Denmark to stop delivering letters

[Don_ih]

According to the BBC, the end is nigh. There will be private options for mail deliver, but the cost will be much higher. I doubt Denmark is alone in this. Here in Canada, the postal service is likely operating at a deficit. The recent quite long strike probably eliminated a lot of bill mail-outs as people signed up for e-billing (even though the bills weren't being delivered, you still had to pay them).

So, how long until a venerable postcard can no longer be sent? And, if it can be sent, at what expense? How will international mail agreements work when the recipient country only has private mail delivery services? Prints will always be able to be sent via courier (probably not a lot more expensive than the mail) but that's not really appropriate for a postcard.

 

[koraks]

Here in The Netherlands, there's no speak yet of total cessation of mail delivery, but the system is evidently under pressure. Because there are legal obligations and entitlements that rely on physical mail, it's a challenging situation to even think about delayed delivery (presently, delivery is the next working day in principle - although usually not in practice).

Something's gotta give.

 

[BrianShaw]

I talk to my letter carrier frequently and he loves his job and thanks the “junk mail” senders because without them he’d be unnecessary. During the holidays he delivered, on his route alone, between 200-300 parcels per day. The USPS struggles and seems oriented toward parcel delivery as a way to subsidize letter mail. Much in the way that “phone companies” subsidize Plain Old Telephone Service (copper land lines). But without a government mandate for both letter delivery and POTS for those unable to use modern alternatives it seems quite possible that those services would be terminated.

Perhaps the postcard/print exchange will need to evolve to a larger format, or transition from A to D.

“Something’s gotta give”.

 

[Don_ih]

During the holidays he delivered, on his route alone, between 200-300 parcels per day. The USPS struggles and seems oriented toward parcel delivery as a way to subsidize letter mail.

Similar in Canada. But it's too expensive to send parcels, here. People will generally opt, in gift-giving times, to e-transferring money or making an order at Amazon and having it shipped to the recipient (via Amazon's free shipping). Last I checked, it was slightly cheaper to send parcels using a courier than via Canada Post. That I consider to be a failure of foresight on the part of the postal service. They should have made themselves the winning option for sending anything, since they have the infrastructure in place. So while more and more packages are being put on people's doorsteps, fewer and fewer are by the hands of the postal service.

 

[Nitroplait]

I haven't yet heard how PostNord will honor international agreements for letter/postcard delivery, but they will maintain their profitable parcel service so I imagine they can utilise that.
In Denmark it is mandatory to have a unique electronic mailbox where all official messages are delivered. Companies typically also use it for salary slips, bank statements etc.
+90% of apartments in my building have opted for the No Junk Mail scheme - which prohibits delivery of unwanted advertisement.
So all in all, there is not much to support a healthy mail delivery service any longer.

 

[Don_ih]

90% of apartments in my building have opted for the No Junk Mail scheme

There has also been a push from many angles to stop using paper for such things. I get lots of "flyers" from stores in my email. Mostly those stores are ones I've order from online but some are stores I have physically entered - mostly buying things for work, but recently at least one local grocery store has started doing it. And catalogue mail-outs are pretty much a thing of the past.

 

[BrianShaw]

Catalog mailers still exist in droves for certain communities, it seems. My elderly parent received a ton of catalogues… literally a ton. Last year I had to move her to assisted living and thought that forwarding her mail to my home was a good idea. Only first class mail is forwarded. The government agencies were automatically informed of the address change but I had to change address for banks and merchants. Then the flood of catalogs resumed, but now they clutter my mailbox and trash can. Somehow, these catalogue-based vendors who prey on/support elderly people get automagically informed of address changes.

 

[Don_ih]

Then the flood of catalogs resumed

That reminded me of being given a subscription to Reader's Digest by my mother about 25 years ago. The magazines showed up and then a whole bunch of junk started to follow. People talk about social media selling you data - Reader's Digest was the king of that.

 

[xkaes]

It will get more expensive, but mail is here to stay. As already mentioned, there's tons of junk mail, catalogs, etc. that use it, and even though the number of letters/bills/etc. have reduced, the number of packages sent has gone through the roof -- and the price for shipping them has also gone through the roof over the last three years.

 

[loccdor]

Here in the USA, until recently I still needed to send the occasional stamped envelope with a check in it to pay a [water] bill.

Then, they started charging a fee for receiving checks, and also started charging a fee for online credit card payments.

So now the only way I could pay my water bill without an extra fee based on payment type is to drive to their office and pay them in person.

 

[Don_ih]

So now the only way I could pay my water bill without an extra fee based on payment type is to literally drive to their office and pay them in person.

My guess is they'd be fine with automatic withdrawal from your bank account. That's the way it is for a few of my current bills.

It will get more expensive, but mail is here to stay.

Probably for longer in the US than in other places.

 

[loccdor]

This particular one is a small town water supply, they don't have an autopay option.

 

[grahamp]

I get some mail from UK government agencies to the USA that is sent via some bulk service. It often has a postmark of Malta, or some other unexpected place. International postal rates being the complex calculation they are, it is probably cheaper (though very slow) to ship a stack of mail there and have it posted, rather than hand it to the UK Royal Mail.

All very well, until the item is a tax bill that is franked after the due date!

This is one of the reasons paper billing is failing - the lead time to post a check eats into the already short payment window.

 

[wiltw]

Here in the USA, until recently I still needed to send the occasional stamped envelope with a check in it to pay a [water] bill.

Then, they started charging a fee for receiving checks, and also started charging a fee for online credit card payments.

So now the only way I could pay my water bill without an extra fee based on payment type is to drive to their office and pay them in person.

this particular one is a small town water supply, they don't have an autopay option.

Electronic transfer of payments for bills, avoids cost of checks, which has gotten absurd in view of banks having high charges simply to furnish a supply checks for individual accounts. This is very sad, in view of smaller communities with retail accounts that cannot accept electronic transfers, and then more an more places will not accept CASH?!

 

[loccdor]

cost of checks

Didn't know it had gone up. I ordered mine more than 10 years ago. I don't think I'll ever be able to use them all.

 

[Sirius Glass]

All countries need to have a postal service. I wish this effort to close postal systems stops everywhere.

 

[BradS]

Won't the letters pile up if they stop delivering them?

 

[Ian Grant]

Didn't know it had gone up. I ordered mine more than 10 years ago. I don't think I'll ever be able to use them all.

I've probably had 2 checks in the last 14 years since I returned from living abroad to the UK. I may have had to send one in that time, saw my check book yesterday it's over v20 years old..

Even checks are read electronically at most banks, well mine anyway, I just feed it into the cash machine it gets scanned, kept, and I get small print out of the scan.

Won't the letters pile up if they stop delivering them?

The reality is there are some documents that have to be sent by letter post, it's more likely reducing the number of deliveries a week of some of it. So say just 2 or 3 deliveries a week of lower value (postal charge) items, that's already happening here in the UK due to staff shortages, in some areas. Now when I get letter post there are flyers for local restaurants, Subway are the most ardent.

Ian

 

[Paul Howell]

There has been ongoing talks to privatize the U.S mail and let market forces dictate price. We pay about 1/3 of our bills by mail, but could pay most if not all by electronic transfer. Other option under consideration would be mail delivery 3 times week rather than 6, but states with large rural populations depend on the mail. That may change as 5G internet services is becoming more reliable and at a price that is less than most fiber optic internet. The U.S post makes money with bulk mail and package delivery, loses money on flat mail.

 

[koraks]

I've probably had 2 checks in the last 14 years since I returned from living abroad to the UK.

That's the thing; the use of cash and checks is very country/culture-determined. Around here, virtually only old people and petty criminals pay with cash anymore. Checks were never very popular and entirely went out of fashion around 1990. Recently, I was at a small event location which only accepted cash. First business I've come across in the past 25 years or so to do so - and it didn't have anything to do with cost, and everything with certain perceptions about what happens with electronic payment data.

 

[wiltw]

Didn't know it had gone up. I ordered mine more than 10 years ago. I don't think I'll ever be able to use them all.

Just checked...my bank a major one in US... $27 for 50 checks. Independent check ordering services less than half that...why the guy at the bank told my wife to get them at Costco!

 

[MattKing]

I expect to see home delivery disappear, but central mail pickup centres expanded - most likely in facilities that are "features" added to retail outlets that already serve customers for other needs. The local retail post office is in a chain drugstore.

 

[MattKing]

Just checked...my bank a major one in US... $27 for 50 checks. Independent check ordering services less than half that...why the guy at the bank told my wife to get them at Costco!

Yes - the last batch of cheques we purchased came that way - and they were mailed to us .
We have exactly one monthly bill to deal with that requires cheques or money orders, and it is expensive and impractical for them to accept electronic payment.

 

[Pieter12]

They stopped delivering mail to my brother's home in Montreal years ago. Now he has to go to a location several block away that has individual P.O. boxes to get his mail.

 

[Paul Howell]

The U.S post office does the same thing, new town homes, condo, apartments have clusters of boxes.