UPS Store says I need to open PMB in person to show them my ID??????????

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mileena

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The UPS Store says I need to open a mail forwarding PMB  in person so they can see my ID, but the other mail forwarders in South Dakota who issue PMB's say you can open the mail forwarding service remotely. Why the difference ???? Don't they all follow federal law or are UPS Store more stringent? I am not traveling to SD in January, lol. Plus if I wait until June, I get another year on my SD DL.

There are four mail forwarders in SD:

Your Best Address - Sioux Falls, SD
Dakota Post - Sioux Falls, SD
My Dakota Address - Madison, SD (suburb of Sioux Falls)
America's Mailbox - Box Elder, SD (suburb of Rapid City)

There are also about 11 UPS Stores in SD.
 
I can?t comment on mail forwarders that don?t require ID, but I currently have a UPS box and have had two others, and all required me there in person to sign and show ID. Pretty sure it?s a federal requirement
 
I can't help but I almost croaked when I saw Box Elder, SD.  When I was stationed at Ellsworth AFB near Rapid City many years ago, Box Elder was nothing more than a tiny mobile home (called them trailers in those days) park outside the gate.  Somebody there has obviously opened himself a business that pays.

Bill
 
I've come across this with UPS mail boxes; Their company policy requires that you show up in person. I can't see an issue with this if I choose to open a UPS mailbox in my local community.
 
Thanks for all the replies! I know that all the SD mail forwarders (the ones who do not actually give you a box and keys like the UPS Store does) do not require you to show up in person to open the service. You can just fax in or email the PMB forms and your ID and payment. You do have to go in person though eventually to get a DL, but not register your car/RV.
 
Setting up mail forwarding from your previous USPS address requires an official USPS form that does have applicable federal regs, so UPS may want to be sure you are you. However, you can set up mail forwarding online (USPS web site) if you have logon and a credit card, so there is no actual federal requirement that you show up in person. It's probably just the way UPS handles it. Plus, they probably want to avoid the negative publicity that could accrue if one of their PMBs got tangled up in some fraudulent scheme involving a mail drop.
 
I do not know but the laws but I do know the Mail Service I used had to see my Driver's license.  However it was a year after I opened the box they asked or it.

Can't ofere any ino beyond that.... A lot of things have changed since 2001.. Not all of them in 2001, some of them took a few years before they happned.
 
  It might be the UPS Store chain policy. I didn't have to show up to open a PMB in Florida.
 
The original question involves setting up a UPS Store forwarding account, not a simple PMB.  You can receive your mail anywhere you want - the feds don't care.  Handling someone else's US Mail, though, is subject to a lot of regulation, both USPS rules and federal laws on tampering with the mail.
 
  I opened a PMB/forwarding account with St. Brendan's Isle and I've never been to Green Cove Springs in my life. If memory serves, I downloaded a form, got it notarized and mailed it in.
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
Setting up mail forwarding from your previous USPS address requires an official USPS form that does have applicable federal regs, so UPS may want to be sure you are you. However, you can set up mail forwarding online (USPS web site) if you have logon and a credit card, so there is no actual federal requirement that you show up in person. It's probably just the way UPS handles it. Plus, they probably want to avoid the negative publicity that could accrue if one of their PMBs got tangled up in some fraudulent scheme involving a mail drop.


I respectfully disagree.

Both SD mail forwarders and the UPS Store offer mail forwarding. Both offer an "on-demand" option where you can call in to have it forwarded as much or as little as you want. USPS po boxes are not allowed on your license for SD if you are a nomad. Not sure if UPS Stores are allowed. I emailed them a day ago. Still waiting for an answer.

The additional benefit is that the UPS Store does not charge SD sales tax, whereas mail forwarders do. I called the SD Dept. of Revenue, and they said that all PMB stores must charge sales tax including the UPS Store, except USPS, per SD law. The UPS Store also gives you an actual box and keys and 24-hour access, but mail forwarders do not. But if you stop in in person at America's Mailbox in Box Elder, SD and have a silver plan or above, you get a free lunch. How's that for service?! ;-)
 
Chet18013 said:
We use www.myhomeaddressinc.com in Emery, SD. That's abut 40 miles SW of Sioux Falls. Been using them for 5 years and very happy with the service. I was able to set it all up, using email and phone.

Nice! They are the fourth least expensive of the 7 traditional mail forwarders in South Dakota. Of course, some UPS Stores are less expensive in price too. There used to be eight traditional mail forwarders in SD, but two went out of business in the last few years but one was added (Escapees in Box Elder, which forwards all your SD mail to the PMB they assign you in Texas, lol! They charge you twice for this!!!!!! But you do get two PMB's though!)
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
Equally respectfully, you misunderstood my point.  Filing a change of address form with the USPS is what requires verifiable Id.

Ok, I re-read your post. Got it!

On another note, I would say that applying for SD mail forwarding should require an in-person visit, since ID is required. There is no way for a mail forwarder/UPS Store to know that ID you send in is you, unless they have you on live video, like Skype, and can check the mailed-on ID that way and compare it with your face on live video. Or make you send in a live selfie via webcam or app, like Airbnb does.
 
UPDATE: South Dakota just emailed be about whether it is ok to use a UPS Store or USPS:

"When this exception for individual who travel full time and do not have a physical residence was created the exception included that it they would have to have a mail forwarding service.  UPS does have a mail forwarding service so you could use this but we do not allow USPS and post office boxes, even though they will forward your mail."
 
I must admit to being confused by some of this discussion. The subject line says "UPS Store says I need to open PMB  in person to show them my ID", but some of the critique interprets the first message as referring to a PMB for mail forwarding.

I suspect that UPS rules may be interpreted differently among their stores or their stores in different states. I do know that our local UPS store wouldn't open a PMB over the phone while I was out of town, forwarding or no forwarding. They needed ID presented in person, although I know the owner quite well.
 
  Note that UPS Stores are franchisees and requirements may vary. There is no federal requirement to show up in person for PMB or forwarding.
 
The Escapees mail forwarding service requires that the application forms have a notarized signature of the person making application by mail, plus photo-copies of two forms of identification, one of which must be a photo ID. The notary requirement is waived when applying in person, but they still want copies of your ID's. I expect the other RV centric mail services have similar requirements. I don't know of any mail service that would accept a phone application.
 
[quote author=johnhicks ]There is no federal requirement to show up in person for PMB or forwarding.
[/quote]

The (local) UPS store owner/franchisee said it was "company policy". I don't know where the "federal requirement" came from  ???
 

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