The USPS has had challenges lately but they deserve two thumbs up for a service called Informed Delivery that was made available to most of the United States in 2017 after a few years of testing. Early in 2018 I learned of it and signed up. It is A+.
For all homeowners, especially those with a lake home in or near Alexandria that they are away from for stretches of time, it is fantastic if the option to hold delivery or forward delivery isn’t used. But even if your mail is held, it is still sweet. Once registered, you will receive an email each morning with scanned images (the front of the envelope or postcard) that will be delivered to your house on that day. Even if your mail is held, you will receive images of your daily mail and information about packages. Sweet. The USPS also has a page within their apps for iOS and Android where it is possible to view the mail coming to you. If you don’t receive an item that you should have received you can mark it as not delivered. It has only happened a few times to me and in call cases the missing item was delivered the following day.
The signup process is easy and can be completed entirely online. After entering your address and choosing a username and password chosen, your identity will be verified by a number of questions and answers. As long as someone doesn’t know the last 4 digits of your social security number and specific details about your life (cars you have owned, places of employment, etc.) you will be able to get set up easily. If not, it is a bit more of a pain, I have read, as you will have to make a trip to the post office along with proof such as a utility bill.
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