mike1000 Posted July 16, 2002 Report Share Posted July 16, 2002 I?ve found that about 40 per cent of regular airmail packets or letters never arrive that I?ve sent from the UK. The latest letter sent contained my wife?s ATM card (taped to the back of a photo and wrapped in a letter) sent to her family for her two children?s support. Five weeks and still not there, although if stolen, no one has tried to use it yet. Anyone know if registered letters stand a better chance of arriving, or is it more likely to be regarded as valuable and stolen somewhere down the line? Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 16, 2002 Report Share Posted July 16, 2002 "Anyone know if registered letters stand a better chance of arriving, or is it more likely to be regarded as valuable and stolen somewhere down the line?" Yes and failing that I'd use a reputable international courier company. Cheers Jaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted July 16, 2002 Report Share Posted July 16, 2002 Registered letters have a much better chance. Make sure the address is complete with the correct mail zone and clearly written. If going upcountry it would be best to write in Thai, with only the country name in English. I have not lost any mail that I know of here in Bangkok and they have included non-registered credit cards directly from banks. Most lost mail seems to be address unknown or mistakes rather than someone taking. And the more people in the chain the higher the chance it can go missing. If you can send to Bangkok or other major city your successful percentage may increase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
think_too_mut Posted July 16, 2002 Report Share Posted July 16, 2002 >The latest letter sent contained my wife?s ATM card I sent probably 100 postcards/letters/small parcels to BKK via regular air mail and they all arrived...except one: a letter with an ATM card, stucked into a software CD sleeve. There was no damage except that what you are saying had been sent is not arriving...."you really sent me?" Certainly, nobody could use it as the pin was not in there. Had to cancel it and send a new one via DHL. The cost could be 20 quids, but hey, much more is going to flow through the card.... I would not bother with the registered mail - it just gets slower as the mail stops and waits for everyone to sign for it. Together with 5 weeks already lost, it may be 7 weeks... if you do that now...Her environment may be having second thoughts about her husband being a reliable man (or source of financial support, if you wish). If it's been sent to BKK and after 7 working days has not arrived yet, bugger it, get a new one and use UPS or DHL or whatever. You can even trarck your parcel over the Internet, always knowing where it is and even who took the delivery. My guess is that guys at the mail sorting facility have some way to detect credit and similar cards in envelopes. I know it's possible to track magnetics signals while the envelope is travelling through the machine. Don't know whether they have those large mail sorting transports with all sorts of sensors, as we have here.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bibblies Posted July 16, 2002 Report Share Posted July 16, 2002 Most things I've ever sent have arrived safely, including ATM cards and packages that were obviously presents, all sent by normal mail, to destinations in and outside Bangkok. I tend to write addresses in Thai, if I've got the Thai to hand, but I'd guess that only the recipient's name would be helpful as long as you've got all the numbers correct. The things that have gone missing haven't been valuable - it seems to be more of a random occurrence. For anyone interested, some years ago I sent two presents (boxes in gold wrapping paper!) to two girls in different bars in Nana Plaza. Both contained novelty teddy bears that I saw soon after I got back to the UK. One was a sleepy bear that snored when you poked it (when I stayed with this girl#1, she snored every night!) and the other was a Kung Fu bear (girl#2 loved martial arts movies) that made Bruce Lee type noises when you touched it. Package #2 got through (to G-Spot), but girl #1 never received her sleepy bear at Rainbow 1. I suspect that it got there, but was appropriated by another girl - she wasn't working there at the time it arrived. As it happens, I'm just about to send a letter this week, for the first time in ages. How long does it take from the UK to Bangkok these days? "My guess is that guys at the mail sorting facility have some way to detect credit and similar cards in envelopes. I know it's possible to track magnetics signals while the envelope is travelling through the machine." I laughed my arse off at that one - they're more likely to be lounging around eating Som Tam than bothering with Mission Impossible-type hi-tech fraud! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike1000 Posted July 16, 2002 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2002 Thanks for the replies. Think I will get another card and DHL it. Just for the record the last one was addressed in Thai by my wife?s hand, even with a polite Thai written note on the envelope to the postman asking not to bend it as it contained a photo for her family. Probably spent more money on phone calls to her family asking if they?ve received it, than it would have cost to DHL it in the first place, LOL. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 17, 2002 Report Share Posted July 17, 2002 When something important is to be sent to me here in Thailand, I always request them to send it registered. Haven't lost anything - yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickfarang Posted July 18, 2002 Report Share Posted July 18, 2002 Just to add that I've had pretty good luck with express mail over the years, and its quite a bit cheaper than DHL. RickF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 19, 2002 Report Share Posted July 19, 2002 I agree..In my experience, EMS works as well as DHL or FEDEX and is considerably cheaper. J22J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 22, 2002 Report Share Posted July 22, 2002 Correct. All inbound international mail into the Kingdom that arrives by air (in BKK) is processed at the Royal Thai Customs House (or office) at the south end of the Cargo Building/Complex. All the "smalls" are put thru an x-ray and metal detection machine. Customs officers watch the entire process and will hold for manual physical inspection a small percentage of these "smalls". Packages and other larger mail is processed in a different area where a larger scan equipment is used (very similar to the USCS' mobile x-ray vans) . Again, Royal Thai Customs officers watch the entire process. Packages that appear to have "value and dutiable" itmes are held for manual inspection and the attachment of a "import duty due" tax tag. This is the amount of THB that the the consignee must pay prior to getting the package. Unfortunately, the both sections are not under the same level of security that other private carriers use (UPS, DHL, FDX, etc). Thus the level of security cannot be determined. Also, when items are "confiscated" by Customs they do not necessarilly generate a "seized" report for the consignee. This is how items sometimes go "missing" upon receipt. As with all major government postal systems, unless the international EMS system, there is no tracking ability of your items. All in all, IMHO, Thai post is a fairly safe and secure way to mail your parcels to the Kindgom. --UPSer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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