Good Morning Has anyone ever used the Good Sam Mail Forwarding service and if so how did it go? Thank you!!! Doris
QUOTE(standoris @ Mar 23 2009, 10:40 AM) [snapback]15585[/snapback] Good Morning Has anyone ever used the Good Sam Mail Forwarding service and if so how did it go? Thank you!!! Doris Yes, and like all the others I've tried (about six-seven of them), it was ok. This last year I decided to use the USPS Premium Forwarding Service and was very happy with it. It's a little pricey at $10 for signing up and $11.95 per week, but they never disappointed me. They also have temporary change of address which is free that you might want to look into.
QUOTE(abbygolden @ Mar 23 2009, 01:39 PM) [snapback]15589[/snapback] Yes, and like all the others I've tried (about six-seven of them), it was ok. This last year I decided to use the USPS Premium Forwarding Service and was very happy with it. It's a little pricey at $10 for signing up and $11.95 per week, but they never disappointed me. They also have temporary change of address which is free that you might want to look into. Hi Abby, Thank you for the informations. I guess the good old USPS is a maybe the best bet. Doris
We have used mail forwarding service - ok: USPS Premium Forwarding and hated it - had difficulty keeping up with our movement - sent mail to wrong place about 30% of time, only forward one day per week, expensive. Last year used a local UPS store - great service, less expensive than post office - forwarded mail on our schedule, not theirs.
Gosh....things sure can be frustrating can't they!!!!! I'm glad we do online bill paying atleast we know our bills will be paid on time. Too bad there isn't a company that gives some kind of guarantee to get mail to you at the right place on time everytime. It does sound like you had a good experience with UPS though. Thank you for replying!!!
QUOTE(joez @ Mar 23 2009, 10:12 PM) [snapback]15596[/snapback] We have used mail forwarding service - ok: USPS Premium Forwarding and hated it - had difficulty keeping up with our movement - sent mail to wrong place about 30% of time, only forward one day per week, expensive. Last year used a local UPS store - great service, less expensive than post office - forwarded mail on our schedule, not theirs. How do you get less expensive than free??? If you move frequently, USPS may not be the best way for you. If you stay at one place, any of them will be fine.
Well, I am having an issue with my local post office. I am going to Kentucky for two months (but will be done three months total, with the travel time to get there and back). They will not let me do a "2 and a half month" temporary forward, followed by a 30 day "hold." They tell me that at the end of a "Temporary" forward, you get only a 14 day "hold." I am telling them..... "TWO SEPARATE TRANSACTION." 1. Forward for 2.5 months. 2. Then, initiate a 30 day hold (separate form), and hold it until I get back from Kentucky. They are telling me I can't do that. I don't see why I can't...... other than they say, "at the end of a temporary forward, you can only do a 14 day hold" which is included in the temporary forward. JJ
I was told the same thing at the post office. They said the reason they wouldn't hold it longer than a month at a time is because they don't have room to hold that much mail. I guess I can understand that, it seems feasible.
When we lived in a large city our local post office was very strict about all their rules, and they would only hold mail for a month. Then we moved to a more rural area, and now the post office here is really nice and fudges on the rules sometimes. They even held our mail for 6 months while we were building our house. Course they weren't really "holding" it because we were going by to pick it up every 2-3 days. I guess since it wasn't piling up they could do that. Since then the longest we have been gone is 6 weeks, and they did hold it that entire time. Fortunately we also have neighbors who will get it out of the mail box if we need them to. They also travel, and so we sometimes take care of their mail. It's a nice trade off.
We used the Good Sam mail forwarding service on our 3-month trip throughout the southwest last year and were happy with it. We plan to use it again this year when we leave next month.
DXSMac> The USPS website publishes this online information about Temporary Forwarding and Holding: Select Temporary if you plan to move back to your old address within 12 months. Your initial forwarding period will be limited to a maximum of 6 months, which you may extend to a maximum of 1 year. Mail can be held from 3 to 30 days. Either can be done online. So I'm wondering where the 14 day thing comes into play? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'll be the advocate for the PO in that they are trying to make a buck like any other business. It cost extra money to handle and send out mail more than once. Which is why I don't grip about the cost of Premium forwarding or their handling rules. Now, I have found that there is one important key to USPS premium forwarding. It's being able to communicate with the actual person who handles the job at the PO. It eliminates mistakes, misdirecting, and delays. Whether one uses the fee based or free service, TexasRvers is right about the small town, one PO situation. Altho, I'd respectfully suggest that they might prefer to think of it as just giving better customer service - as opposed to bending the rules. I've had both RV industry and a Mail Box Etc forwarding service. No complaints against either. I just prefer my mail be handled as few times as possible and that's the USPS.
We have traveled off and on for the last 6 six yrs. Usually just had a neighbor pick the mail, and then send it to us. We were not at any one place for very long--that worked great. Since we are now staying put 2-3 months at a time, we tried the Good Sam Service. They were very nice--we had problems with the mail getting to them. For some reason one large USPS facility kept returning all the mail. It took many telephone calls to our local rural PO and the mail service to get it straightened all out. It was not the mail service's service that was the problem. They even refunded most of the fees! This year we used the online forwarding form and the hold form. It did take few days extra to start getting our mail but so far so good! A couple days ago I again, used the online forms to change back to the permanent address and to hold our mail until we return home. There is a spot to check for delivery or pickup of held mail. As was stated before, the smaller POs seem to be more willing to accommodate you.
QUOTE(RLM @ Mar 25 2009, 12:57 PM) [snapback]15615[/snapback] Whether one uses the fee based or free service, TexasRvers is right about the small town, one PO situation. Altho, I'd respectfully suggest that they might prefer to think of it as just giving better customer service - as opposed to bending the rules. You are right. This is a much better way to put it.
QUOTE(RLM @ Mar 25 2009, 10:57 AM) [snapback]15615[/snapback] Either can be done online. So I'm wondering where the 14 day thing comes into play? I think the 14 day thing comes at the end of the PREMIUM forwarding. But the first person I talked to said I could NOT have a 30 day hold following a temporary forwarding. A second and a third, and the Postal Supervisor all said I COULD, as long as I submitted the forms at the same time. I might try the "online" thing. JJ
Been using USPS premium for two years now thru Utah, Washington, Louisiana, Missouri, and Arizona and have yet to have a problem. Even when moving from one location to another earlier than planned, still had good mail forwarding. Had a neighbor and friend who had one of them UPS store mail boxes and forwarding services and they we happy until they tried to close the box. They played heck with getting their mail and getting things going to a new address and they quit them cuz they were getting as expensive as USPS and then some when you added the mail box too.
Our mail started arriving at our local PO just day or two after we had completed the forward/hold forms. To our knowledge no mail was lost except for one piece that did get returned to the sender. We picked up our mail at our local PO about 8 days after we left the temporary address and have had no problems receiving any mail. Even the 'junk' found it way to us! The next time we travel, think we'll have the forwarding (to our permnament address) and the hold start on the same day. The USPS service worked fine for us! B)
QUOTE(stonybirch @ Apr 25 2009, 11:38 AM) [snapback]16088[/snapback] Our mail started arriving at our local PO just day or two after we had completed the forward/hold forms. To our knowledge no mail was lost except for one piece that did get returned to the sender. We picked up our mail at our local PO about 8 days after we left the temporary address and have had no problems receiving any mail. Even the 'junk' found it way to us! The next time we travel, think we'll have the forwarding (to our permnament address) and the hold start on the same day. The USPS service worked fine for us! B) And that was the USPS? You used both a "temporary forward" and a "hold?" YAY! That's what I'm going to try when I go to Kentucky this summmer! JJ
As mentioned in an earlier thread, I have used USPS Premium forwarding for a couple years. I just finished signing up again this year for an upcoming trip. I found out that in a couple weeks the price will be increasing to above $15/week. As much as I like the service, I can't handle a 30% increase.
RLM, on the "Premium," my post office told me that they will only "hold" mail for two weeks after a "premium." How do you deal with: 1. When is the last day you let the PO "Forward" 2. Getting back home within the two weeks? JJ
RLM, on the "Premium," my post office told me that they will only "hold" mail for two weeks after a "premium." How do you deal with: 1. When is the last day you let the PO "Forward" 2. Getting back home within the two weeks? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 days is the hold limit, not two weeks. You may be talking to the wrong person at the PO. Since you are the paying customer, I'd hold their feet to the fire on that. Maybe explaining to a supervisor that your paying for one Premium package a week is more profitable for them than individually forwarding, at no cost, every piece of mail you get. I'd suggest stop forward a week before you leave. Find out which day of the week your PO forwards your mail and then stop it 7 days before that. I pay for a couple weeks more than I will use and get a refund when I get back. That way I can have mail forwarded to General Delivery at a PO along my return route without having a time limit to get back. All it takes is a call to the home PO to change the forward address. Also, when I fill out the paper work, I write "Will Pick Up" in the stop forwarding date block. That lets them know that I will pick up whatever is left over when I get back. Hope this helps.
