Thailand's postal service - what do they do with my mail?

[BV70]

Having lived and worked in Thailand for the last 3 years I've sent a number of birthday cards, Xmas cards, etc to the UK via Thailand's postal service. That is, I've paid for a stamp and confirmed the cost will cover postage to the UK over the counter, paid, observed the stamps being stuck on the envelope along the with airmail sticker and left my mail with the service staff to do the rest. For smaller items such as cards I've refused the tracking service which bumps the cost up from around 50b to 2000b. Who could lose a card in the mail I thought?

Well of all the mail I've sent, a grand total of 2 birthday cards have arrived at their destination. None of my Xmas cards arrived, I'd say approximately 8 birthday cards similarly have not reached the UK. The final straw was last week when I discovered my electoral registration form (in printed addressed envelope) had not arrived after 6 weeks. I've tried 3 different post offices to eliminate the possibility of one office mishandling mail. It's made no difference.

What's going on here? Have I been unlucky? Is the international mail service a waste of time? I understand I could and maybe should have paid for a tracking service for more important items but, for a simple birthday card...

On the flip side, mail from the UK to my home address in Thailand tends to arrive in one week. I've never had a lost item coming from the UK, only when attempting to mail something out of Thailand. I can't believe there's the possibility of a postage scam for a few baht savings.

Have others had a similar experience using the postal service out of Bangkok or can offer any advice?

Thanks in advance...

[HLover]

No, just paid for the tracking and all my posts arrived and received thus far.

[CharlieH]

Ask for "registered airmail" (lon tabien) its not a lot more, dont know where you get 2000 baht from unless it was a really heavy item. You can then track it too.

A card or letter etc would be around 80 baht total.

http://www.thailandpost.com/index.php?page=index&language=en

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Yes, you are unlucky or don't know how to write a simple address. I have sent parcels and wedding invitations to Canada and every single item arrived. On the other hand when I ship things via tracked mail from USA and Canada to UK, a lot of it goes missing.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Also as Charlie says registered mail is extra 65 baht.

[Dmaxdan]

Are you writing 'UK' on the address? Somebody once told me that UK is the code for the Ukraine. I'm not sure how true this is but that might be where your mail is going. I normally write United Kingdom in full on any mail I send.

[CharlieH]

Are you writing 'UK' on the address? Somebody once told me that UK is the code for the Ukraine. I'm not sure how true this is but that might be where your mail is going. I normally write United Kingdom in full on any mail I send.

Thats interesting, as my Posts Office didnt know what the "United Kingdom" was and asked for UK, but ideally Great Britain as thats what they use in their system.

If you look on the Thai Post website, in their list of countries its "Great Britain".

[KhunBENQ]

German post says:

• Last line
• Never use shortcuts ("USA" might be an exception)
• Use capital letters (which I always do for all parts of an address).

Thais working in an office have a keyboard in front of them: have a look what you see there day by day?

If Thai post says Great Britain I would write in the last line:

GREAT BRITAIN

For immigration you are simply "BRITISH".

German post says "UNITED KINGDOM"

Edited March 4, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[seajae]

birthday cards are known to contain money etc so they do go missing, a local thai postal worker informed me to have this type of letter sent registered as it stops the workers "losing" it. Same coming into to Thailand, she said that many postal workers are known to "lose" anything of value if they are able to determine what is inside the envelope(especially replacement visa cards etc), these need to be in plain packaging and preferably sent registered as well.

[bill1369]

Actually I think very good postal service. I get all my bills on time. I send Immigration a 90-day rpt qrtly and always get my return mail.

If you are screwed on a letter or 2, well.... It's a well functioned org that's bound to loose a few now and then.

(Not to mention your're probably not writing Thai script on addressee envelope. The PO I go to nobody speaks English)

[alant]

Yes, you are unlucky or don't know how to write a simple address. I have sent parcels and wedding invitations to Canada and every single item arrived. On the other hand when I ship things via tracked mail from USA and Canada to UK, a lot of it goes missing.

what a nice comment;

"or don't know how to write a simple address"

My experience, cards, xmas or birthdays sent TO me usually don't arrive. Sometimes plastic cards that resemble credit cards (like loyalty cards) have had envelopes cut but allowed to continue when it is found that it contains nothing of value.

[jacko45k]

Three years, give it chance.

[soalbundy]

I get just the opposite, everything i send to the UK or Germany gets there but letters, usually the most important ones go missing. My bank in Germany tried three times to send me a new ATM card, in the end after 3 months of receiving nothing they all arrived on the same day, the difference in the postal dates was 9 weeks from the first to the last. A birthday card from my German bank arrived after 7 days, my confirmation of my pension increase from Germany ( needed for my pension confirmation letter from the German embassy) never arrived. I get really anxious now about getting much needed official letters from Europe.

[Kabula]

I've never had a problem with Thai mail, in 9 years, even recently. I always pay a little extra for registered with tracking. The tracking here is better than in America!

Edited March 5, 2016 by Kabula

[Eneukman]

I now send e-cards rather than actual birthday or Christmas cards. When I did send actual cards, I didn't seal the envelope (laziness on my part) but presumably anyone who looked in the envelope would see there was no money and could put in the card back into the envelope with no-one being any the wiser.

I had to send a bulky letter to the UK earlier this week and even sending it registered airmail only cost me 181 baht. The tracking service works well; I had to use it a couple of days ago to tell my bank in the Isle of Man that a letter they had denied receiving was actually received by them on 24th February - 7 days after posting it!

Alan

[William C F Pierce]

You could try using Google translate to convert the address into Thai alongside the English form of address. Or just add GREAT BRITAIN in Thai. It should not take much effort in learning how to copy this from Google Translate. I do this it is not a problem.

you

Edited March 5, 2016 by metisdead
Bold font removed.

[Farang99]

I have had no problem with sending mail. Receiving, however, has been a different story. Over the last 3 months at least 2 packets have never arrived, and innumerable cards and letters. I wonder, does the sorting office lose them, or can the delivery man choose what to deliver and what to scrap or keep?

[JAG]

I recently had cause to send some ID documents (Notarised copy of my passport and a Thai bank statement) to a company in the UK. I used registered mail. It was reported on the Thailand Post website as having been exported from Thailand by air, but was never logged in by the Royal Mail in the UK.

That's not the first time it has happened. An acquaintance in the UK, who works for Royal Mail, suggested that the problem was probably at Heathrow. (aka Thiefrow). The mail handling system there is he tells me largely reliant on temporary agency staff, over whom the Royal Mail seems to have no control.

I tried to follow it up with Royal mail. For an organisation which exists to facilitate communication, they are particularly lousy at communicating!

If you use EMS (as I did with the replacements)it is expensive (ThB1300), takes 4 days and is tracked every step of the way. Parcel Force handle it in the UK.

Mind you it didn't stop the idiots at Lloyds sending the replies by ordinary second class mail - 6 weeks for delivery, demanding a response within 14 days of the date of dispatch!

Dont even mention the fun and games trying to deal with them by telephone. They won't use email - it's "not secure".

[sawadee1947]

oh, first they have to read your cards. And that will take time...you know...handwriting, translation aso....then they will decide if it is important......and if you are lucky they will give it to the airport for posting......if it doesn't arrive.....it was unimportant.

Send mails. At the moment we have no single gateway......

[roiethome]

I use Moonpig site to send cards and presents to my family in UK.

Not very expensive, posted from Jersey and always delivered on the correct date.

[little mary sunshine]

Used the mail service for the last 5 years, never a problem...lucky I guess

Edited March 5, 2016 by little mary sunshine

[gandalf12]

I am still waiting for a letter to be delivered to the UK that I posted in Saudi......................in 1977

[condobrit001]

When sending greetings cards, I now forget Thai mail and send all of my cards via Moonpig.com. The cards are cheaper than buying here, include first class postage, are customizable and are delivered to the UK and most other countries within two working days! Check out their site.

I suspect Thai postal workers recognize that greetings cards may often contain the odd 10 pound or 10 dollar notes which may cause them to go "astray".

[Searat7]

Since last Fall I noticed that my mail sent to USA is taking 2-3 weeks which is much longer than it was in the past. Fortunately have not lost any mail lately. My mail from USA reaches me in Bangkok in 6 or 7 days.

[ThaiFelix]

Are you writing 'UK' on the address? Somebody once told me that UK is the code for the Ukraine. I'm not sure how true this is but that might be where your mail is going. I normally write United Kingdom in full on any mail I send.

Thats interesting, as my Posts Office didnt know what the "United Kingdom" was and asked for UK, but ideally Great Britain as thats what they use in their system.

If you look on the Thai Post website, in their list of countries its "Great Britain".

Shouldnt matter, the post code is the important bit of info.

[ThaiFelix]

I have lived here for 136 years, had stuff posted to and from Bangkok, Hong Kong, US, UK, Australia, the moon etc etc but never ever had a problem...but I always insist on signed delivery.....its peanuts extra to pay. A friend who sends me stuff sometimes from Bangkok has had a couple of small parcels vanish but only when the old git forgets to ask for signed delivery.

[JAG]

I have lived here for 136 years, had stuff posted to and from Bangkok, Hong Kong, US, UK, Australia, the moon etc etc but never ever had a problem...but I always insist on signed delivery.....its peanuts extra to pay. A friend who sends me stuff sometimes from Bangkok has had a couple of small parcels vanish but only when the old git forgets to ask for signed delivery.

136 years - blimey, how was the mail delivered when you first arrived - stage coach?

[swissbie]

Are you writing 'UK' on the address? Somebody once told me that UK is the code for the Ukraine. I'm not sure how true this is but that might be where your mail is going. I normally write United Kingdom in full on any mail I send.

Thats interesting, as my Posts Office didnt know what the "United Kingdom" was and asked for UK, but ideally Great Britain as thats what they use in their system.

If you look on the Thai Post website, in their list of countries its "Great Britain".

Shouldnt matter, the post code is the important bit of info.

It matters, as many post codes are used severel times worldwide. For UK it's usually GB, UA for the Ukraine (never UK). I never missed anything, neither letters nor parcels, from an to Thailand (within the last 30 years).

[chicowoodduck]

About half the suff sent to me from the USA arrives at my door step.....about 100 per cent of the stuff I send across the pond finds its home.....lol...:-)

[TKDfella]

I have always had problems with mail being received at a international destination. In short, letters sent by ordinary mail never reach England, America etc. If I send by registered mail, as I have for a long time now, no problem.