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IN THIS NEWSLETTER: INFORMATION ABOUT NEW POSTAL REGULATIONS
Hi, since we are getting ready to pull the plug and start Movin’ On, I wanted to get one more newsletter off. This first article is really important if you are already on the road or intend to head out someday. INFORMATION ABOUT NEW POSTAL REGULATIONS The new postal requirements are, to say the least, a pain and they are causing lots of confusion and potential problems for full-timers. While the idea seems good to protect people from fraud (a few bad apples spoil the whole bunch), it will likely inconvenience a lot of full-timers. Someone once told me that they were worried that the government would find out about us full-timers (and find a way to tax us or something like that). But in this case, if someone up there understood the plight of us who just want to retire in this comfortable lifestyle and yet carry on our normal business of getting mail etc, perhaps they would have made an adjustment for us who use mail services like Escapees and FMCA. Please write and let the postal service know that we are not those would
use a P O box for fraud.
Typically most of us use the main address of our CMRA and add our box
number along with it. It is written much the same as apartment or suite
numbers and usually added AFTER the street address on the same line.
A typical example would be:
The new rules REQUIRE that the address be written in an EXACT format
that identifies it as a private mail box and if it is not they will NOT
deliver the mail to the CMRA. The new format is:
The stated purpose of this rule is to curb fraudulent business practices that use a CMRA address to make it appear they have a place of business. For this reason the rule states the US Postal Service will NOT deliver any mail to the CMRA that does not use the 4 line format and have PMB (for private mailbox) proceeding the number. I am outraged! Other postal regulations REQUIRE postal employees to make efforts to deliver mail to the intended party--even when there are mistakes in the address. Now there is a regulation that literally discriminates against people choosing to travel and have someone else receive and forward our mail. Imagine the possibilities. You send out change of address cards to everyone who you can remember has it and might write you and a large percentage of them look at their address book, see that the box number is the same and just discard it since all the numbers are the same--not noticing that they are just arranged differently or ignoring it assuming it doesn't matter. Others put PMB in front of the box number but leave it on three lines since most address books or data bases are not set up for four lines addresses. Still others put the second line as a PO Box number or something similar instead of PMB. And some who haven't contacted you for a while will use your old address format since they don't know it has changed. After October 26, 1999, ALL of the mail addressed with any of these "errors" will be returned marked "Undeliverable as Addressed" instead of the normal forwarding procedure where the US Postal Service knows what the new address is. I don't believe it is the intent of the US Postal Service to create such an unreasonable hardship on private citizens who need a mail receiving service and I believe if there is enough public outcry the rules will be rewritten to change the part requiring postal employees to return improperly addressed mail. My CMRA told me many of her customers are very upset. I am writing to the Postal Service and encourage all readers who use a CMRA or plan to travel in the future and might need their services to write as well. I could not locate an Email address for the Postal Service (though they do have a web site where you can find the rules if you spend an hour hunting and squinting at fine print read with Adobe Acrobat) but their snail mail address and phone numbers are: Mr. Roy Gamble
If enough people take the time to be heard I know we can make a difference. Bob Ellenberg
Thanks Bob. we don't know what else to do but follow through like you suggest. For us our old address is printed in 5,000 new copies of our new book and there is no way I can notify everyone who might buy the book. So folks will write to us and we won't get their mail. It is really sad. I did find an email address for the postal service and sent off one letter. You have to fill out a form first (of course). http://www.usps.gov/feedback/feedback.htm Barb * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Thanks again for continuing to make your site one of the best. Mario & Gail
UPDATES ON THE WEB SITE We hope to check email a couple of times a week, but I am hoping that the message board will take care of most of your questions. I have archived all of the old postings (except for a couple that I accidently lost) so there is a ton of great information there. Don’t forget to take advantage of our search capabilities. I have tried it many times and it really is efficient. The new Our House section is growing
We have included most of each newsletter including the photos that ran with each issue. I may be partial, but these are wonderful stories and I am glad that I could resurrect them. For each issue, I included the main stories, Potpourri, This N That and some miscellaneous things. I did not include Coffee Break or recipes (because all of those are already on the web) nor did I include the Letters section which was lmost always two full pages. I also did not include the Good Places to Eat or Campground update columns because things change too much after a few years. Please let me know what you think of them.
DENTAL WORK A SUCCESS BUT.... I am glad that that is behind me. I am glad too that my husband decided
to cut his trip short and come back to me for a few days before he had
to fly back for the wedding. I really needed him. I am healing and appreciate
all of your kind words and thoughts.
WE’RE ON THE ROAD AGAIN I have to see my friendly dentist on Monday then we are out of here. We are heading to Oklahoma City first to visit my son, Jim and his family. We plan to pick up grandsons, Kristopher and James and take them camping somewhere in Arkansas or Missouri. From there we will head to Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota (got a date to play bridge with the Vinds in Hackensack) then we will do the Dakotas and head back to Mesa. We need to be here by September 1 so the dentist can make me new teeth. All of this has to heal good first so we will gladly play. We only plan to be back in Mesa for a couple of months before heading out again. We are planning a trip across the southern US ending up at Disney World in Florida. We need a Disney fix --- okay so we are just a couple of kids. Also we want to visit daughter Glenda in West Palm Beach. My son Robert and his wife Kristen will have already left Florida for his new assignment in San Francisco so we will see him next summer. Also in our agenda is spending the month of January at Lazy Days where we will present many seminars on the full-timing lifestyle. So look for us. Wave whenever you see an RV go by. We are all a very
friendly bunch. Happy trails!!
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