When researching for a credible mail forwarding service, there are a few things you have to consider. Putting your mail in someone else’s hands is a pretty big deal. Especially if your post contains confidential information, valuable goods, or even money.
For those who live the life of a vagabond or who regularly travel for work, it will be in your best interest to invest in a mail service for address forwarding.
WHAT DOES THE SERVICE DO?
Mail forwarding services use pretty simple processes to handle and organize their client’s mail. If your address is continuously changing, or you find yourself traveling a lot, then this service can help you keep track and obtain your parcels, packages, and post.
When registering, you will receive a physical address specifically allocated to you. Even though you don’t live at this address, it will be a placeholder for your mail. An address that you can use for the rest of your life. When packages, documents, subscriptions, or healthcare information are sent to this address it will be received by the service.
Upon receiving, the customer will get a notification. From there, the customer can decide what will be the next steps. Either the company can forward the post to your current address or they can scan the document and send it to your virtually. Not sure what a forwarding address is? Click here for the full definition and description.
They do offer many other services as well that can be beneficial to businesses just as much as travelers.
If you are browsing around for such service, for whatever reason, it’s important that you consider a few key factors. What will work for one person might not work for you. Similarly, the services that one company offers might not have everything you are looking for. To find the perfect fit for your needs, you should ask the following questions:
1. What are the Costs?
Even though you can’t compromise cost over quality, fees will ultimately play a role in your decision. Depending on how much mail you are expecting and what kind of services you need, the costs will vary.
In most cases, these companies charge a monthly fee for an X number of parcels and letters. An additional fee might be charged if your parcels exceeds this amount. Typically, fees vary between $20-$100 p/month.
Some companies will have a few hidden fees that only pop up at the end of the month. It’s therefore important that you find one that is upfront and transparent of all costs and any additional charges.
Compare costs from different companies and do ask whether they have any free address forwarding services available.
2. Is the Company Professional and Reliable?
It is a criminal offence for anyone to open mail that doesn’t belong to them. Before you hire a company, you will have to sign legal documents where you give them the legal permission to scan private information as well as sign for packages on your behalf.
Entrusting a company with your private and confidential information is a big deal. Before signing up for their services, you should make sure that they are reliable. The best way to check whether they are is to refer to current and previous clients’ reviews and recommendations.
The service for Mail Forwarding companies should be of the utmost highest class. Entrusting their employees to handle and organize your mail demands the ultimate professionalism. Not only do you need them to handle your mail with care, but also with urgency. Especially if you are waiting on important documents or an urgent tax notice.
If there are any issues with delivery dates or packages that might get lost, then you need to have invested in a team that takes good care of their clients. How long will you have to wait for a reply from a customer care participant? Will your emails be answered and what’s their availability? A quick test will be to check out the company’s website. If the landing page features a few live chat, or ‘contact us’ pages then you know that they value open communication.
3. What Different Services Do They Provide?
Some mail forwarding services can provide many different services to customers. Not only will they forward your packages to your current address, they can also set up a virtual profile where they upload scanned documents of mail received.
Other services might include vehicle registration, residency applications, and business-related services like shredding, scanning, and printing. The wider the spectrum of services they provide, the more they’ll be able to help you out with.
4. International and National Forwarding
Especially if you are planning to move abroad or travel around different countries, you need a mail forwarding service that will be able to ship parcels and packages internationally without breaking the bank. Before registering with a specific company, you should ask whether they are able to forward packages to different international locations.
Different companies in different countries, have various rules and regulations when it comes to what kinds of goods can be sent abroad. Avoid the disappointment of a mail forwarding service not being able to send you your long-awaited product, by asking them first. Credible companies will have a clear list of countries they are able to ship to as well as an in-depth guideline of what kind of products they are willing to send.
Find out what they are willing and able to forward before signing up. If you are planning to do some country hopping, then you need a service that can accommodate your needs while overseas.
When you are moving from one address to another, you are going to need a service that is on the ball. Learn more about how a successful mailing service forwards post to new addresses here: https://www.rent.com/blog/mail-forwarding/.
As long as you don’t make a hasty decision and voice all your concerns, you’ll be able to track down a credible and reliable mail forwarding service that suits your needs.