If you have ever received a “No Access to Delivery Location” letter in the past then you’ll know just how frustrating and annoying this can be, right? Well, read on to discover everything you need to know about these pesky and ultimately unwelcome slips of paper.
So What Does “No Access to Delivery Location” Really Mean?
As you are probably more than aware, there are simply loads of delivery status messages that you could receive from the United States Postal Service. In this particular example, the main one here is “No Access to Delivery Location”. But maybe we should take a look in more detail at this particular slip, because it’s important that we know what it implies.
It goes without saying that it isn’t a good thing to have this pushed through your door or waiting for you in your letterbox. You certainly wanted your parcel and the USPS worker most definitely wanted to deliver it. However, in this situation they were unable to. All makes sense, right?
Well, if you received this message on a Sunday, the United States Postal Service will helpfully attempt to deliver it again on the next working day. This is usually, and obviously, a Monday. But that depends on whether or not there are any national holidays forthcoming. If this is the situation, you do not have to do anything else at all other than just sit back and wait for the consignment to be redelivered – or at least attempted to be redelivered. If 24 hours have been and gone since you received the “No access to delivery location” message, then it is definitely time to do something about the situation. What can you do, we hear you ask? Well, the USPS will tell you to send a service request email to the Post Office that is located closest to your home. This procedure is sensibly known as a follow-up. To go about this, simply click here and you will be taken to the contact page. It is pretty easy actually, and you will have the whole process done and dusted in no time at all.
Once you have sent the email, you will usually then be provided with a confirmation number. This can take between two and three working days to get to you. After this, you will have to follow the instructions provided in the email to then start the procedure for locating your package. More often than not, you will have to go and collect it yourself.
Why Have I Received a “No Access to Delivery Location Message”?
There are often a number of reasons for receiving this particular message. Sometimes it will be as a result of federal holidays turning the standard delivery days into non-delivery days. However, it could be that you have received this message because you live in a gated community or there have been situations where an animal has interfered with the delivery process. Yeah, you heard us right. So, what do we mean by “animal interference” you may say? Well, if you have a guard dog or other pet, it could be that they have prevented the delivery personnel from entering your premises or the area around your home. It, therefore, goes without saying that the United States Postal Service mailperson will not be able to deliver the package to you.
Is A Message That States “Receptacle Blocked” The Same Thing?
Evidently, this message is pretty similar to the “No Access to Delivery Location” statement but it does have a slightly more specific meaning. In other words, this message is stating that your mailbox was somehow physically blocked at the time the delivery person attempted to deliver your consignment to you. In can often be the case that this is as a result of a parked vehicle or even, in the case of an accident or incident of some nature, emergency responders have actually prevented access. However, it can also be the case that, due to particularly adverse weather conditions or utility work happening near or in front of your property, your mailperson has not been able to deliver.
It goes without saying that the best way to avoid this is to check for anything that could be blocking your mailbox before you leave your house. If you are not able to do this, then you should definitely make use of the postal locator finder that is provided by the United States Postal Service. This can be found on the United States Postal Service website. You can then arrange to collect your parcel or letter from your nearest Post Office at a time that is convenient for you.
Schedule A Redelivery If The Blockage Or Access Restricted Issue Is Going To Be A Long-Term Problem
If you are aware that the blockage situation or restricted access event is going to something that is likely to be around for some time, you should most definitely use the schedule a redelivery service feature that can be found on the USPS website. However, you will first of all have to check whether this feature is actually available for your address or district.
The initial part of the redelivery application form will ask you to provide the following information:
- Your first name
- Your last name
- Your middle initial (if applicable)
- Your company name (this is optional of course)
- Your street address
- Your city
- Your state
- Your zip code
- Your phone number (this is not optional)
- Your email (this is not optional either)
Once you have entered all the required information above, it is time to click the “Check Availability” button. This will let you know whether or not you will be able to access the redelivery feature in your specific area. If you are able to access the feature, you will then need to click on your packages (or package) that you want to have redelivered. You will then navigate to the final section which is called the “Confirm Selections for Redelivery” function. After you have completed that, you’re all done and are good to go!
Is There An Alternative Solution?
There is no doubt about it that receiving a “No Access to Delivery Location” message is incredibly frustrating. Trust us, we completely understand.
But do not stress about it; there is a much better, alternative solution available. Are you ready to find out what that solution is? We are pretty sure you are! So, let’s not waste any more time and get on with discovering what this fantastic alternative solution could be.
The answer is to obtain a virtual mailbox! What is that, we hear you ask? Well, read on to find out what a virtual mailbox entails. A digital, “virtual” mailbox allows you to see previews of all your mail. You can then read the previews, you can save them, and you can even print them, and finally you can actually decide whether or not you want the physical variant to be shipped to your door. This gives you the unique and novel opportunity to tailor the postal system so that it works for you. So, if you are not likely to be at home one day, all you have to do is let the really helpful app know about this, and your precious packages and parcels will not be left out on your doorstep. This means that your packages will not be affected by adverse weather, and they are also not on display for potential thieves to steal them. How perfect is that?
So How Does A Virtual Mailbox Work?
This is a great and totally understandable question to ask. The way a virtual mailbox works is actually pretty simple and intuitive, so there is no need to worry. You will not have to get used to any confusing software, and you certainly will not need to navigate around any scary code or programming languages. It is just as simple as browsing through all your Amazon orders!
It provides an obvious benefit also for those international shoppers who might want to purchase items from companies that state that they will only ship to someone who has a physical mailing address in the US.
This concept of postal scanning is enabling people around the world to have much more control over their personal mail and consignments. A physical US address is selected, the mail arrives at the facility and then all the envelopes are scanned. The scanned images are uploaded to your very own personal digital mailbox. You can then view and manage them from absolutely anywhere in the world by using your smartphone, your tablet or your computer.
Digital nomads have been using virtual mailboxes ever since they’ve been around, as it makes it so much easier for globe-trotting professionals and executives to manage their mail when they are traveling all around the world and at times could be away from their main residence for many weeks if not months at a time. The system really is very easy to use and understand, but having said that, we would still like to provide you with a little handy and practical step-by-step guide. You can find this below.
Step One: Apply for and then receive your unique physical mailing address. Once you click the sign-up button clearly provided on the website, you will then be given a permanent US Global Mail street address. This is not a PO box! You can use it like you would any other regular mail address (your home address, for example).
Do be sure that you redirect your mail to this specific address — this is crucial! All you have to do is submit a United States Postal Service change of address request form to do this. After that, your mail will arrive at its brand-new forever home until you ask it not to (if you decide you no longer want this awesome service). You can even access all of it in the Smart Mailbox app or on your personal dashboard.
Step Two: Managing all your mail. Once inside the app, you will find all of the parcels, packages, and letters that have been sent to the permanent address. From there, you can decide for yourself whether you want them shipped to your current location, forwarded to another location, shredded, printed, recycled, or read. In some cases you can scan it to read virtually or have it stored in the cloud. Everything is in your hands, and you’ll never have to trudge down to your mailbox ever again – the perfect solution in the winter!
Step Three: You are in control of your mail for life. It is really easy to stay in control and on top of your bills, taxes, and other important mail items by using this app. You can enhance your productivity, it is simple and intuitive to use, and it is incredibly private and secure. You will never again have to worry about mail being stolen if you are not at home to receive it, or lost in transit.
So here’s a brief rundown of the actual features you can expect to enjoy from signing up to a virtual mailbox.
- You have just one single US physical address that will never change irrespective of where you live.
- When your mail arrives at the depot, the service subsequently scans the envelopes and packages (it doesn’t open them, it just scans through them).
- You are then notified that you “have mail”, and you can then view the scans and decide for yourself whether or not you want the service to continue to post the mail to you, shred it or store it for you.
- You can help to reduce the carbon footprint of the mail service, as if you don’t want the mail and it is shredded, that’s probably quite a few miles that can be saved from otherwise delivering potentially junk mail to your door.
And there you have it! It really does take just three easy steps to obtain complete control and freedom over your personal mail. Why would you want it any other way?
