not only overseas mail that goes astray.

I get the monthly bill for my TrueVisions account very occasionally, sometimes I will get 4 or 5 bills held together with a rubber band, often I never get them.

I don’t live off the beaten track or have a particularly confusing address, I put it down to incompetence or laziness !

Thai post has really deteriorated (both ways) in the decades I’ve been coming here. Letters and cards used to arrive in a fairly timely fashion, not that I do cards any more. Have found sending anything overseas from here (even a letter) is exorbitant, unreliable and SLOW! Can’t understand how Thai post got so poor.

I would tell families to stop sending cards here (that is so 20th century anyway) and if you must send home, do it online with a locally based firm like Card Factory and order online. Also, instruct official sources to go digital only.

10 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

I put it down to incompetence or laziness !

The two driving forces for every company/business in Thailand.

23 minutes ago, daveAustin said:

Thai post has really deteriorated (both ways) in the decades I’ve been coming here.

I believe Oz Post has a bad reputation too. I received a Christmas card from Adelaide late June last year. Obviously this years not seen yet!!!

A few years ago I did a bit of digging around - it was then the case (it may have changed since) that non "special mail" from the UK, for destinations in "this part of the world" was taken by trucks to Schipol. When there was enough mail there to fill a air container it was flown to Sri Lanka. There it was sorted to its destination countries, and flown on (when they had a container full). Some inherent delays there! Add in the inevitable palaver at the Bangkok International Mail centre, the need obviously for further sorting, trucking through Thailand and the inadequacy of final sorting and the local delivery service then you have some explanation. Thailand Post, I suspect, are really only interested in parcel and package delivery where they compete with the various delivery companies. Letters to foreigners gather dust on shelves in sorting offices until things are quiet and Postman Somchai has a bit of a clear out!

It would all be sorted if the UK (and I suspect others) could stagger into the C21 and use email, cheaper, instant and demonstrably as secure, if not more secure, than sending stuff out second class mail, especially if it needs an urgent response!

A lot of foreigners use PO boxes for mail security and better service. It's not infallible, but considering the steady decline of overseas mail delivery locally by Thailand Post, maybe worth investigating as an option.

13 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

A lot of foreigners use PO boxes for mail security and better service. It's not infallible, but considering the steady decline of overseas mail delivery locally by Thailand Post, maybe worth investigating as an option.

steady decline of overseas mail delivery locally by Thailand Post

NOT just overseas post, Used to have post from UK often + from Pension received nothing in past 9 years yet 100% know letter have been sent...

Saturday last EMS letter sent from Bang Na to me north west Nonthaburi Tracking said delivered 15:10 Monday, yet Postman arrived on Tuesday at 15:30

Monday this week another EMS sent from Hat Yai to me, Tracing so say said delivered 15:25 Tuesday !! many call later from sender, Postman arrived yesterday afternoon

When I didn't receive my mail, TOT bill being one of them (that I now pay for on direct debit from my bank), for nearly 2 years, I sent an email to Thai post complaining, I got 6 months mail all at once, but that was it, I still don't get my mail not even the TOT bills, my house is just 75yards of the main road, the postman is just to lazy/incompetent, I have to use my wife's shop address even for registered mail.

1 minute ago, brian69 said:

When I didn't receive my mail, TOT bill being one of them (that I now pay for on direct debit from my bank), for nearly 2 years, I sent an email to Thai post complaining, I got 6 months mail all at once, but that was it, I still don't get my mail not even the TOT bills, my house is just 75yards of the main road, the postman is just to lazy/incompetent, I have to use my wife's shop address even for registered mail.

I got my Christmas cards on 6th January, near the same every year, I have now told my relatives not to bother wasting money sending me cards, shame really.......😒

22 hours ago, Briggsy said:

This led me to asking posters to register anything important. Sadly, this is of course expensive.

One of the` pieces of official government correspondence that often arrives very late or not at all is the annual or bi-annual Proof of Life certificate for your government pension. I get a state pension from both the UK and Dutch governments so I have double trouble with this. Last year, the UK PoL certificate took 23 weeks to get here, when they cut your money off after 16 weeks without a reply. At least you can phone the UK DWP and give them a verbal PoL statement, and then download and send a copy of the certificate. Since Brexit, British pensioners are no longer allowed to communicate directly with the SVB in the Netherlands, we are forced to go via the DWP which is a recipe for endless delay. There's no chance of getting them to use a more expensive delivery system like recorded delivery, and many of us have told them to use e-mail instead but they refuse. It's ridiculous.

After passing through Inchon airport I had a little Korean cash left so I mailed it from Canada to my old lady in Thailand. Just enough to get a coffee in the airport. Never made it somebody swiped it.

4 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I believe Oz Post has a bad reputation too. I received a Christmas card from Adelaide late June last year. Obviously this years not seen yet!!!

Wrong the person sending had the foresight to send it early....it was for Xmas 2025.....LOL

3 hours ago, NanLaew said:

A lot of foreigners use PO boxes for mail security and better service. It's not infallible, but considering the steady decline of overseas mail delivery locally by Thailand Post, maybe worth investigating as an option.

You've given me an idea, maybe try Post Restante, and go pick it up at the post office.

Anybody tried Post Restante?

4 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

You've given me an idea, maybe try Post Restante, and go pick it up at the post office.

Anybody tried Post Restante?

Yep.

I used Poste Restante in Bangkok, the main post office by the river, for a few months ago. It was years ago. The Post Office has probably moved.

It worked well.

Postal theft has always been bad around Xmas time ,guys are searching for good items to bag.bernard Trink used to report about mail theft ,who knows who is doing it

On 1/8/2026 at 7:51 AM, scubascuba3 said:

I've read others reported it also, anyone know why? are they stored somewhere? stolen? or just lost in transit?

There are an unbelievable amount of letters go missing every year in the UK somewhere around a million and that's just the domestic market That's a lot of paper to store anywhere,

As they say , to lose one is unfortunate , but to lose a million is....well, ...no mean feat

My brother used to be a postman , I once asked him about this , he just gave me a knowing look..... and laughed

13 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

There are an unbelievable amount of letters go missing every year in the UK somewhere around a million and that's just the domestic market That's a lot of paper to store anywhere,

As they say , to lose one is unfortunate , but to lose a million is....well, ...no mean feat

My brother used to be a postman , I once asked him about this , he just gave me a knowing look..... and laughed

15 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

There are an unbelievable amount of letters go missing every year in the UK somewhere around a million and that's just the domestic market That's a lot of paper to store anywhere,

As they say , to lose one is unfortunate , but to lose a million is....well, ...no mean feat

My brother used to be a postman , I once asked him about this , he just gave me a knowing look..... and laughed

I have my mail send from the UK tracking and signed for.

Fingers crossed 🤞 every letter arrived with in 7 day's.

1 hour ago, tjintx said:

Everyone loves a Kramer 👍

Thankfully, my condo mailbox rarely gets any regular mail (all bills; TOT, 3BB, MEA, AIS and Juristic are email/app only - I have reminders for the dates and pay all online, on same date before overdue). From within Thailand all arrives OK such as vehicle insurance documents. IF anything needs to come from the UK - or if I send anything to the UK, it is either EMS or Special Delivery. Nothing lost since using this system.

16 hours ago, petermik said:

Wrong the person sending had the foresight to send it early....it was for Xmas 2025.....LOL

Yes we made that joke too!