Has anyone had a problem getting post from the Uk in HCM. Nearly everything posted to me by family never arrives especially parcels . Is there a way around this ?
Getting post in Vietnam
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4419
Welcome to Vietnam. 
. I used to have a Russian website that would track packages and registered mail on government postal systems including VNPT. I found that going the other way, my items often got held at TSN airport for several weeks before being sent out of the country. It may be the same coming in.
. I used to have a Russian website that would track packages and registered mail on government postal systems including VNPT. I found that going the other way, my items often got held at TSN airport for several weeks before being sent out of the country. It may be the same coming in.If you have anything valuable, either packages or documents, I think most expats will recommend one of the private companies such as DHL, FEDEX, or UPS. DHL is reputedly better going into Europe but they all should be about the same going the other way. The cost is quite a bit higher than the post office but it is trackable and usually arrives on time. I have found that US mail tracking stops once it goes on the plane if the destination is Vietnam. Great Britain may be the same. Even with the commercial services, if the location is in the countryside and maybe even in the city, you should be sure to include a phone number to help with delivery.
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I'm in Houston, USA. A large Vietnamese enclave here. We go to a private Vietnamese Shipping Company and ship via them. Cheaper (by a lot less than DHL) and much, much more reliable than US Postal System. Perhaps there is something like that in your area.
2325
Has anyone had a problem getting post from the Uk in HCM. Nearly everything posted to me by family never arrives especially parcels . Is there a way around this ?- @ruthbrandish
I have had quite a few letters & small parcels (books) sent to me from UK to HCMC by Royal Mail & got it OK, but you MUST put a contact telephone number here in Vietnam & Vietnam Post will contact you to say they are delivering it. Without a telephone number you will have problems in my experience.
As an example I did an experiment one time & walked down the road just 500 mtrs from my apartment here to the Vietnam Post place & sent myself a letter without a contact telephone number on it & it never got delivered.
1855
Same experience from Australia & UK, letters no phone number never arrived and parcels no number from Australia vanish, with phone number got here.
3175
Come to think of it, I have never received anything from any carrier in VN without first receiving a call from the delivery person confirming both the address, and that someone was home to take delivery. I never even thought about that before. So unlike much of the west.
Carriers include Viettel Post, Viet Post, Ninja Van, DHL etc. etc.
I think I understand the logic. Why even attempt delivery if a recipient just might not be home? Better to place it in the undeliverable parcel warehouse.
I wonder if there's any way to find out when the annual "Unclaimed Cargo" auction is held?
6823
Come to think of it, the only things I've never received were postcards and letters without a phone number.
Expats staying in a hotel or apartment should probably give the phone number for the business or the place where they work, so a Vietnamese person will be answering the phone (instead of your brand-new girlfriend/boyfriend).
1430
You will be often disappointed sending anything in the post from overseas. There is theft and mismanagement in the customs bureaucracy. I had luck two ways from the US.
per @Thigv, use DHL or Fedex to Saigon airport. They have online tracking. When it comes, go pick it up at their warehouse near the airport. A simple letter cost $75. I got a new credit card delivered this way (free to me).
per @devarj57, I used a Vietnamese company in the US. Maybe you can find a service in a Vietnamese neighborhood in the UK. Do you have a Little Saigon? These are family businesses, where uncles and nephews are here, aunty is overseas. You get end-to-end package tracking and delivery by humans.
When I emigrated, I sent myself a bunch of boxes of crap that I couldn't part with, so dumb. They charge by the kilogram, not cheap either.
Best solution is don't ship. One can buy almost anything in the cities, and recently Shopee, Tiki, Lazada, AliBaba online. Now I keep a shopping list, and bring treasures back in my checked bags next time I travel back.
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