Hi, Everybody: I have a question....how do you get your mail forwarded from the USA? Well, two questions...and once you have your address in Portugal, how does the CTT know to start delivering mail to you at your new address? Thank you!
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May 26, 2022 4:12 pm
44 Replies
May 26, 2022 10:02 pm
CTT don't know your adress, they just deliver mail to the adress mentioned in the letters. However, there's a service available from CTT when you are away from your home for some time, and you need your mail forwarded: https://www.ctt.pt/particulares/receber/gerir-todas-as-entregas/reencaminhar-para-outra-morada
This service is usefull when you change adress and still didn't warn everyone.
@antonio_f Thank you very much. I was unaware of this service. I will definitely check it out. Thanks!
May 26, 2022 11:04 pm
You might check out TravelingMailbox.com
goid service, but I’m not sure if it’s a good fit for situation.
@ralf Hi, Ralf: Thanks, but didn't see good reviews for them, or for a few others, like Shipito, Anytime Mailbox and US Global Mail.
Folks, do you use mail forwarding? How did you manage getting your mail from the USA if you didn't? Thank so much in advance.
@crecarole Hi Carol, I can't speak to the reviews, but I know multiple people in the community who use them and I plan to as well starting next month. I'll be happy to share my experience. Feel free to hit me up in a couple of months if you like.
@hank_2021 We have been using Traveling Mailbox for 2 years now and could not be happier with them. We had mail forwarded to different addresses in the US before we moved to Lisbon. We just had some new credit cards forwarded to us here in Lisbon. We used FedEx and they showed up in 3 days.
@jonesdn2020 Thanks for sharing your experience. We'll see how it goes. Maybe they've improved since @crecarolgmail-com read the reviews.
I wonder how recent they are?
@jonesdn2020 Thanks so much for the vote of confidence for that service. It's really good to hear that you have had positive experiences with them. I really appreciate it and will give them a try.
I am moving next month and want to have as much set up in advance as possible. OMG, I have only 30 days left! I have got to get to work!!! Thanks.
@hank_2021 Thanks very much. I appreciate the reply and will give them a second look!
@crecarole I'd love to hear how it goes for you if you decide to use them. Let us know how it goes!
@crecarole I’m a little late in joining this thread. We have also used travelling mailbox for the last year. I was really hesitant about their check deposit service but it has been amazing. Everything scanned in and I can save it with my computer. Anything else can be forwarded (like packages) to our relatives in the US. Small fees for hard copy forwarding or checks but we have been very happy with it.
@emergentt Thanks very much. I was all set to sign up, and then hesitated once again.... It appears as though they send stuff through FedEx or UPS or DHL, and I have personal accounts with a couple of those due to the business I am retiring from in the USA. I wonder if it isn't simpler to just ship myself some boxes of goods (even rather than shipping with my personal household goods if I decide to ship, now that I know about the duty/tax), and just hope they get to me without using the "middleman"? I guess I will still need a company to forward actual mail that comes to me, so maybe this firm is still useful. I have to compare their rates to ship boxes to me vs. me shipping boxes to myself with my own account. Nothing is as simple as I anticipated with this move!
My other country choice was Panama, and it does seem like that would have been a piece of cake to get the visa, (no in-country time requirements), and everything else that comes with moving internationally. Ah, but it's not Portugal!!! 😤
@crecarole to be 100% clear, I have not shipped anything to ourselves here, nor do I plan to. The traveling mailbox is for the 99% digital scanning I need, the check deposits, and the occasional mail forwarding to our relatives who will open and hold anything we need for our twice yearly return to the US. Our three suitcases each have been sufficient for our first 3 months... We prefer to travel light and don't plan on shipping anything from the US, hopefully ever.
@emergentt The scanning of mail is so efficient. We found one hack using their service when we unexpectedly received a check. We were able to print it out and use our bank app to deposit it. We would use their check deposit service if we received any checks with consistency. We get so much less mail since we started using them since they scrap bulk mail.
@jonesdn2020 That's good info, thanks. Having never had to trust a company like this before, I am a little reluctant. How do you know some staff person who is paid minimum wage isn't going to steal a check, or gain all your personal info from say, a tax return and use it nefariously because they have your permission to open certain things? There are certainly challenges to moving abroad not directly linked with where and finding a suitable home! LOL.
@emergentt Understood! Thanks for the clarification! I don't have anyone to accept packages for me in the USA, so that is why I am looking for a trusted source.
@emergentt Konni and I have signed up for traveling mailbox too and so far no complaints.
@hank_2021 Also thinking about TravelingMailbox, so will be interested in your thoughts. I've seen positive comments in Americans & FriendsPT on Facebook.
@aclinemissouristate-edu Hi Andrew,
In case you didn't see the above comments, it's pretty good for giving you an address back in the U.S. Konni feels they nickle and dime you quite a bit, but it is a useful service.
If you need a U.S. address? It's good.
If you need to be able to remotely open up a limited amount of mail per month? It's good.
If you need to be able to forward mail to a different address? It's good.
If you don't like getting nickle and dimed a bunch? It's not good, but not horrible.
I'm glad to have the service, it would just be nice if it was a bit more economical.
@crecarole We didn't like the number of negative reviews for Traveling Mailbox or Anytime Mailbox either. There were just a few too many unhappy folks for our comfort. We researched a half dozen companies all offering variations on this service, and ultimately we signed up with PhysicalAddress.com. Their offering just met our particular needs the best, as well as having decent reviews and pricing. We've only been using the service about 2 months, but it was easy to get signed up and work with their support team to get a couple of questions answered. We have found that stuff hits the inbox and gets scanned (so we can review it) in a timely manner. We're happy!
Best of luck to you!
-Thea
Hi, Thea: Thanks very much. I was having the same issue with negative reviews, but a couple people on this site said they were very happy with them. I didn't like the reviews for US Global Mailbox or Shipito, either. I don't think I saw the one you mention. I will check it out! Thanks very much and I hope everything stays smooth for you with that service. I haven't chosen one yet, but I better get on it! LOL.
@sunil Darn, I wish I would have found PhysicalAddress.com two years ago. The only issue we have using Traveling Mailbox with our Las Vegas address is everything forwards to their only processing site in North Carolina.
I guess the only downside to PhysicalAddress.com is they only have addresses in the states they have facilities. They would work for us though so Thanks!
Jun 03, 2022 1:56 pm
I see! There are not many addresses for PhysicalAddress.com - and nothing close to me. I have asked them a few questions and will see if I can get answers before I actually sign up.
I have trust issues with any staff that open your personal mail anywhere, with any company. They can't be paid a lot in salary. Are they vetted? In what way? I am a jaded old person, seen too much negativity! LOL.
Also, having been in real estate for 40 years, how are these companies getting so many "real" addresses? They surely aren't buying or renting vacant buildings just so they can use the addresses. Are they renting suites in office buildings for this purpose? If so, what if they forget to renew a lease or the landlord finds a better tenant and all those using that address no longer have it, maybe without them knowing about the "physical" address issue? Or are they residential addresses, and if so, how is it possible they get these addresses? Are "real" companies and/or people using the same addresses? Maybe I should stop trying to think too much and just deal with the fact that I will have to have one of these companies assist with mail until I am totally established abroad. It's a scary thing! Yikes!
If I get replies to my questions, I will post them.
Jun 16, 2022 11:47 pm
Update! I did finally choose and I went with PhysicalAddress.com. It hasn't been all that smooth so far, but we'll see what happens. I got the USPS form notarized and the good news is that they questioned the notary as she was not listed in the state certified listings. That's a good thing - so they do pay attention to details. That said, it was a glitch in the system with my notary and it has since been resolved. Next thing is that the address is listed as a "business" address, and the USPS said they could transfer my mail there, but I could not switch back from that to a residential address. Too late to do anything about that now. I have been working on this move for almost 2 years. I thought I was well grounded and well informed. I have list after list. I have notebooks. I am organized. So, in the last 30 days, it's all chaos and more. Hope it's smoother for others!
@crecarole I also just went with PhysicalAddress also recently. I signed up for a year with the 20% discount but they started charging me the full monthly amount. I called them and they sorted it out. The problem I am having now is USPS won't let me forward mail to them as they tell me its not a valid address. I called PhsicalAddress and they told me to keep trying over and over and they will eventually take it but they didn't. My bank also won't let me use it unless I can show them a utility bill or a drivers license with that name on it. So overall so far not so good.
@daveinva ooh, that is not good. I did get through because I also got a notice that it was not a valid address, but USPS did take it finally. This is all very scary stuff.
@crecarole I originally started the COA 6/13 and literally tried it 50+ times and today its still says its an invalid address. They did stop taking mail to mu old address Tues but nothing has showed up at all at PhusicalAddress as yet.
I have yet not gotten a single mailing successfully forwarded to my Pgysicaladdress box. I contacted USPS CS and they are supposedly looking into it. Not sure where my mail is at as it hasn't been delivered to my old address either.
@daveinva HI:
I just got a notification today, before I fly out for Portugal tomorrow, that there are two pieces of mail for me at Physical Address. Did you contact PhysicalAddress about it? They were pretty quick to help me put when that happened to me. So, by notification today, it looks like it's working. I have 40K things to do before I leave tomorrow, so I will have to leave details for after I get there.
@daveinva Hoping you got this sorted out with the post office... for what little it's worth, we didn't run into any issues for any of the 4 individuals that we had to redirect mail for from our primary address to the PhysicalAddress location in Dallas. We've since been receiving mail (and even a package which we easily redirected to a friend for a reasonable forwarding fee) since then with no issues.
The only complaint I have is that when I was doing my initial research they didn't disclose that their scanning system will not fully process stapled, booklet style documents, of which we have received one piece. If we want to see more than the front and back pages, we'll have to have it forwarded. Not a huge deal but a bit annoying, in my opinion.
Anyway, hope you got the problem resolved without too much difficulty!
@sunil I still have not gotten a single mailing to show up at my box there, They say its an USPS problem and USPS says they are not a valid address. A USPS CS rep was supposed to look into it and call me back more than a week ago but never called me back. I've been calling USPS since then and just getting the run around.
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