Post Not Turning Up

[Rankie]

Hi All

So, It started about nine months ago. I had a parcel with some clothes inside sent over to me from the U.K. It never turned up. Nevermind, They were just some old tops I'd left at home on my previous visit.

Then, for my birthday a few months ago, I'd been sent a card. Guess what? It never turned up. However, this time the sender had recorded delivery and discovered that the card had both been received in Thailand AND signed for by the recipient. Who was this recipient? It certainly wasn't myself. I asked in my condo office. Nothing.

This stirred me, but I thought 'oh well, it's only a card...' I knew better than to bother with trying to chase it up. in essence, it was more hassle than it was worth.

Most recently (a few weeks ago), I had to get an important piece of paperwork sent over. And SURPRISE! it never turned up. It was sent on the 20th June and when the sender checked online, it said the envelope had been received in Thailand on the 27th in Chatuchak but this time not signed for (as of yet, anyway). So, it's been laying around who-knows-where for the last two weeks. I can only hope it hasn't been introduced to the bottom of a bin.

I'm wondering what the &$^# has been happening to my post. I'm aware that the service can be dodgy but in the past I'd ALWAYS received parcels and letters without problems at the same address as my current one. The sender most certainly got the address correct as it has been the same one for a very long time. The latest envelope even had my phone number on it.

Can anyone give some advice as to what I can do next? I urgently need this envelope. I reside in the Chatuchak area, if that helps at all. I'd like to know who I can contact, or better, where I can go to find answers.

Thanks

[IMA_FARANG]

Be absolutrly sure the adress is correct.

I once had an important piece of mail mot delivered.

i had the street address correct....it was 7/77 XXXX road.

But the sender typed the address as 77-7 XXXX road.

There is a 7/77 XXXX road, but no 77-7 XXXX road..

One stupid character mistake made a big difference and caused a year of problems for me from the U.S. goverment

That mistake cost me almost $7700 dollars in missed pension benefits. due to some idiot in the Social Security ofice gettinb my Thai mailing address wrong.

Edited July 10, 2016 by IMA_FARANG

[B1TcoinLife]

Be absolutrly sure the adress is correct.

I once had an important piece of mail mot delivered.

i had the street address correct....it was 7/77 XXXX road.

But the sender typed the address as 77-7 XXXX road.

There is a 7/77 XXXX road, but no 77-7 XXXX road..

One stupid character mistake made a big difference and caused a year of problems for me from the U.S. goverment

That mistake cost me almost $7700 dollars in missed pension benefits. due to some idiot in the Social Security ofice gettinb my Thai mailing address wrong.

And they didn't reimburse you?

[kevc]

We once got three months of mail turned up on the same day, seems the postwoman just kept it at her house, but the post office actually apologised.

[Rankie]

Resolved. I had assumed it was the postman/woman not doing their job. To my surprise, it was one of the workers in the office not doing their job. They had been putting my stuff in the back storage room despite there being a mail box right there and my door being a short walk away. I'd even told them I was expecting important mail.

[Crossy]

Good that you're sorted, bad that the office staff failed in their duty. Did you find the birthday card too?

Unfortunately it won't help those in condos and the like who rarely meet the postal workers, but for the rest of us, it's vital to have a good relationship with your public service employees.

You know, the postie, bin chaps, water and electric meter guys, the local cops, internet engineer, etc. etc. They invariably live fairly locally so ensure they get invited to barbecues and the like, you'll be amazed at the service quality you get

We have two "village" parties each year, one is on Christmas night (with loads of stuff for the kids), the other some random time towards the end of the rain. Yes, they eat and drink us out of house and home, but it also means the house is watched when were not in, creatures fed if we're away, friendly wave at the checkpoint, you know the sort of thing.

The cynical amongst us will of course say we're being taken advantage of, but we get invited to all sorts of village stuff. Many of these people have 3/5 of nothing but we still get invited to share their celebrations whatever they may be and the vast majority of them are enormous fun, and I get to practice my Thai with the local pretties (under the watchful eye of Wifey of course).

[Shot]

My mother in the US sends birthday cards to my kids and the cards go missing about half the time. Nothing fancy, no money inside, just a nice card for their grandma who loves them very much. My kids always look forward to the card from grandma, but they don't always show up. Address same for the past 5 year. Most recently, my oldest daughter turned 10. She asked me several times "did grandma send a card?". My mom had sent card 3 weeks ahead of my daughters birthday. Ten days after my daughter 10th birthday, I received a notice form the post office. They wanted 360Baht for import fees on the card which my mom paid 1 USD for. I paid it, so my daughter could get her birthday card form the grandma she loves much.

[Mark123456]

I'm reticent to always blame the Thai postal system when international deliveries don't turn up (of course if they were tracked and seen to arrive in this country that's a different matter). The Royal Mail in the UK advises people never to put cash inside birthday cards so it seems they are well aware of the fact that a percentage of their employees are thieves, and are unable to do anything about it.

Edited July 10, 2016 by Mark123456

[seajae]

I tell my aussie banks not to send anything in a branded envelope and always register it, I started doing this after 2 new visa cards disappeared at the thai post office and the staff told me that there are those that will take them so they can be sold. Strangely enough the envelopes containing the pin numbers were tampered with as well and it was very obvious that they had been opened and the little window lifted up then stuck back down, The banks had already cancelled the 2 cards that had gone missing and sent a new one speed post inside a large padded package with no marking other than my name & address, that made it through no problems. Thing is even in Australia there were cases of posties opening cards etc to check for money, crooks everywhere.

[meatboy]

i recently had 2 very important documents sent from bkk.by ems,i did get them,but this is the practice that is being carried out by the postmen.living on a mooban with only 50houses,we are finding mail and parcels are being left with the yam [security] and it is he who delivers to the residents. without being signed for.if mine had been stolen when the yam leaves his post it would have cost me around 20,000bht.plus.its been reported many times but like most,it falls on deaf ears.

oh yes i was at home all day.

[NE1]

Had a similar thing a while ago. We had not received mail for what I thought was 6 weeks or so.

So we enquired at the local post office , and lo and behold , nobody in our village had received anything .

The reason , the postman had jacked and they could not find a replacement .

Three days later , all the mail came at once , this was in March and some of the mail was dated from December .

Not all were bills , some were important .

I sent off a firm e-mail to the Post office complaints dept.

I received replies , then they followed it up and a postal official came to our house with apologies and a present.

What I cannot understand is, nobody else in the village had even bothered to go and complain.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

I've been using a Postal Box at our local post office. I think it helps with getting the mail as cuts out the last link in the chain. Worth the now baht 500 a year.

Mac

[NE1]

Well I went to the Post Office today to send document up North , the girl from behind the counter gave me the plain envelope to put it in , nothing special , no signature required .

I addressed it , sealed it and gave it back to her . Now she says she needs my passport to make a copy , new rules and regulations.

[wildewillie89]

If you have a friend who works at a government office just use that as your postal address. Mail sent to my house always got lost, but the Mrs work will never get lost as the post office obviously knows where it is/deems it important. 

[Maybole]

I have been living in a moban in Nonghoy, Chiangmai for 3 months. During that time only 2 pieces of mail,both addressed to my wife, from UK have been delivered. Email enquires have elicited that my bank has sent me 4 items, my pension administration 3, my brother 11 redirects. Not one has reached me. Conversations with other falang have produced the opinion that Nonghoy Delivery office will only deliver mail addressed in Thai. I want to complain but I cannot find out how. Nonghoy Post Office staff just blanked me

Edited April 18, 2017 by Maybole
Spelling correction

[NE1]

Read post No.11

 

http://www.thailandpost.com/index.php?page=form&addon=complaints&form_id=3

Edited April 18, 2017 by NE1

[CharlieH]

Safest and best way in my opinion is to get a PO Box at your local Post Office 500baht per year. Nevet lost or missed an item.

Then you dont have to worry if local staff understand the address or can find you, its right there in the office. Job done.

[malt25]

I realize this won't solve all the issues, but something I have done & works well.

I only receive mail from a few people back in home country. Family, accountant & solicitor.

The wife has written our address in Thai & I've sent this to the mail senders back in Oz. The mail addressed in Thai must be seen as important as we haven't missed any since we started doing this.

 

 

[NE1]

On 18/04/2017 at 9:24 PM, CharlieH said:

Safest and best way in my opinion is to get a PO Box at your local Post Office 500baht per year. Nevet lost or missed an item.

Then you dont have to worry if local staff understand the address or can find you, its right there in the office. Job done.

Our mail isn't sorted by streets , names etc. at the post office.

It is sorted into districts , then the local posty picks it up and takes it backs to his house.

Then when he gets time ( as he has another job ) he sorts it into road/soi/moo/ etc.

Then it gets delivered.