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Handymail Rip Off


Mainecoons

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We've been Handy Mail subscribers for 10 years but will not be renewing when our current year runs out.  This is why.

Took a first class letter in to be sent to the U.S. containing an insurance check for medical expense reimbursement to be deposited in the bank account we draw NOB cash from.  First they demanded to know if there was a check in the envelope.  Thinking that maybe there is yet another regulation to be satisfied my wife said yes and told them the amount and what it was.

Then they demanded to see the check.  Then they demanded to make a copy "for their records." 

But here's the good part:  After making a copy they demanded a 733 peso "commission" for sending the letter out.  Not 20 pesos, which is double what they use to charge for handling, but they think they are entitled to collect a commission on a check that has nothing to do with them at all.

Avoid Handymail.  Other places will let you share boxes and not be trying to extort money from you when you want to send out a check.  Also feel free to post this information on TOB.

 

 

 

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I was just told that Fed EX, UPS etc, would charge around $1,300 pesos if the check was for a large amount. I also remember that when I sent checks up north via Handy mail, that they had to check the amount. Because if they sent one large envelope carrying many pieces of mail from their users and the total of all of the checks in all of the envelopes in their large carry all envelope was more than $10,000 that they would be breaking Mexican law. And that the penalty was pretty bad.

The amount they are charging sounds like your check was close to $10,000 US and even then I would not think they would not need to charge quite so much.

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This isn't FedEx UPS or etc.  They are carrying a letter to the U.S post office.  I don't pay any of those an annual fee that was supposed to include this service and did so for all the years that Mr. Jones ran things.

Apples and oranges Pete.

Funny that IShop or Sol y Luna isn't doing this.  If what you say about Mexican law is true, then they shouldn't be handling checks at all.  None of them.  But they do.

Nope, this is just a rip off, pure and simple.  If you use this company be aware of it.

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I agree $733 pesos seems too high. But when Dryden Jones was alive and afterwards if I told them I was sending checks up north, they asked me to show them the check before I sealed the envelope. Because they had to ensure that the total dollar amount in each FedEx packet was/is less than $10,000 dollars US..

I would normally send at least one US check up north every 6 months. The amounts were maybe $500 to maybe $1,750, never more and I was never charged more than the standard rate. Oh today, for a member, they charge $10 pesos to send your stamped letter to the US via a FEDEX packet. But should that check be close to $10,000 US dollars often they would need to send an additional packet because of the totals of the checks already in the packet, and that would explain the extra charge. It's just that $733 pesos seems too high.

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Is Handy Mail the only one asking re: checks and charging fees?  I paid them a few months ago for 2 checks going to the US.  I think the fee was based on size of checks (around 1,800 USD, as I recall).   I understood it to be a government fee, as Handy Mail would declare the checks at the border.  It was't a whole lot of money (appx. 200 pesos, I think) so I paid it. 

Would like to know if Sol y Luna, LCS, etc. are asking about checks and charging fees for them.  

I was with Handy Mail 2008-2012 and never any issues so I signed up with them again when we returned this year.  When they told me about the fee for the check I figured it was a new law that had taken effect during our 5 year absence.  

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If you have a US bank account with online banking, you can deposit a check by scanning it.  Just follow the instructions on your account at your bank‘s website. The deposit is instant and will show up on your account. You may then destroy the actual check, or mark it void and file it.  Even in the USA, there is no longer any need to mail checks.

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4 minutes ago, RVGRINGO said:

If you have a US bank account with online banking, you can deposit a check by scanning it.  Just follow the instructions on your account at your bank‘s website. The deposit is instant and will show up on your account. You may then destroy the actual check, or mark it void and file it.  Even in the USA, there is no longer any need to mail checks.

Need a smart phone.  My phone es muy estupido.  

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Exactly.  That is the only applicable law I could find when I looked it up.  Several references noted that Mexico is very liberal when it comes to cross border money transfer and sets no limit on it.  The only limit seems to be the U.S. $10K limit.

In actuality, the money never left the bank account of the insurance company and wouldn't until it was deposited into another U.S. account at our bank.  

There is no new law.  We received no email notice about this new policy from Handymail.  They are simply changing their terms of service with no advanced notice after accepting our payment for annual service that is supposed to include taking U.S. stamped mail back to the Post Office.

This is about squeezing more money out of their customers, nothing more.  This is not the same Handymail as it was when Dryden Jones ran it.  Be aware.

Already covered that RV.  Check was less than the $10K limit but over the limit for that type of transfer at our bank, Capital One.

We've arranged to send it out with a friend's visiting relative.  I just wanted everyone to know Handymail is pulling this stunt so you won't be blindsided like we were.

 

 

 

 

 

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8 minutes ago, Bisbee Gal said:

Need a smart phone.  My phone es muy estupido.  

Some people have scanners and sending the scan in the banks webpage. My bank will not accept a scan from outside the US, so my VPN comes in handy for that chore.

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13 minutes ago, Bisbee Gal said:

Need a smart phone.  My phone es muy estupido.  

You don't need a Smart phone, just a printer with a scanner. I have deposited numerous checks to USAA over the years. Unfortunately that doesn't cover an amount limit by the bank.

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8 minutes ago, MtnMama said:

You don't need a Smart phone, just a printer with a scanner. I have deposited numerous checks to USAA over the years. Unfortunately that doesn't cover an amount limit by the bank.

Different banks have different rules.  I just went to BOA website and found out that scan deposits are limited to business customers.  

These were unexpected checks and we don't expect more of them.  Though I will PM anyone my Handymail box number if you should wish to send me a Christmas check :D  I can use it to buy a Smart phone to deposit future checks :lol:

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1 hour ago, MtnMama said:

You don't need a Smart phone, just a printer with a scanner. I have deposited numerous checks to USAA over the years. Unfortunately that doesn't cover an amount limit by the bank.

As others have mentioned, banks have different policies. They also change over time. I believe the OP mentions Capone360. I scanned checks a few times in the past with my scanner and deposited them to Capone360. The last time I tried the only option was via the smart phone App. They also say from the US only but a VPN solves that.

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I really hate the word RIPOFF. If the OP didn't like the price they certainly could have gone somewhere else to send a check to the USA.  When you accept someones price and you get what you pay for it is not a RIPOFF. ....It is an agreement between two parties. ONLY IF you don't receive what you agree to then the word RIPOFF should be used.

Handymail received a big fine a couple of years ago when Dryden was still the owner. A package went with over $10,000US. Now they follow the same procedure as everyone because they are sending the package  via FedEX.  

If you use  DHL or FedEx to the USA they must see the  contents of the package. They will not send monetary instruments (ie checks) above $10,000 in the envelope.

 

 

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9 hours ago, Mostlylost said:

 

I really hate the word RIPOFF. If the OP didn't like the price they certainly could have gone somewhere else to send a check to the USA.  When you accept someones price and you get what you pay for it is not a RIPOFF. ....It is an agreement between two parties. ONLY IF you don't receive what you agree to then the word RIPOFF should be used.

Handymail received a big fine a couple of years ago when Dryden was still the owner. A package went with over $10,000US. Now they follow the same procedure as everyone because they are sending the package  via FedEX.  

If you use  DHL or FedEx to the USA they must see the  contents of the package. They will not send monetary instruments (ie checks) above $10,000 in the envelope.

 

 

The "someone" sprung it on their members with no notice whatsoever.  It has nothing to do with the $10K limit as there are no laws other than that and no taxes/government fees involved in handling less than that amount.  Handymail isn't DHL or FedEx by a long shot.  They just take your mail to a U.S. Post Office and they sure aren't speedy about it.  Don't confuse Handymail with door to door courier services.

Disclosing in advance a major policy change like this as they have with everything else would make it not a ripoff IMO.  "Everyone else" may be checking the size of the amount but they aren't trying to get hundreds of pesos out of you without prior notice simply for mailing a bank deposit of funds that never actually left the U.S. to begin with.

I might add that HandyMail advertised the handling of northbound mail at a set cost as one of the services we pay them for in our annual fee, which runs more than $20 U.S. per month.  Without notice they basically have changed a service we have already paid them for in advance and tried to get nearly $50 U.S. from us simply for returning to the U.S. a bank deposit of a U.S. check that was never cashed in Mexico to begin with. 

Call it what you like.  That's my label for it and I'm sticking to it.   BTW I sent them an email about this and they offered no response or explanation for this change or how they handled it.

 

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On 12/15/2017 at 3:02 PM, RVGRINGO said:

If you have a US bank account with online banking, you can deposit a check by scanning it.  Just follow the instructions on your account at your bank‘s website. The deposit is instant and will show up on your account. You may then destroy the actual check, or mark it void and file it.  Even in the USA, there is no longer any need to mail checks.

There usually is an upper limit on the dollar amount, however.

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