Mail

[sergio]

Some people have asked about mail service here. It's completely unpredictable. Yesterday a friend told me that she received a letter that I sent from a major US post office on January 9. A few years ago a letter took six months to get to me from the US. Other times letters have arrived within 7-10 days. I've had many magazines never arrive and two checks sent from abroad (a big mistake!) stolen and cashed.

 

[flyfreely]

my stats on regular mail in Palermo are: 40% received unopened, 60% never received. In that never received category there was a US check sent to an Argentine. The check was cashed in Spain within a week of being sent. So, it makes you wonder, if it takes 2 weeks to get an envelope from the US to Argentina, how is it that in 1 week, it can be intercepted and sent to Spain to be cashed?

 

[sergio]

When I complained to Correo Argentino about the theft the employee advised me NOT to file a complaint as she said that it is ILLEGAL to send checks through the mail in Argentina. One other bit of advice: Tell your foreign correspondents NOT to use any interesting commemorative or attractive stamps as they can cause the letter to be stolen. Correo Argentino is now state owned. For awhile it was private. The prices are higher now that it is state owned and the service worse. It sort of defies the logic of many Argentines that state-owned is better.

 

[orwellian]

Do people still use checks?