Problems with mail in student accom..hire a PO box?

askintstudent

Hi guys,

Basically I live in student accomodation and have found a lot of my mail in the past to have been opened or just on the floor so everyone can have a read.

I have decided that I would like to collect my post from elsewhere, however my family live miles away and my uni mates all live in student accom as well.

I was thinking of hiring a PO Box for a year so i can collect my post every few weeks. Most of this mail would be important stuff like bank and my credit card statement.My questions are;

1) Would my bank accept the address change to a PO Box Address?

2) Does anyone have any other ideas?

Thank You.

everythingblogcast

askintstudent

If you have found that your mail is open then inform the police because it is a crime.

pavlovs_dog

i know your pain. whan i was in halls, our 'secure' :rolleyes: mail storage system was laughable - the door to our post box never locked from day one, not to mention post being put in the wrong box etc.

i suppose your first port of call would be to have a word with the management team for your hall, see if they can come up with a soultion for you. if not, then you probably would be best off having your stuff mailed home for you to collect every few weeks ( i doubt many banks would accept a PO BOX address).

alternatively, opt out of financial mail altogether by using online banking and downloading your statements. at least then the contents of your mail shouldnt be *quite* so sensative in nature

askintstudent

pavlovs_dog wrote:

i know your pain. whan i was in halls, our 'secure' :rolleyes: mail storage system was laughable - the door to our post box never locked from day one, not to mention post being put in the wrong box etc.

i suppose your first port of call would be to have a word with the management team for your hall, see if they can come up with a soultion for you. if not, then you probably would be best off having your stuff mailed home for you to collect every few weeks ( i doubt many banks would accept a PO BOX address).

alternatively, opt out of financial mail altogether by using online banking and downloading your statements. at least then the contents of your mail shouldnt be *quite* so sensative in nature

Yeah i was thinking of sending it home but I hardly go home, maybe once/twice a year. I was thinking of opting out but my bank or credit card company wont as they have to follow FSA guidlines. It is annoying because I have online access to both which i check regularly.

firespire

askintstudent wrote:

Yeah i was thinking of sending it home but I hardly go home, maybe once/twice a year. I was thinking of opting out but my bank or credit card company wont as they have to follow FSA guidlines. It is annoying because I have online access to both which i check regularly.

If you can access the accounts online, why can't you just have the statements sent home if you don't need to read them.

askintstudent

firespire wrote:

If you can access the accounts online, why can't you just have the statements sent home if you don't need to read them.

Because I know my rents will read them if they are sent home, got nufing to hide but id rather have the paper statements myself!

someone

I think some banks will send letters to your local branch and you can can show ID to pick it up

PO BOX's cost money, but you can use "Mail Collect" http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400040&mediaId=35700689

were you pick you post (addressed to you) up at the post office

askintstudent

someone wrote:

I think some banks will send letters to your local branch and you can can show ID to pick it up

PO BOX's cost money, but you can use "Mail Collect" http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400040&mediaId=35700689

were you pick you post (addressed to you) up at the post office

Yes I was thinking about this but that means that all post will have to be collected rather than just selected items. There are a few things I would like to be sent to my accomodation. Even though the sorting office is close i would probably only visit once a fortnight or maybe once a week. Items such as my phone statement(cashback deal) I would like sent here so I can sent claim forms away without any delay.

Thanks for all your advice so far. :money:

RichyRich

Maybe the banks wont accept a PO Box, but I wonder would they accept mail to a company like Mail Boxes Etc. This is similar to a PO Box, but run by UPS, and the address looks like this:

Suite 45
48 Regent Street
Cambridge
CB2 1FD

I think they do a special student package.

askintstudent

RichyRich wrote:

Maybe the banks wont accept a PO Box, but I wonder would they accept mail to a company like Mail Boxes Etc. This is similar to a PO Box, but run by UPS, and the address looks like this:

Suite 45
48 Regent Street
Cambridge
CB2 1FD

I think they do a special student package.

I do have a mailbox very close to me. The only thing is when the card companies request the postcode first. They will see that its a Mailbox etc. I wonder if there is a way around that?

Cypher

Have you tried speaking to your Banks / Credit Card companies etc and explaining that your in Halls and you mail frequently goes missing, they may have a solution for you and you never know they may except the PO Box option.