Mail retrieval when traveling

Virtually everything I have is on autopay, and my credit cards get paid automatically.  My bills are electronically delivered.  I still get a lot of mail, and I do not want my rural sized mail box to fill up in a week.  My eight+ water bills are paid automatically, yet I still get a paper bill I am not sure why...

I use the USPS premium mail forwarding service.  It's like $20 a week.  I get all mail, junk mail, magazines, etc.  For all household members and business mail that gets delivered to my home.  The PO just puts the mail in a box and mails the box once a week.  eBay items that are shipped come in the box if they come USPS or from China.  They can only do one address.  Maybe I could cancel it mid-vacation and start a new one, I am not sure.  It's best to not be too complicated with the USPS.

If I am gone only 30 days or less, I just use a free mail hold.  I also have USPS Informed Delivery Daily Digest which is WAY cool.

To use the USPS temp forwarding service, it would mean possibly interrupting the many items that are mailed to me that I want.  I think businesses that have "address change requested" service would get a new temporary address.  I would have to set up two people, and a bunch of businesses.  People with only one household name have it easy...

If I was going to move around a bit, I would use the premium mail service to a mail forwarder.  Then forward the important items to me where I am.

I finally sold the home place and relocated permanently, but for several years I had one bill that wouldn't do automatic, the water bill. I just sent then a check every six to eight months for mulriple months payments. They just carried the credit over.

Ernie

I have a couple of billers that don't do online billing or payment, so I have my mail service scan the bills so I can see the details online and then still online have my credit union send them a check.  All done without leaving the comfort of my keyboard. 

NY_Dutch said:

Be aware that most UPS Stores are independent franchises. The quality of service can vary from location to location.

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Great point and something to keep in mind when seeking UPS services. We've had some very negative experiences when dealing with certain UPS franchises. I think many customers just aren't aware that they're dealing with a UPS "Authorized Service Provider". When traveling we always seek out "The UPS Store" locations that come up on their search. Second choice would be major office supply stores when have UPS & FedEx services.

A PMB also stores your mail and ships it to you in one or more packages.

My reason for another post is to let you know that there are some items the US Postal Service will not forward. The only item that I am aware of at this time is a driver's license renewal. My driver's license never arrived. I arrived home in the month that it expired and when I asked at our renewal office they said that it was returned to them.

Ernie n Tara said:

I finally sold the home place and relocated permanently, but for several years I had one bill that wouldn't do automatic, the water bill. I just sent then a check every six to eight months for mulriple months payments. They just carried the credit over.

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Our water company was the same way until I called and asked. The response was "we can't set up automatic payments online but we'd be glad to set up automatic ACH payments if you send us a request by mail!"  Who would have thunk?

IMHO the secret to mail forwarding is to have no mail to forward. Everything can be done online today and the USPS has been reduced to sending junk mail. Anything I get in the mail I do not want so it goes right into the trash. Of course I have to have a mailing address but the secret is not to tell it to anyone at all. The only thing my mailbox is used for is for packages from Amazon.

Yellowboat said:

A PMB also stores your mail and ships it to you in one or more packages.

My reason for another post is to let you know that there are some items the US Postal Service will not forward. The only item that I am aware of at this time is a driver's license renewal. My driver's license never arrived. I arrived home in the month that it expired and when I asked at our renewal office they said that it was returned to them.

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I had a similar problem some years back before I permanently changed my address to my mail service. An updated debit card was returned to the issuer because it had a "Do not forward" on the envelope. My existing card had not expired yet, but when I tried to use it, I found out it had been cancelled. Fortunately, my wife's card had a different number and expiration, so we used that one for the remainder of the trip, and had mine reissued once we were back at our home address. Now that we use our mail service address permanently, all first class mail is forwarded, or more accurately, "remailed", regardless of any address restrictions.

SeilerBird said:

IMHO the secret to mail forwarding is to have no mail to forward. Everything can be done online today and the USPS has been reduced to sending junk mail. Anything I get in the mail I do not want so it goes right into the trash. Of course I have to have a mailing address but the secret is not to tell it to anyone at all. The only thing my mailbox is used for is for packages from Amazon.

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How do you receive your driver's license, vehicle registration, updated credit cards? That new Medicare card? As I said previously, we have a small number of billers that do not do online billing or payments, but my mail service gives me a workaround for that. We physically receive very little mail, but there's still a small amount that needs to be taken care of including several regular checks from places that don't do direct deposits, PayPal, etc.

NY_Dutch said:

How do you receive your driver's license, vehicle registration, updated credit cards? That new Medicare card? As I said previously, we have a small number of billers that do not do online billing or payments, but my mail service gives me a workaround for that. We physically receive very little mail, but there's still a small amount that needs to be taken care of including several regular checks from places that don't do direct deposits, PayPal, etc.

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Like I said I have to have a mailing address and I share that with the DMV and my bank. Any of the online billers that don't do online billing can easily be set up with an automatic payment from your bank.

SeilerBird said:

Like I said I have to have a mailing address and I share that with the DMV and my bank. Any of the online billers that don't do online billing can easily be set up with an automatic payment from your bank.

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How would I set up an automatic payment for bills for unknown future amounts and dates?

NY_Dutch said:

We physically receive very little mail, but there's still a small amount that needs to be taken care of including several regular checks from places that don't do direct deposits, PayPal, etc.

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Dutch:

I got one of my check issuers to scan and email me my check each month.  I print it out and sign the back of the printed copy.  I then use my phone to deposit the printed and signed check.  Works like a charm.

Joel

NY_Dutch said:

How would I set up an automatic payment for bills for unknown future amounts and dates?

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You don't need to know the amount of a bill in order to set up automatic payment.  I pay my water and electric bills through ACH drafts every month.  The amounts vary from month to month but the bill gets paid reliably.  All I did was provide routing and account information.

NY_Dutch said:

How would I set up an automatic payment for bills for unknown future amounts and dates?

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What I would do is average my bills for the last year and pay that amount monthly.

SeilerBird said:

What I would do is average my bills for the last year and pay that amount monthly.

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I don't think you're getting the whole picture, Tom. These are bills from sub-contractors that change fairly frequently, so the amounts, dates, and even who and where to pay them, can vary. An agent hires them, but I pay them... Having my mail service scan the bills so I can have my credit union/bank mail a check is about as online as I can make it.

NY_Dutch said:

I don't think you're getting the whole picture, Tom. These are bills from sub-contractors that change fairly frequently, so the amounts, dates, and even who and where to pay them, can vary. An agent hires them, but I pay them... Having my mail service scan the bills so I can have my credit union/bank mail a check is about as online as I can make it. 

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Most companies/contractors can email you an invoice.  If not, the Agent should be able to tell you the details.  Then you can pay them directly via phone, CC, bill pay, PayPal, Zelle, etc. 

With 25 rental properties, and two personal properties, I get mail from all over.  I am the property manager, not some agent.  I probably have as many or more invoices and bills going in/out as anyone, and I have no problem being away. 

I see the mail coming with USPS Informed delivery, and I know what to chase down if needed.  Certain mail from the Cities or Feds where I own property is always interesting, as there is no way to get to it without opening it.  Especially when I had a subpar tenant that always generated ordinance violation notices.

I could probably do without mail at all, except for a few items, but I do not want my box filling up and looking like the property is vacant.