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I'll be moving end of October from CA to South Dakota. So, I'll need to change my address, of course.
Here are a few questions I have:
1. How long does the Post Office forward mail to my new address? I assume I just complete a form. Is there a better way to do this to ensure all mail is forwarded?
2. So, I know now credit cards verify by your address, right? So, if my address was:
(this is fictitious, but close)
700 E. Challenge Pl. Apt. 237
Sioux Falls, S.D. (Zip Code)
Would this due to do you have to Spell out East and Place and Apartment, etc.? I've also seen the address called Unit # 237.
Just trying to use an exact address, etc...
That's all I can think of for now...
This is a no-brainer. Forget paper. Go online to the USPS and you can set up forwarding mail. The longest you can do is six months I think, but then you go online and renew in six months. It costs a couple of dollars. Spelling out does not matter. Abbreviate or spell--it doesn't matter. The system automatically fixes it, as addresses are already in the database. Go to the USPS website and enter the address to get zip code. It will then come up showing the correct format of the USPS address. Contact all of your credit cards and bank accounts with new address. You can do it all online.
I was told that the PO would forward mail for one year. In reality, they only sent it on for about six weeks. A lot of things got lost. Lesson: contact friends and companies yourself ASAP to ensure your mail is sent to the new address.
They forwarded our mail for about a year. But yes, do notify everyone you can about your new address.
If you have changed your address before you moved, then please know that you will need to know your new zip code when you buy gas on your way. We leased an apartment before we moved; we were giving our new address to the bank the day before we left, and I think the credit card co. was notified as well. When DH tried to buy gas in a strange town, he was prompted for his zip code, which he had not memorized!
If it's that important, just go to USPS.com, click on the "look up zip code" link. Enter the info anyway you want and when you hit enter, it will show what you entered along with the USPS Standardized Address for the address you entered.
If you fill out change of address at post office or online - check off "entire family". Then first names don't matter.
Optional is to pay the post office to pull your mail and send it to new address by Priority Mail. Once per week or such.
Best is to notify each and every account that you have directly. Make sure to include the DMV, banks, and tax authorities. If you have any IRA or 401 accounts - notify them directly.
Every state has a list of funds that can't be sent/delivered because folks forget to properly contact/change.
Last year in my state the newspaper published these unclaimed funds by owners name. Three pages in Newspaper - small font.
Definitely go online to do this. You can set up a date for them to start forwarding and let them know if it is permanent or temporary. They will charge a buck to your credit card just to verify your identity. I actually set it up about a month in advance to start forwarding the day after we closed, although apparently the people buying our house did it early as we got several pieces of mail for them before their closing. I guess the PO didn't care whose name was on it as long as they delivered it to the right address. PO will forward first class mail for a year, magazines for 60 days, and no junk (bulk) mail. Some things will get sent back to the sender if the PO is instructed to do that. I forgot to change the address on a book club that I belong to and the shipment got sent back to them with the correct address. The company then resent them out to me at my correct address. We get most of our magazines through Magazines.com and I was able to just go to their website about 2 months ahead and change all the addresses at once. Think I only had to call 1 of DH's magazines to change. We did almost everything online, including our credit cards. New insurance agent changed that stuff for us.
When you change your address online with the PO you will actually be directed to another page with a bunch of really nice coupons that you can get to use with your new home. Things like 10% off entire order at Lowe's and Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond coupon for 20% off entire purchase, and a bunch of online stores. We really saved a lot using these Some of them also come in the packet you get from the PO, but not all of them.
I believe that the post office will generally only forward mail for six months. (I'm not sure if that applies to magazines.) I believe it's completely free - the poster here is the first time I've ever heard of a charge.
They will suggest that you do it online. Personally, I would do it on paper and keep a copy, so that you'll have evidence if they screw up.
The post office, no matter how you write it, seems to input it in whatever way they want, possibly a pre-set format. So you can choose to write out "700 East Challenge Place, Apartment 237" and they may well curtail it to 700 E Challenge Pl Unit 237." No, of course it doesn't have to be the same for everything. You can have variations on your name, your address, whatever, on your mail, on your checks, on your subscriptions. You just have to check how crucial it is to have your apartment number. I don't always use mine, but in some places it's crucial.
I believe that the post office will generally only forward mail for six months. (I'm not sure if that applies to magazines.) I believe it's completely free - the poster here is the first time I've ever heard of a charge.
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The USPS's own web site states 1 year forwarding on regular mail, 60 days on mags, and this has been my experience.
The $1.00 charge for on-line application is a security check to (hopefully) stop hackers from maliciously forwarding your mail to Siberia.
Before you fill out the form to forward your mail, ask yourself if you really want your mail forwarded. Remember that all the junk mail you get, will also be forwarded, and your new address becomes a public record, for anyone who wants it.
As an alternative, you can just inform everyone whom you want to have your new address. Then they can send stuff to you new address, and all the junk you don't want still goes to your old address.
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