Letters from overseas delivery time with PhilPost

@FindlayMacD

Hi, I live about an hours drive outside Cagayan de Oro. I was due to receive a bank statement from UK which was sent in February I never received it. Also my daughter sent me something by post in March from UK, again never received. Now I get bank statements on line and anything urgent from UK is sent by courier. Basically the postal service in Northern Mindanao is crap. I got my new debit card sent to my brother in UK and sent it by courier to Mindanao much more secure.

Philpost? A joke, don't go there and as Richard said use a reputable courier. I remember meeting our postie from Philpost some years ago who handed me 4 envelopes from Cignal tv, then he sat there waiting, I simply said thank you and walked inside, I gather he expected a tip for 3/4 month old mail that we shouldn't receive as our bills are digital and all paid online,,,,,, Don't start me on Cignal tv either.

I let my sis in Australia hold my credit and debit cards while I simply have the numbers and CCV for booking hotels/flights online, other stuff as well online. No need for us to have the plastic in hand as most stuff here is Jonny Cash.

All our transactions from Australia are digital and paid/received online. In 4 and a half years I have never received mail here from Australia only a few Balakbayan boxes and never a problem, and Cignal paper bills 2/3/4 months old through Philpost.

Our electricity bill is deposited on the 16th of every month like clockwork by the meter reader and Ben pays it the next business day. As said the mail system here is a joke, stuff goes missing or turns up 2/3/4 months later if at all.

To the OP I can activate my debit/credit cards online with my Aussie bank from the Philippines and takes 2 minutes.

Digital, stop cutting down the forests, Australia Post loses money delivering letters but makes good profit on parcels and they actually deliver letters and parcels in a timely manner unlike here.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

To FindlayMac and Others. . . . .

This has been mentioned many times, do not trust anything important to be sent to you through Philpost.

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Do as others and I do, use an address in your home country as your residence. Either a family member or a re-mailer.

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Credit cards & debit cards have expiration dates, correct the problem now to avoid more future problems.

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(1) Set up an address in your home country.

(2) Notify all your card holders of the new address.

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I use a re-mailer and they notify me when new mail arrives. When my new card I'm expecting arrives at the re-mailer (US Global Mail) I have them to FedEx the card to me. I'm given various choices by US Global Mail of what shipper, cost & expected time frame to receive the delivery.

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FedEx arrives in 4 to 6 days, door to door, with tracking. My last card cost approximately $88 for the service.

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Once you have the card in hand notify the card issuer you will be using the card in the Philippines.

Bob do not trust any mail here, important docs or birthday cards. Use a courier as you well know. I have watched the Philpost office for 12 odd years in banks/Poro point around the corner from Bens parents house and though they have parking for 30/40 cars in front of the 2 story substantial building, never seen a car inside. Yet another government system that fell over, the gates are always locked (the public can't access) and 2 to 4 motorbikes parked willy nilly and looks like a derelict building.

Thank God for the internet.

Cheers, Steve.

    @FindlayMacD
I got my new debit card sent to my brother in UK and sent it by courier to Mindanao much more secure.
    -@richardjinks710

Until recently I was using my daughters UK address and this credit card was originally sent to her address and she tried to send it to me via DHL. we had done this a few times before without any problems but for some reason DHL have started to scan all letters and packages and they detected that the letter my daughter sent contained a credit card even though she added a lot of blank A4 sheets of paper and declared it as legal documents. I had a look around at the other courier companies rules and it seems that none of them allow credit cards, so in the end I changed my address with my bank and they sent me the card on September 1st.

That's weird, my brother used DHL IN Guernsey Channel Islands and was sent to me here, I got it within 7 days. It was taped inside a birthday card. That was back in March, maybe rules have changed since then.

Dillpost or DHL?

The OP was talking about Philpost and as we all say useless as tits on a bull. Even our Condo in Manila 12 years ago we never received a letter/document from Philpost, some expected mail was never delivered/went missing and we learnt very quickly to have everything digitally sent or via  Australia Post at a very high cost, we lived there for a year.

Only my experience but avoid the local mail system like the plague.

Cheers, Steve.

    That's weird, my brother used DHL IN Guernsey Channel Islands and was sent to me here, I got it within 7 days. It was taped inside a birthday card. That was back in March, maybe rules have changed since then.    -@richardjinks710

Sending anything inside a greetings card is the worst thing to do, my ex-wife (Filipina) sent a birthday card to her father and slipped a £20 note inside and it never arrived and a friend of hers told her that was the crazy thing to do because anything that appears to be a greetings card is likely opened  and once opened it's likely to be thrown away. Then again that wasn't DHL it was Royal Mail which would have eventually been handled by Philpost.

I think that sending inside a greeting card using DHL is a bit more secure than Philpost being involved.

I also use US Global Mail as my  mailing address. Had a card renewal this year and sent it DHL. Took a week longer because I'm out in the province and DHL's 3rd party carrier didn't have anything else coming this way on the two days a week they deliver out here. So it sat in Cebu an extra week. But I got it. I'll try fed-ex next time. But I'm sticking with US Global Mail for my mail forwarder.

Progress of a nation is through the advancement of communication. In 1753 Benjamin Franklin organized the postal system in 1753. Mail from Philadelphia to New York was arrived in 24 hours.

At that time mail was the forefront of communication. First Mail, then Pony Express-Telegraph-Telephone-Radio-Television-Internet-Cell Phones.

The Philippines lags 270 years behind Benjamin Franklin.

Don't we wonder oft times here? Is it the powers that be (oligarchs) that suppress advancement of a nation no matter where for their own financial benefit?

Remember EDSA? Many countries need to move into the 21st century. Golly they don't even have voice mail here, Australia for 30 odd years and bl@@dy free.

Could that be why all my mail/correspondence is digital? I/we have never received mail from Australia in 13 years, living here for over four and a half years. We made sure before we left Australia that all was by the internet and as I learnt 13 years ago while living in Manila that the postal system here is a joke and waste of time/never received posted letters or doc's from Australia that were posted, all went missing, not the origin but this end.

Once I needed to send some documents to AU, 3 pages 12 years and I engaged Australia posts priority/express service, cost me 40 or 50 bucks but the doc's were there in less than 2 days.

Don't get me wrong, I/we love living here but it certainly takes patience and time to navigate the systems here, Ben simply says "Steve that's how it is here" to which I reply "apathy".

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

richardjinks710 said. . . . .That's weird, my brother used DHL IN Guernsey Channel Islands and was sent to me here, I got it within 7 days. It was taped inside a birthday card. That was back in March, maybe rules have changed since then.

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(1) It was taped inside a birthday card.

(2) The birthday card was inside a sealed envelope.

(3) That sealed envelope was inside a 2oz letter mailer used by DHL.     

No Problem     

@FindlayMacD

I tried two times to have my wife's Wells Fargo credit card sent here. I arranged it on the phone both times and was told there was no problem sending it to the Philippines. Both times after I hung up the phone the card was sent to my US address on file which is my wife's sister's house. We gave up since we don't really use the card. I stopped checking her account for charges since the card was not activated but there was a charge and by the time I discovered it there was a late fee. I called and had the late charge refunded and the account closed.

I can't believe a bank would send anything by PhilPost. I've had 2 orders from Japan sent by PhilPost. The first one was from Megazip which is a ripoff parts dealer. The order sat in Manila for a month until they had accumulated enough parcels to ship to the Visayas. It ended up in a post office about 30 minutes drive from my house and there was a fee to pick it up. I called the post office and told them to return it. It was an air conditioner belt for my multicab and I had already ordered one from Amazon and had it delivered and saved a few bucks.

The second order was a 4wd switch for my multicab from a much better parts dealer in Japan. It arrived at the post office in only 3 weeks. I went to the post office to pick it up but it was closed. Some guy said the postal worker was making deliveries. It took the guy a couple days to find my house which is biggest house in the barangay and on the main road. It finally arrived and I had to pay around P150. I don't know why they would not deliver the aircon belt but a few months later they delivered the switch?

You said enough Moon Dog and you reflect what I and others say, PhilPost went under Duterte's radar, business as usual.

OMO.

Cheers,  Steve.

I have never lost anything through Philpost, either sending or receiving. It just takes a long Time. Allow from 3-6 weeks for a normal letter.

Most of the time Letters aren't delivered and have to be collected.

Although, I have had letters thrust into my hand by a Guy on a Motorcycle as i am walking down the Street.

    I have never lost anything through Philpost, either sending or receiving. It just takes a long Time. Allow from 3-6 weeks for a normal letter.

   

    -@Rammers

I really hope your right and that it arrives eventually.

Rammers said. . . . I have never lost anything through Philpost, either sending or receiving. It just takes a long Time. Allow from 3-6 weeks for a normal letter.

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(1) How would you know that about received mail?

(2) If you don't receive mail, you're assuming no mail was ever sent?

(3) That's like saying you remember something a year before you were born.

Somewhat true Bob but most expats know what is coming from home country and expect delivery, good luck there using local.

Said before that all my mail is digital aside from the stupid idiots @ Cignal that keep sending us a digital bill via email  digitally as well as a paper bill, 3 times we have asked to only send digital, save the forests, save postage and years on I give up. All my mail from Australia is digital/email and I sorted all that out before I moved here. No need for a forwarder. PhilPost  when they get excited deliver 2/3/4 bills from Cignal on the same day,3/4 months old that are paid every month online. Our only mail aside from the punctual meter reader that deposits the bill every 16th of the month. "NOT PHILPOST"

Honestly? The letter box is there for the Luelco bill. The Barangay/municipal hall either call us or stand at the gate pushing the door bell. Nobody else bothers us. Dillpost are a waste of time, I learnt that 12 years ago.

Cheers, Steve.

@FindlayMacD i also live in Cagayan de oro.

My UK banj only send by ordinary mail any new cards.

Last year they sent out 2 debit cards and 3 credit cards and none arrived.

So i had them sent to my nephew in uk and he sent by courier.

Alas now the couriers are refusing to accept credit or debit cards for delivery.

Luckily a friend was coming to the philippines and bought the last card with him.

templonisaid. . . . i also live in Cagayan de oro.My UK banj only send by ordinary mail any new cards.Last year they sent out 2 debit cards and 3 credit cards and none arrived.So i had them sent to my nephew in uk and he sent by courier.Alas now the couriers are refusing to accept credit or debit cards for delivery.Luckily a friend was coming to the philippines and bought the last card with him.

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I never had the problem, living in the Philippines five years and had my share of cards arriving via FedEx. I use a re-mailer (forwarder). Since my US address is the forwarders address. The cards that arrive seems like another letter or spam to them and is placed in my mailbox.

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Then when I order a shipment all the mail it is placed in FedEX mailer envelope (secure, tamper proof, sealed, with a tear off tab to open) . Any tempering would be visible which is a good deterrent. Itappears as just another piece of ho hum mail, with no questions asked by my forwarder (US Global Mail).

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When it arrives in the Philippines it is delivered by a FedEx employee. Trackable and with a signature required.

@Enzyte Bob

You are right Bob.

But surely this applies to mail  in any country in the  World?

It is  more than a month now since my bank informed me that my card was on it's way and I still live in hope somehow. I check my online banking every day to see in there any secure messages for me about misuse of the card and usually they would phone if someone tried to use the card.

My card is no good to anyone because to be useable I have activate it in my online banking app and I'm sure my bank would inform me right away if someone tried to use it. I have decided to allow another two weeks before I give up on it and inform my bank, that will be a full six weeks since it was sent.

    @FindlayMacD i also live in Cagayan de oro.
My UK banj only send by ordinary mail any new cards.
Last year they sent out 2 debit cards and 3 credit cards and none arrived.
So i had them sent to my nephew in uk and he sent by courier.
Alas now the couriers are refusing to accept credit or debit cards for delivery.
Luckily a friend was coming to the philippines and bought the last card with him.   

    -@temploni

Assuming my card does not arrive I might look into finding someone who is coming to the Philippines who could send me the card through LBC once it is in the Philippines. Has any one got any horror stories about LBC?

@FindlayMacD i always use LBC for local and international mail and found it reliable.