Does "all" Falong Mail Get Stolen"

[IanForbes]

I can't remember the last time I posted something to Thailand from out of country that it actually arrived. If I mail something WITHIN Thailand it seldom makes it to its destination if it isn't registered. Or, even when it "IS" registered it seldom makes it to the destination if the writing is in English. Only a simple letter in a semi-transparent envelope has any chance of reaching its destination.

Getting someone to translate English to Thai and print it in Thai also seems to be a near impossibility.

Over 2 weeks ago I mailed a simple parcel (CD disk of photos) from the post office in Chiang Mai to a destination in Udon Thani. It STILL hasn't arrived. I guess it was just stolen by someone in the mail service who THOUGHT there might be something worthwhile in the package. It's really a shame when the national mail can't be trusted to deliver a small package or envelope printed in English.

[jdinasia]

I have never lost a thing in the mail here. (I have gotten a few things rather slower than I expected to though)

[pumpuiman]

Here is a link to a poll conducted here on this subject.

The results are disturbing to say the least.

[stuandchris]

I have found the mail system to be honest here imo, however it is a race to see who gets it out the mailbox first, leave it for more than an hour it is gone.

[robblok]

I think that outside the tourist area's it arives a lot more. I have never lost a parcel in all the time i have been here. My parents send me stuff with an english adress and it always gets through.

[dave2]

ianforbes .

im still waiting for 2 bog standard xmas cards ( not worth stealing ) that were posted from the uk in november 08

but my registered mail ( has to be signd for replacement crediit / debit cards from the uk have always arrived ok in the 4 years ive been here )

regards ....... dave2

[mojaco]

I lived 6 years in an apartment in Bangkok and now 9 years in a tiny village 15 miles outside of the northern city of Chiang Rai. In all of those years I have never had mail to me go missing, even though the great majority of it was with English address and from the USA to me. I also have never had mail from me to the USA go missing except once . . . and that was lost by Customs in the USA! Perhaps I have just lived in locations where the local folks in the apartment complex and now in the tiny village don't steal.

[bangkokboro]

ianforbes .

im still waiting for 2 bog standard xmas cards ( not worth stealing ) that were posted from the uk in november 08

but my registered mail ( has to be signd for replacement crediit / debit cards from the uk have always arrived ok in the 4 years ive been here )

regards ....... dave2

Must have been some surprise money in there? Not any more.

[IanForbes]

I'm glad to hear there have been SOME positive results for people. Maybe I just hit the unlucky days or the few bad guys in the system.

I know I once mailed a simple letter in Sakhon Nakhon and it got to its country destination on the same afternoon I mailed it. I was truly amazed at the time and it beat our home mail in Canada by a mile... or should I say a "week". But, it was addressed and written in Thai. Any time I've mailed small amounts of money in an envelope it's never made its destination. I was later told that they have scanners that can pick up when paper money is in an envelope.

[qualtrough]

Sorry to hear about your problems. 16+ years here, never had a problem in either direction. My business depends on the mail. Perhaps your handwriting needs work?

[daxbr]

Same here. Never lost a letter. All goes to PO Box.

[redscouse]

all my christmas and birthday cards arrive from the UK, but they have always been ripped open, this is for the past 3 years and without exception

[scottyd]

All mail sent successfully.

[JetsetBkk]

...Getting someone to translate English to Thai and print it in Thai also seems to be a near impossibility...

So you don't know anyone who can write an address in Thai for you?

[mellow1]

Google translation now does Thai, and vice versa I presume.

[dave2]

bangkokboro

Must have been some surprise money in there? Not any more.

nahhh ... the man who sent them is scotish so NO chance of any money being in there : )

dave2

[Jungian]

I mail photo DVD's to the USA and Canada for my family all the time as well as sending gifts and receiving gifts and haven't had a problem ever (in the past 6 years).

[Nowhereman60]

In the four years I lived here I have never had anything I sent or anything send to me lost. Knock on wood.

[PeaceBlondie]

In the recent survey here, quoted by Pumpuiman above, over half of all respondents said they never had a problem, or had problems with undelivered mail less than ten percent of the time.

When I first moved to a new place, the mail carriers did not know me. My condo was weird- everybody's mail was stacked on the front counter and rummaged through. But even there, I got almost everything.

[t.s]

I can't remember the last time I posted something to Thailand from out of country that it actually arrived. If I mail something WITHIN Thailand it seldom makes it to its destination if it isn't registered. Or, even when it "IS" registered it seldom makes it to the destination if the writing is in English. Only a simple letter in a semi-transparent envelope has any chance of reaching its destination.

Getting someone to translate English to Thai and print it in Thai also seems to be a near impossibility.

Over 2 weeks ago I mailed a simple parcel (CD disk of photos) from the post office in Chiang Mai to a destination in Udon Thani. It STILL hasn't arrived. I guess it was just stolen by someone in the mail service who THOUGHT there might be something worthwhile in the package. It's really a shame when the national mail can't be trusted to deliver a small package or envelope printed in English.

if you spell your destinations like you spell falong, it is no wonder your mail doesn't get there.

I have never lost a piece of mail, either sent nor to recieve.

but then i use ems.

i would also like to say that we have a family freind in canada who sends my daughter litte "gift" cards 3 or 45 times a year with 50-100 USD or CAD in the envelope. these make it every time

Edited February 26, 2009 by t.s

[nookiebear]

Anything I post from LOS to UK always arrives..........UK to LOS 50%.............

[flightcrew1]

8 plus years living here, I get numerous packages sent from the US and Europe. I've sent stuff out as well! As far as I know nothing has ever gone missing.

[Beacher]

Interesting that some people seem to have no problems and others always have problems getting the mail that was sent to them.

Unfortunately, I am one of those who has NEVER received anything that was send containing valuable or official documents.

Of course, my family, friends, and I have given up trying deal with the postal crooks.

[William Osborne]

no such problems in pattaya ! I even received a letter last week even though the sender forgot to put part of the address on it (the moo number)

I would suspect most missing mail is down the sender putting some illegable scawl for an address. USE BLOCK CAPITALS

[JUDAS]

It reached the point a long time ago were my family just will not send anything to me by post, never arrives.

[dave111223]

I send packages every week for my business and 100% arrive (to UK, US, Aus etc..).

For packages coming in to Thailand i'd say about 80% success rate. Far less reliable than outbound.

[keestha]

Recently I received a laptop mailed from Europe. Never had a problem, except for once when 2 dictionaries mailed from Europe took a long time to arrive, because they had to pass through customs. That was back in 1992 though.

Speed of delivery depends on your local postman/postwoman/postkatoey. It changes frequently who is delivering the mail. When I have to wait too long for mail I am expecting, I go to the post office responsible for my area, and enquire. Usually they tell me then my mail is already with the person responsible for delivery, who might wait till there are a few items to deliver before making the trip to my doorstep.

If things would go missing more than once, I would request the post office to hold my mail, so that I could come and pick it up myself.

Edited February 26, 2009 by keestha

[SweatySock]

I lived in a small village up in the North East for 5 years and my mail arrived 100% complete. Moved to another village approx 30 kms away and so far it is 95% missing. The only mail I receive accurately is if it has been registered beforehand. So I guess it depends on how crooked the local post office/sorters or postman is............

[LennyW]

Never had a problem in 7 years +, strangely enough birthday cards from UK seem to arrive in only 3 or 4 days!!!

[IMA_FARANG]

I can't remember the last time I posted something to Thailand from out of country that it actually arrived. If I mail something WITHIN Thailand it seldom makes it to its destination if it isn't registered. Or, even when it "IS" registered it seldom makes it to the destination if the writing is in English. Only a simple letter in a semi-transparent envelope has any chance of reaching its destination.

Getting someone to translate English to Thai and print it in Thai also seems to be a near impossibility.

Over 2 weeks ago I mailed a simple parcel (CD disk of photos) from the post office in Chiang Mai to a destination in Udon Thani. It STILL hasn't arrived. I guess it was just stolen by someone in the mail service who THOUGHT there might be something worthwhile in the package. It's really a shame when the national mail can't be trusted to deliver a small package or envelope printed in English.

I learned this trick a couple years back. I took an envelope delivered to ny Thai girlfriend's address. I scanned her address in Thai from the envelope into my computer. I printed several sheets of just that address as a label. Now when I want to send her a letter, I just paste her address to the envelope. It gets to her every time as the address is in Thai.

It doesn't help with the stealing however. It also puzzles the h_ll out of the U.S. postal people, so I also put an English address on the envelope for them to read, with the Thai address tag either to the side or just below. The U.S. postal service reads the English, and starts it on it's journey. When it gets to Thailand the Thai postal service reads the Thai tag. But I'm only sending it to BKK, not sure if it would work up-country or not.

A lot of the Thai mail carriers can't really read or understand English characters, so mail with an English address may just be "non-delivered" if they can't understand the English address. Why don't they just say."I can't read the address"? Same story, losing "face".