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Prior to our trip out West this summer, I signed up for the US Post Office's Informed Delivery Service.
For those who may not be aware of it, Informed Delivery is a free notification service which tells you what mail is headed to your mailbox. Basically, it emails you images of your mail envelopes from the post office's letter-sorting machines.
It was useful several times on our trip.
- We saw an unexpected bill with a due date a few days before our return date. We had a copy emailed. The company doesn't accept credit cards so we had to mail a check. Fortunately, there was time for the check to make it across the country before the deadline.
- The fraud department of our credit union contacted us to confirm or deny a suspicious charge on my wife's ATM card while we were traveling. The card was subsequently locked and a replacement was scheduled to arrive at our home within ten days. When it didn't show up on Informed Delivery, we called and learned the order hadn't been done properly. It was re-ordered correctly this time and Informed Delivery subsequently showed it had arrived. Fortunately, my ATM card still worked so it didn't cause us a travel problem.
- As we were traveling, I was absolutely sure I had earned a parking ticket based on our license plate. So we watched Informed Delivery for the citation letter. I thought this because I had seen a parking-enforcement car pause behind us while I was (perhaps illegally) parked for a quick lunch stop overlooking Lake Michigan. I was convinced the parking-enforcement car had taken a photo of my license plate and I'd be getting a mailed citation once the photos were reviewed. That now appears to have been a figment of my imagination.
- We also just liked seeing the daily mail envelopes. It confirmed we hadn't gotten something unexpected and confirmed the ones we had expected to see had actually arrived.
Wikipedia description of Informed Delivery
USPS FAQ: Informed Delivery - The Basics
USPS Informed Delivery page
Edited 9/12 to add a link to the FAQ article 'The Basics'
For those who may not be aware of it, Informed Delivery is a free notification service which tells you what mail is headed to your mailbox. Basically, it emails you images of your mail envelopes from the post office's letter-sorting machines.
It was useful several times on our trip.
- We saw an unexpected bill with a due date a few days before our return date. We had a copy emailed. The company doesn't accept credit cards so we had to mail a check. Fortunately, there was time for the check to make it across the country before the deadline.
- The fraud department of our credit union contacted us to confirm or deny a suspicious charge on my wife's ATM card while we were traveling. The card was subsequently locked and a replacement was scheduled to arrive at our home within ten days. When it didn't show up on Informed Delivery, we called and learned the order hadn't been done properly. It was re-ordered correctly this time and Informed Delivery subsequently showed it had arrived. Fortunately, my ATM card still worked so it didn't cause us a travel problem.
- As we were traveling, I was absolutely sure I had earned a parking ticket based on our license plate. So we watched Informed Delivery for the citation letter. I thought this because I had seen a parking-enforcement car pause behind us while I was (perhaps illegally) parked for a quick lunch stop overlooking Lake Michigan. I was convinced the parking-enforcement car had taken a photo of my license plate and I'd be getting a mailed citation once the photos were reviewed. That now appears to have been a figment of my imagination.
- We also just liked seeing the daily mail envelopes. It confirmed we hadn't gotten something unexpected and confirmed the ones we had expected to see had actually arrived.
Wikipedia description of Informed Delivery
USPS FAQ: Informed Delivery - The Basics
USPS Informed Delivery page
Edited 9/12 to add a link to the FAQ article 'The Basics'
