Post Office Police?
Sep 2nd, 2007 by Don Ray
This interesting tidbit was on one of the Yahoo groups this morning. I am sure I have mailed letters in the past and used my Florida mailing address as the return address. The writer says in the last part of the post that this is a new requirement and just went into effect.
Had a letter I needed to mail to the States rejected at the P.O.
today for what they deemed as an improper return address. The return
address I had on the envelope was my actual return address (i.e. my
mailbox in Miami). They said only Panama mailing addresses were
acceptable as return addresses (???). Am I the only one who finds
this daffy?
1) If the letter SHOULD not make it the specified address, shouldn’t
it be returned to the addressee? …to the addressee’s actual mailing
address?
2) Wouldn’t it be less expensive to forward a letter sent to the
States to a U.S. return address vs. send it all the way back to
Panama? (and into a black hole)
3) What sense does it make to put down our residential address in
Panama when there is no to-the-door mail deliver, i.e. it wouldn’t
get returned, would it?When I asked about where the letter would be returned to, given that
I don’t have–nor need to have–a Panama P.O. box, they said it would
be returned to the station from which it was mailed. They said I
could stop by and pick it up (??) SO…how would I know it was there?Has anyone else run into this regulation? (They said it took
effect “today”) What would a tourist/temporary resident do who would
most likely not have a P.O. box?
Panama needs to update Postal. The Post Office in David return address is “Entrega General #0426, David, Chiriqui, Republic of Panama” —- But, there is no notification that there is mail there for you. We go there once a month to pick up. Sometimes, mail from the US to us is 3 months. One package has been lost. We do not carry a Post Office Box in David - they just file you under your last name, if they can figure out whether it is your first name or your last (No English)…Anyway, the update on #0426 was about l yr. ago when they listed Post Offices with Numbers to alleviate problems. You have to be there at 8AM, otherwise, parking is not available - unless you are lucky. You also need the parking card - we got a ticket there. Crazy but we are getting used to some of the “Customs”.
Hi Charlotte. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Hi Don Ray,
OK, I know this is going to sound crazy but, when we mail packages to the relatives there, we put their telephone number below the address!! The post office will many times call that number to notify that the package has arrived.
I know it sounds weird, but it works! I actually MAILED a cylinder head for my BIL’s pickup and it made it with no problems.
Mi dos centavos,
jim and nena
Hi J&N,
Yes anything mailed to Panama should have the telephone number on it. However, it should be a house number and not a cell number. Most will not call cell numbers since they have to pay for the call.
Good point Don Ray. Don’t like calling cell phones myself.
Believe it or not, on occasion in the United States a small post office will call you.
HI Don: if you know someone going to the Ex-pat meeting held every tuesday at the panamonte hotel in Boquete usually there is someone who is going to the states that will take your mail and mail it upon arrival.
Patrick