What postal address do you use ?

[blackdogsailing]

Summer 2015 we are off on our sailing travels. This time we are selling up everything, house, furniture, car and most possessions that we won't be taking with us. In the past we have used Carolines parents as our address. They have sorted the mail, forwarded anything important (not a lot !) and generally looked after our affairs (notably the house which we rented out).
They are now well into their 80's and we do not want to burden them with the responsibility. So what do the rest of you all do ?

Happy New Year to everyone, wherever in the world you may be !

Chris

 

[PlanB]

Willing friends.

 

[capnsensible]

Brother in law since 1999

 

[KellysEye]

Jane's brother.

 

[duncan99210]

My daughter.

 

[Yngmar]

There are scan+shred services that will give you a UK postal address (useful for many things) for an annual fee, scan all your snailmail and make it accessible to you in PDF format. It can then either be shredded, or (selectively) forwarded to an address of your choosing, usually with a small markup on the postage fee.

There's a large number of these around: https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=uk mailboxes scan#q=uk+mailbox+scan - can't really recommend one, the only one I've dealt with was "Mailboxes etc. (MBE)", which was so-so.

 

[blackdogsailing]

thanks for those. My brother is looking favourite !
Supplementary question now. How much do they actually do for you ? Can they pay bills, sort out finances etc. or do they just sort out the rubbish and forward the important stuff to you ?

When I first went off sailing in the mid 80's, i had 1 bank account, 1 credit card and not a care in the world. Now there are multiple accounts, online savings, pensions, 4 credit cards, tax returns, life insurance policies etc. etc. I am worried that I forget something important to do before we go !!

Chris

 

[PlanB]

Provided you set it all up while in the uk, you can do just about everything online these days.

 

[macd]

Provided you set it all up while in the uk, you can do just about everything online these days.

+1
Equally, I'd suggest that the OP's preparation for his trip includes simplifying his financial affairs as much as possible and setting up standing orders/direct debit where on-line dealings aren't possible. Providing I have a wifi signal, there is almost nothing I can't do/pay/organise from on board. Someone physically fielding mail is just a back-stop for the unexpected.

 

[duncan99210]

We do all our financial stuff on line, so very little paper stuff arrives via snail mail. The standing agreement with our daughter is that she opens the mail, reads it and will send us a photo if it needs action. Happens perhaps once or twice a year. Otherwise, the address is mainly for pensions, tax etc.

When we first left, my brother did the job and we left him with a cheque book and card: he used it so little that we haven't bothered with a similar set up for our daughter.

 

[john_q]

Agree that you need to simplify your needs before you go to keep the post volumes down and you can do most things on line these days

Just a few thoughts on Debit and Credit Cards whilst cruising

Replacing UK Debit and credit cards when abroad is a real PITA as they will not send the cards outside of the UK, so if you lose or break your card or it expires, you are S****D until you can get a replacement.

We have also found a lot of countries charge a surcharge (up to 8%) for using credit cards, so if you have to pay a large bill (e.g haul out or replace your outboard or Medical) want to pay by cash, it results in many trips to the ATM if you only have 1 card and you will have to spread the withdrawals over a few days to get enough dosh (sometimes chargeable days if it is a boat yard)

We have also found that some ATM’s in some countries will charge you a percentage or fee for using Visa but not for Mastercard or Visa versa.

Some places have ATM scams and go after your cash after you have used the ATM

Our solution is

To have multiple joint Current accounts with debit cards (both Visa and Mastercard) with the ability to load up the card via the internet with only the amount you want to take out before you use it and leave no large balances on them so

1. You can make multiple withdrawals in 1 day using more than 1 card if you need to if you have a large bill to pay
2. If the card goes wrong, you can still use your partners one
3. You can spread the expiry dates of the cards
4. If you are really lucky, you can get a “no charge for Foreign exchange” cards e.g. Nationwide Flex+ account for debit cards and Nationwide Select for Credit cards
5. You can (hopefully) limit any nasty business with people trying to use your card

Also having your credit cards in joint names, Points b, c, d above will also work

HOWEVEVER, the big caveat is that you HAVE TO BE IN THE UK to set up new accounts so do it before you leave

 

[duncan99210]

It might be worth considering pre paid currency cards such as Caxton. We use them, get a good rate of exchange with no charge for ATM use and no other charges associated with them. Top up via the Internet is painless, especially since they've brought in apps for use on iPad or Android platforms.

 

[rivonia]

Go to the BANK and discuss your concerns. Make arrangements for card re-newals to go to Daughter/son/brother who ever you have nominated. The bank needs to know. Use internet banking It is easy.

Cancel all that you will not be using.

Create direct debits/standing orders when with the bank.

Then relax. go sailing all taken care of.

 

[charles_reed]

Many misconceptions - there are more than 3 credit cards making no charge within the € area and some who extend this to Turkey and the USA. I always have at least two with me.
Prepay cards are one way round the problem, unfortunately quite expensive, a factor not perceived by those who don't do a proper comparison with a known yardstick.
I'd agree that banking by internet is a must - I visit 3 sites daily and another 4 less frequently, have picked up (in 15 years live-aboard sailing) 8 attempts at scams, before the card issuers.
The biggest difficulty I find is getting an impost-free foreign currency conversion. Whilst there are a few credit cards you can preload before taking out cash, most face you with almost insuperable barriers and charges comparable to PayDay lenders.
One or two local mutual Building Societies make no charge, but I prefer my 6% on credit, no overdraft charge current account, even with it's 2% + £1 on each foreign cash withdrawal.
For that reason anyone who expects cash from me has to give me a 2.5% discount - only proved a deal-breaker on one occasion (he was Brit and lost his cool).
Martyn's Money Tips is a good starting point for research - invariably each person's individual needs will vary their choices and many would, correctly for them, disagree with my solutions.
I do, however, shudder at many peoples' incompetence in simple arithmetic a trait I share with my son-in-law whose undying plaint is the lack of simple arithmetic in his PhD students.

 

[srm]

It might be worth considering pre paid currency cards such as Caxton. We use them, get a good rate of exchange with no charge for ATM use and no other charges associated with them. Top up via the Internet is painless, especially since they've brought in apps for use on iPad or Android platforms.

Have been using Caxton cards for around six years in Europe, Scandinavia, and Canada. No surcharges and no complaints, only problems were a dentist in the Azores and a shop in Toronto that only accepted local cards. Simple to top up online using my UK debit card.