Any Expats Use A Mail Forwarding Service?

[Hal65]

Hi,

I need to continue to receive mail to a USA address (for business purposes), and am thinking of using a mail forwarding service like USA Box, Skybox, or Access USA to deliver my mail to Thailand once or twice per month.

Does anyone have experience with an international mail forwarding service? Was mail receipt time and reliability tolerable?

Edited November 29, 2010 by Delta223

[Loz]

One guy I heard had a pretty successful mail scheme...

although it had a strong "do it yourself" aspect it proved very popular... for a while

[andyc2006]

I was in BKK for 2 years and had mail forwarded the entire time, twice/month.

Note that I've had a box with UPS in the States for years (even before moving to Thailand), and have always used that for my primary mailing address, and I've always had UPS forward my mail to wherever I was at the time.

So anyway, they'd forward my mail from the USA each month on the 1st and 15th, and it'd typically arrive at my BKK condo ~8th and ~22th. There was 1 time (only) -- I think August 2009, when they sent it and it was nearly 2 months later before I received that 1 mailing (the ones sent after it arrived before it).

Not much to the whole thing really... I guess shopping around for rates if you don't already have a service (but I already did).

[Smokin Joe]

I use Mail Link in Las Vegas. They have been very reliable. They e-mail you everytime a new piece of mail is received with the return address listed (ex. sm envelope - JKG corp). At your request they will even open and scan and e-mail you the contents of any letter that may be time critical for you.

[phetaroi]

I used USA2ME and was totally satisfied with their service.

[Loz]

I use Mail Link in Las Vegas. They have been very reliable. They e-mail you everytime a new piece of mail is received with the return address listed (ex. sm envelope - JKG corp). At your request they will even open and scan and e-mail you the contents of any letter that may be time critical for you.

No that is what I call GOOD service!

I wonder if they could bank checks for you too. Bet they probably feed the dog and clean the goldfish bowl too.

All joking apart, that rocks!

[craigt3365]

I use Mail Link in Las Vegas. They have been very reliable. They e-mail you everytime a new piece of mail is received with the return address listed (ex. sm envelope - JKG corp). At your request they will even open and scan and e-mail you the contents of any letter that may be time critical for you.

No that is what I call GOOD service!

I wonder if they could bank checks for you too. Bet they probably feed the dog and clean the goldfish bowl too.

All joking apart, that rocks!

My friends have been using that service also and they love it. Only have something mailed if necessary....otherwise a scan via email works great.

[Jingthing]

Are these specific service addresses accepted by US banks, credit card companies, etc. as actual legal residential addresses?

[Valjean]

Check out Earth Class Mail. Great service. Most of my mail they scan and I have them shred. All online web service.

http://earthclassmail.com/

[Hal65]

Check out Earth Class Mail. Great service. Most of my mail they scan and I have them shred. All online web service.

http://earthclassmail.com/

They look quite impressive, thanks for the tip. Do you find them costly for all the scans you have them do?

[Langsuan Man]

I agree with Smokin Joe Mail Link is great, they can also set up you up for official "residence" in Nevada ( a non state income tax state)

Their url address is:

http://www.maillinkplus.com/

[phetaroi]

Are these specific service addresses accepted by US banks, credit card companies, etc. as actual legal residential addresses?

There's not one answer to that question. One of my major international banks said, "We don't care." Another major international bank said, "Sorry, we can't help you." My American credit cards (Amex, MC, VISA) all just let me change my account address to the Thailand address...no problems at all, so it wasn't a matter of address at all.

[Hal65]

Are these specific service addresses accepted by US banks, credit card companies, etc. as actual legal residential addresses?

There's not one answer to that question. One of my major international banks said, "We don't care." Another major international bank said, "Sorry, we can't help you." My American credit cards (Amex, MC, VISA) all just let me change my account address to the Thailand address...no problems at all, so it wasn't a matter of address at all.

In general you can get away with addresses that don't clue people into it being a box in a mail facility. The worst are PO Boxes, but anything like UPS Store, Mailbox 5, Box 5, etc is bad.

[Jingthing]

Are these specific service addresses accepted by US banks, credit card companies, etc. as actual legal residential addresses?

There's not one answer to that question. One of my major international banks said, "We don't care." Another major international bank said, "Sorry, we can't help you." My American credit cards (Amex, MC, VISA) all just let me change my account address to the Thailand address...no problems at all, so it wasn't a matter of address at all.

Thanks for that. Did the rejecting bank say no upon an attempt to OPEN the account or an attempt to change the address?

I can report on one bank that will be near impossible to open without super legit US residency -- CITIBANK.

Edited November 30, 2010 by Jingthing

[RJfromUSA]

i had UPS mail forwarding service for 4 years...usa to my address in bangkok

the service was excellent but the cost was too expensive for me

i closed the account and now have direct mailing to my thailand address and let irs or banks or whomever pay the postage

its usually 10 days mailing time no matter who sends it UPS or private

i use internet to eliminate communication being sent from usa by mail for both business and private

it took me 4 years to figure this out....a little slow dont u think?

CHEERS!!!

POW!!

[craigt3365]

i had UPS mail forwarding service for 4 years...usa to my address in bangkok

the service was excellent but the cost was too expensive for me

i closed the account and now have direct mailing to my thailand address and let irs or banks or whomever pay the postage

its usually 10 days mailing time no matter who sends it UPS or private

i use internet to eliminate communication being sent from usa by mail for both business and private

it took me 4 years to figure this out....a little slow dont u think?

CHEERS!!!

POW!!

Wow...great advise. Have you ever had problems with letters not being delivered? Especially with the IRS? I have a friend here who did not get the IRS notice in time and after weeks of arguing, ended up paying a hefty penalty due to a minor mistake he made. Makes me nervous.

[RJfromUSA]

i had UPS mail forwarding service for 4 years...usa to my address in bangkok

the service was excellent but the cost was too expensive for me

i closed the account and now have direct mailing to my thailand address and let irs or banks or whomever pay the postage

its usually 10 days mailing time no matter who sends it UPS or private

i use internet to eliminate communication being sent from usa by mail for both business and private

it took me 4 years to figure this out....a little slow dont u think?

CHEERS!!!

POW!!

Wow...great advise. Have you ever had problems with letters not being delivered? Especially with the IRS? I have a friend here who did not get the IRS notice in time and after weeks of arguing, ended up paying a hefty penalty due to a minor mistake he made. Makes me nervous.

NO...never had a problem with irs or any other

but it does take 10-13 days to get mail from usa no matter who sends it

GOOD LUCK!!

[Langsuan Man]

In general you can get away with addresses that don't clue people into it being a box in a mail facility. The worst are PO Boxes, but anything like UPS Store, Mailbox 5, Box 5, etc is bad.

That is the advantage of Mail Link mentioned earlier your address is:

Your Name

848 N. Rainbow Blvd. #????

Las Vegas , NV 89107

[craigt3365]

In general you can get away with addresses that don't clue people into it being a box in a mail facility. The worst are PO Boxes, but anything like UPS Store, Mailbox 5, Box 5, etc is bad.

That is the advantage of Mail Link mentioned earlier your address is:

Your Name

848 N. Rainbow Blvd. #????

Las Vegas , NV 89107

I know just about where that is! Nice thing about a Nevada address is NO state taxes! :D

[phetaroi]

Are these specific service addresses accepted by US banks, credit card companies, etc. as actual legal residential addresses?

There's not one answer to that question. One of my major international banks said, "We don't care." Another major international bank said, "Sorry, we can't help you." My American credit cards (Amex, MC, VISA) all just let me change my account address to the Thailand address...no problems at all, so it wasn't a matter of address at all.

Thanks for that. Did the rejecting bank say no upon an attempt to OPEN the account or an attempt to change the address?

I can report on one bank that will be near impossible to open without super legit US residency -- CITIBANK.

The rejecting bank was -- to my surprise, but not yours -- Citibank. They insisted I have a physical address in the country, and NOT one of these mail service addresses, and I did have an account and credit card with them...although oddly enough, they had no problem with continuing the credit card with them...only with having a bank account with them without a real address int he U.S. I will say something else about the situation with Citibank -- they claim to have the best international services...not true from my perspective...I went with a checklist I had made after talking with HSBC, and Citibank was deficient in a number of categories. And just in case someone is going to jump in and say it was probably just a small branch that didn't really know international banking...nope, the one recommended for international transactions on Pennsylvania Avenue, less than a dozen blocks from the White House.

[phetaroi]

i had UPS mail forwarding service for 4 years...usa to my address in bangkok

the service was excellent but the cost was too expensive for me

i closed the account and now have direct mailing to my thailand address and let irs or banks or whomever pay the postage

its usually 10 days mailing time no matter who sends it UPS or private

i use internet to eliminate communication being sent from usa by mail for both business and private

it took me 4 years to figure this out....a little slow dont u think?

CHEERS!!!

POW!!

With USA2ME it was 4-6 days max in my case. But you're right...the services are not cheap (why would they be).

[phetaroi]

In general you can get away with addresses that don't clue people into it being a box in a mail facility. The worst are PO Boxes, but anything like UPS Store, Mailbox 5, Box 5, etc is bad.

I don't agree, although perhaps it just depends on how saavy the bank is. Citibank told me they pick up virtually all such addresses within a few months because it's no secret where each company bases their activities. Which makes sense to me.