F A Q
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FAQ

Mail and Packages
Voice and Faxes
General

Mail and Packages Services

What are my options?

We offer two options for mail forwarding.  Budget mail is at a fixed all-inclusive cost and Personal Mail lets you pay as you go.

Budget Mail lets you receive up to 27 pieces per year which we will forward for a fixed annual fee.  With budget mail, there is never any extra fees or costs, unless you either A) receive more than 27 pieces in a year B) receive mail that requires extra postage to forward or C) receive a package

Personal Mail lets you receive an unlimited number of personal mail at a low monthly or annual cost, with the cost of postage and handling charged as incurred.  Personal Mail customers can also receive and have forwarded packages for a discounted handling fee over Budget Mail customers.

How much does does budget mail cost?

Budget mail is $ 120 per year for North America, and $ 180 per year for anywhere else in the world.  Non-North American Budget mail costs more, since it costs us more to forward mail overseas than it does within the USA, Canada, or Mexico.

How does it work?

Once per week, we count how many pieces you have received and deduct it from your annual allowance of 27.  We then put all your mail inside a large envelope and forward it via First Class (USA only) or Air Mail.

What if I receive an oversized letter, catalog or a magazine?

Any mail pieces that weigh 2 ounces (about 57 grams) or less count as a single piece of mail, deducted from your annual allowance of 27 pieces.  If a piece of mail exceeds 2 ounces, we will deduct an extra piece of mail from your annual allowance for each extra 2 ounces of weight.

Why is 2 ounces (57 grams) the piece weigh limit for Budget Mail?  How much is two ounces?

Most pieces of mail weigh two ounces or less.  A typical 5 page letter in a standard envelope is about one ounce, or about 28 grams (28.3495231 exactly).  Two ounces is slightly less than 57 grams.  US Postal rates are based on ounces (not grams or any other measurement of the metric system).

What happens if I receive more than 27 pieces before the end of the one year Budget Mail service?

Your subscription expires either 12 months after you signed up, OR after we have received 27 pieces of mail.  When this happens, you have to either renew your Budget Mail service or upgrade to our Personal Mail service before we can forward your mail again.  Before or upon your Budget Mail service expiration, we will notify you, and hold your mail for about three weeks while we await for you to renewal your service.

What happens if I receive less than 27 pieces before the end of the one year Budget Mail service?

Budget Mail services expires either 12 months after you signed up, OR after we have received 27 pieces of mail.  If you receive less than 27 pieces of mail during your 12 month Budget Mail service, you do not get "credit" for any unused pieces of mail.

Can my friends and family share my Personal or Budget Mail service?

Yes, but they must be listed on your Postal form, and all mail must be forwarded to the same address.  A maximum of two people can share the same Personal or Budget Mail service.

Can I use Personal or Budget Mail service for my business?

No.  PostPal services are designed and priced for individuals only.  As businesses tend to receive much more mail than individuals, we would have to raise our prices if we accepted business customers.  If you need a business class service, our company has been servicing the its international clientele for over 10 years.

May I receive a package with Budget or Personal Mail services?

Yes, you can receive a package for a handling fee, plus the standard list price of FedEx service of your choice.

How much is the handling fee to receive a package?

For Personal Mail, the cost is $ 8 per package.  For Budget Mail, the cost is $ 15 per package.  In addition, you also pay the cost of FedEx at normal list price with no surcharge added.  If the package is to be shipped outside of the USA, we will produce any necessary customs declaration at no extra charge.  If you expect to receive many packages, you may prefer a business class service with lower package handling fees than PostPal.

How is my package forwarded?

Unless you instruct us otherwise, packages are shipped FedEx Priority Air Service.  Depending on where you want your package shipped, you may choice the FedEx class of service for your package.  Prior to your package being forwarded, you will have to pre-pay all charges.

What is the fee if I receive more than one package?

If you receive more than one package within a 3 day period, each additional package is $ 5 for Personal Mail and $ 10 for Budget Mail.

What is a package?

A package is anything that can not fit inside a very large envelope (15" X 12"/38cm X 30cm) or has a weight of more than 4 pounds/1.8 Kilograms.  In addition, anything that requires either a customs declaration.

Can two or more packages be combined to lower the cost of FedEx services?

Upon request, we will combine packages to lower the FedEx fee.  The minimum fee for this service is $ 10.

Does a package count as a mail piece for Budget Mail?

No, a package does not count towards your 27 piece allotment.

Can PostPal hold mail or package?

Normally, this is not permitted, however, under extenuating circumstances, we may make an exception.  If you would like us to briefly hold your mail or packages, please contact us.

Can I pick up mail or packages?

Normally, this is not permitted, however, under extenuating circumstances, we may make an exception.  If you would like to request permission to pick up your mail or packages, please contact us at least 48 hours in advance.  If you pick up a package, the package handling fee still applies.

Can I change the address that mail is forwarded to?

Of course.  We understand that people move, which is one of the reasons PostPal service was created.  If you need us to change your mail forwarding address, please contact us at least 10 days in advance of your move.

Voice and Faxes

What are my options?

You can have either a voice or fax telephone number forward to your e-mail address.

What area codes do can I choice from?

We offer the following Metro New York Area telephone numbers:

(516) Nassau County, Long Island, New York
(631) Suffolk County, Long Island, New York
(646) Manhattan, New York City, New York
(718) New York City (all boroughs except Manhattan), New York
(845) Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene,  Orange, Putnan, Rockland,  Sullivan and Ulster Counties, Lower Hudson Valley,  New York
(914) Westchester County, Lower Hudson Valley, New York
(917) New York City, New York

In addition, we also offer (212) and (800) area codes as part of a business class service.

Like any other voice mail service, people will call your number and listen to a greeting that you have recorded, and will be given a chance to record a message after a tone.  Once the caller has recorded their message, our system will then convert the message into a .Wav sound file and will send you the message as an e-mail attachment, including the time and date the message was taken, and the length of the message.

How come Voice and Fax service is so inexpensive?

Since PostPal does not store your messages, rather send them to you as an e-mail attachment, we don’t need to have expensive message storage capacity.  Since our telephone lines are only used briefly by you to recorded your greeting, and by callers to leave messages or send faxes, this means that we can service many times the number of caller than our competitors that permit you to listen to your message (and tie up telephone lines) over the telephone.  Since PostPal users listen to message or view a fax on there own computer, this lets you enjoy listening to your message or view faxes again and again at your leisure as well as storing your message or fax for as long as you keep your e-mail.

How come Budget Mail and Personal Mail service is so inexpensive?

Since PostPal does not store mail or packages , rather send them to you shortly after the arrive, we don’t need to have expensive storage space.  Dealing with packages is one of the more expense activates for a mail forwarding service.  Since we charge a separate fee for each package we receive, we are able to offer very low mail service prices to those customers that only need to have mail forwarded.

What is the Two E-Mail address option?

Some users have more than one e-mail address, and like to have voice e-mail messages go to two accounts.  Since it requires more resources from our system to send out two e-mail messages with the .WAV file attachment (or .TIF for faxes) than a single e-mail, we charge a little extra for this option.

What is the Alert E-mail Option?

Some users have cell phones or PDA (such as Blackberry or Palm, for example) that are capable of receiving short e-mail messages, but are not suitable for receiving or playing .Wav sound file attachments.  With this option, we send Alert E-mail, in addition to the regular e-mail message with the .WAV sound attachment (or .TIF for fax image attachment) so that the user will know that they have a new message that they can listen (or view for fax)to when they access their primary e-mail account.  Since it requires more resources from our system to send out an extra e-mail for the alert, we charge a little extra for this option.

What is the maximum length of the greeting I can record?

30 seconds is the maximum length of the greeting you can record.  This is more than enough time for most customers to record a greeting.  Unlike other services, that allow longer recordings, our 30 second limit means that PostPal does not have to store and play long greetings for each account.  This reduces our storage costs and helps keep our telephone lines from being tied up, which helps us keep our costs down, and our prices low.  We do offer a longer greeting length as part of a business class service as well.

What is the maximum length of a message I can receive?

40 seconds is the maximum length of a message you can record.  This is more than enough time for most people to record a message.  Should a caller wish to leave a longer message, you caller can call your number again, and continue the original message.  Unlike other services that allow longer messages, our 40 second limit means that PostPal does not process long message into .Wav sound attachments.  This reduces our processing costs and helps keep our telephone lines from being tied up, which helps us keep our costs down, and our prices low.  We do offer a longer message lengths as part of a business class service as well.

What is the maximum number of a fax pages I can receive?

At this time, PostPal does not impose a fixed limit on the number of fax pages that can be received, as we recognize that occasionally individuals may need to receive a high volume of faxes for a short period of time.  Our policy is for fax falls within what is a "reasonable use" meaning that should we determine that you are receiving more faxes than is normal for a individual to receive, we may suspend the account, take other action, or ask you to upgrade to a  business class service if you plan on continue to receive a higher than normal amount of faxes.  Historically, well over 99% of our customers fax usage patterns have fell within our "reasonable use" policy.

How long does it take to download .WAV attachments (Voice Files)?

The below table shows how long various .WAV files will download under OPTIMAL conditions.

Most voice mail messages are 20 seconds or less, meaning that even with a slow dial up connection, message should take a minute or less to download.  A 40 second .WAV file is about 430KB, small enough to be accepted by most e-mail accounts, including many of the popular free e-mail services.

How long does it take to download .TIF attachments (Fax Files)?

Fax files tend to be smaller than Voice files.  While the size of a Fax file depends on resolution of the fax received, a one page fax is normally less than 50% of the size of a of a 20 second voice message.

Most fax messages are 3 pages or less, meaning that even with a slow dial up connection, message should take a minute or less to download.  A 6 page .TIF file is about 400KB, small enough to be accepted by most e-mail accounts, including many of the popular free e-mail services.

Will I be able to listen .WAV voice files on my computer?

The .WAV format is one of the most universally accepted sound formats offering excellent sound quality.  Since virtually all computers can play this format, which is what PostPal have chosen for its services.  In most cases, unless you have changed the software that came standard with your computer or change default settings, you should be able to listen to .WAV sound files without any difficulties.  If you would like a sample .WAV sound file e-mail, please click here.

Will I be able to view .TIF image files on my computer?

The .TIF format is one of the most universally accepted image formats offering excellent graphic quality.  Since virtually all computers can display this format, which is what PostPal have chosen for its services.  In most cases, unless you have changed the software that came standard with your computer or change default settings, you should be able to view to .TIF sound files without any difficulties.  If you would like a sample .TIF sound file e-mail, please click here.

How long after someone leaves a voice or fax message for me, how until it is e-mailed to me?

PostPal will e-mail your voice or fax messages to you after the caller hangs up under normal conditions.  In most cases, the e-mail message will be in your e-mail box within 5 minutes, and often, within one minute.  Please note that e-mail and the Internet in general are beyond the control of PostPal.

Can I get voice files in .mp3 or fax files in .pdf, or another format?

No.  Other voice and fax formats require that the PostPal system perform additional processing before sending sound files to your e-mail, which adds to our costs.  Since we have adopted the .WAV sound format for voice and .TIF image format for fax, PostPal saves money by not having to license other formats for its customers, as well as have lower support cost, keeping our costs and prices low.  As part of a business class service, we can offer alternate formats.

General

How can I pay for the service?

PostPal only accepts online payment via PayPal, as well as checks or money order via mail.  The cost to accept and process credit card and electronic checks is high.  Most companies cover these expensive by charging a high set up fee, or a high subscription price.  At PostPal, we charge only a low $ 25 Set Up fees per account, not per service, and we keep our service fees low.  In part, we are able to do this becuase we outsource our online payments to PayPal.  As part of a As part of a business class service, we can offer other payment methods and terms.  PayPal is a free service to join, and if you use this link, you may earn $ 5 from PayPal by joining their service.  If you do not wish to pay using PayPal and want to pay for 12 months of service (for the price of 10 months), you can mail your check or money order (cash maybe sent at your own risk) to:

PostPal
PO Box XXX
New York, NY  10016

Your account will be activated after your payment has cleared.  PostPal has no corporate affiliation with PayPal.

How much is the set up fee?

The set up fee is $ 25 per account, not per service, so you may order as many services as you like for a single account set up fee.  As account sign up is done online, rather than with a live person over the phone, we are able to reduce our costs in setting up a new account, which lets us offer our service at low price with a simple flat $ 25 set up fee.

Is PayPal safe?

PayPal uses SSL technology to keep your information safe. In addition, when you send a payment using PayPal, PostPal.com won't receive your sensitive financial information like your credit card or bank account number. This way, you don't have to worry about us or any other third party getting your private payment information.  PostPal has no corporate affiliation with PayPal.

Is PostPal and PayPal related or owend by one another?

PostPal has no corporate affiliation with PayPal and are owned by two independent companies.  Our only affiliation is that PostPal has an account with PayPal to receive payments from its customers.  PostPal's is just a member of PayPal, just like over 45 million other PayPal members worldwide.

How long does it take for my account to be set up?

If you use PayPal, your account will typically be set up within 48 hours of when your payment clears, with over 90% of all accounts set up the same day.  If you send us a check or money order, your account will be set up within 48 hours of when your payment clears. As it can take up to 5 business days for your payments to reach us via mail, and check can take up to 5 more business days for your check to clear, please allow at least two weeks for your account to be set up.  PostPal has no corporate affiliation with PayPal.

How do I contact support?

Support can be contacted at support@postpal.net, or you can use this link for faster service.  You may also contact us by telepone on 1 212 685 1777.  In addition to contacting support, please re-visit our website, as we update the FAQ page often.

What is I need to change my e-mail address that messages or alerts are sent to?

If you e-mail address is going to change, or has already changed, you will need to submit this form.  You will need to provide us with your password.  As we take the privacy of your account seriously, your e-mail change request form will be processed manually, so please allow at least 48 hours update your account.

What if I forget my PIN (password)?

If you forget your PIN (password), you will need to submit request on this form.  You will need to provide us with the current primary e-mail address for your PostPal service and your PostPal telephone and/or number.  As we take the privacy of your account seriously, your PIN (password) recovery request form will be processed manually, so please allow at least 48 hours for your password to be retrieved.

What if I forget my PIN (password) AND my e-mail address has changed?

Under these circumstances, you will need to print this form and have it notarized.  As we take the privacy of your account seriously, we require that a Notary Public confirm your identity.  Many banks will notarize documents upon presentment of Photo ID for a nominal fee, normally about $ 2.00.  As this form will be processed manually upon its receipt, so please allow at least two weeks for your account to be updated.

Can I recover message that have previously been sent to me?

PostPal does not store your messages.  We cannot re-send messages that have already been sent.  It is you’re responsibly to back up your e-mail.  As part of a business class service, we can offer online message access and storage.

If I only need the services for a few months, but paid for a year to get the advanced payment discount, can I get a refund?

PostPal service is non-refundable.  When you pay for 10 months of service in advance, you get a full year of service, that us more than 15% off our already low prices.  We offer this discount because we relied on you being a customer of ours for a full year, and in exchange for that loyalty, we gave you preferential pricing. By not processing refunds (except under in the unlikely event of a service failure, when we might grant a refund at our sole desecration, we are able to keep our prices low.  Any unused deposit balance of at least $ 1 for postage and handling fees will be refunded upon request.

If I have a remaining balance for postage and handling charges for personal mail, how can I get a refund?

While your PostPal service is non-refundable, any unused deposit balance is refundable.  Before your refund of your deposit balance is processed, any outstanding PostPal service fees will be deducted.  Any remaining balance will then be mailed by company check to your address on file.  If you prefer, you can request that your refund be mailed to you cash.  We assume no reasonability for lost or stolen refunds that are requested in cash.  Cash refunds will be round down to the nearest dollar.  No refunds for any deposit balance of less than $ 1.

Can I use my PostPal service for my business?

The PostPal service is designed for personal use.  Any use that does not comply with our “reasonable use” policy will subject your account to early termination without a refund.  For business customers, please ask us about our business class service for your needs.

What is “reasonable use”?

Reasonable use means that account is used in a way that is reasonable for personal use.  Any usage pattern that exceeds more than 5 times the usage of our average user may be considered “unreasonable” and could subject your account to suspension and/or early termination without a refund.  For full details, please read our terms and conditions.  Our business class service are designed to accommodate the needs of high volume customers.

When do I pay handling fees to forward mail?

All postage and handling fees to forward Personal Mail service either automatically billed to your PayPal account when they exceed $ 10 or are deducted from your deposit if you have not established a PayPal subscription payment.  Failure to pay your postage and handling fees and other ancillary charges promptly after your PayPal account has been billed or keep a deposit balance may lead to your other services being suspended or canceled.

When do I pay package handling fees and FedEx charges?

Before we forward your package, we will send you a bill, which will cover the cost of handling your package and FedEx charges.  You must pay this bill before your package is forwarded or released, even if you have a deposit for Personal Mail postage and handling charges.  After we have sent your package, sometimes FedEx informs us of additional charges imposed by governmental authorities or for an address correction.  As neither FedEx or Post Pal can determine these charges in advance, you will be billed for these additional charges after your package has been forwarded.  Failure to pay these charges promptly may lead to your other services being suspended or canceled.

When does my subscription renew?

All subscriptions renew on the same day of the month that you originally subscribed to our service, unless you pay annually, in which case, your subscription will renew on the same day of the year that you originally subscribed to our service.  If you pay for your service with a PayPal subscription payment, our fees will automatically charged to your PayPal account.  You can cancel (from your PayPal account) your subscription renewal at anytime up to the day before your subscription renews.  If you pay for your subscription with a check or money order payment, you will receive an e-mail from Post Pal at least one week before your subscription renews.  You may cancel your next year's subscription renewal at anytime up to the day before your subscription renews.  You will need to either mail us a payment for your next year's subscription or set up a PayPal automatic Subscription payment.

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