The Postal Service in VN

The postal service in VN is not reliable. Best ask your bank to email the information to you. But then again, email is not reliable in VN either. If that doesn't work, try registered post.

Registered post works in Vietnam - at least in my experience. I have had several registered mail packages delivered safely to me here from the UK over the last two years as well as registered packages from my bank in the UK.

By contrast, every package I have sent by registered post to UK has either been stolen by UK postal workers or has been delivered to the wrong address.

Going to have to ask a stupid question here...

What is registered post? Like DPD or UPS?

I have a post box in Saigon Post Office.
Some weeks ago I received documents from Switzerland by registered post.
I was very worried, but I got it after about 3 weeks.
The next days I should get again documents from Switzerland by registered post.
I hope it works this time too. 

1312j wrote:

What is registered post?

- Registered mail services - VN Post
- International postal services (Letter-post, Parcel post)
Most (if not all) international postal services come under 'Registered post' category.

One of my supplier from Japan sent me some documents with standard post two months ago. But I did not receive it up to now, I had waited day by day, but I could not obtain it so after one month later I asked to resend the same documents to register post and with the tracking code. When I checked on online the paper arrived in Vietnam after two days and held this latter a week in a post office, and there is no action on their side. Finally, I went to post office and collect my document showing the tracking code.  I think its the best way to use privet service company to received important stuff into Vietnam.

1312j wrote:

Going to have to ask a stupid question here...

What is registered post? Like DPD or UPS?

- Regular mail is you put a stamp on the letter and you send it off on its journey with a hope and a prayer.

- Registered is where you pay extra and the post office affixes a sticker that gets signed by the recipient if they receive it. That way the post office can prove to you it was delivered. It is a form of tracking and promotes accountability (theft deterrant).

- Better tracking is where at every step of the letter/package delivery, it is checked in, and you as the sender can see where it is online. I doubt that kind of tracking is available in Vietnam.

I have sent or expected to receive a handful of letters. Success rate has been about 50%, which is atrocious.
Makes you wonder what goes on in the back rooms of the post office. Makes you wonder if the carriers just take their bags home at night for "sorting".  Leads to philosophical questions, like if nobody is looking and you won't get caught, is stealing from other people ok if you just do it a little? Makes me question my western assumptions that humans worldwide share basic notions of rights of possession, and "do unto others". And does my cultural bias from thousands of years of Greek and Roman Christian-based history result in my unfair expectation of receiving mail in Vietnam.

Don't mind me. I've been watching too much Rubin Report. 

Gobot, even my Vietnamese brother in law says, "In Vietnam there are three thieves per square metre."

An update: so far, I have received 50% of what I expected.

ralphnhatrang wrote:

Gobot, even my Vietnamese brother in law says, "In Vietnam there are three thieves per square metre."

And my (Vietnamese) wife tells me constantly - don't trust anyone here!

Here's an example of what she's means. Christmas 2016 we invited a couple and their 12 year old daughter whom we thought we knew well, to stay over Christmas.

On Christmas Eve the husband had to leave to attend a sad occasion - sudden death in his family.

The wife and daughter stayed and apparently enjoyed  a very merry English style Christmas with us. So much so that they stayed for 5 days, eating and drinking like royalty (the daughter drank shakes, fruit juice, smoothies and non alcoholic drinks like a sludge pump).

When they eventualy left the wife left some clothes with us and said that she would return with husband and daughter very soon as they'd had a great time.

Imagine our surprise when, a few weeks later, reports from other friends came filtering back that the wife was saying that they'd  had a crap time with bad food, no wine or beer, our house was dirty and all of our furniture was second hand plastic and yadda yadda....,

The woman is a Saigon lawyer ....

So, as my wife says constantly : don't trust anyone!

PS. The clothes that the woman left with us went in the bin after that.

Edited to add: every parcel I have sent to UK from here has either been mis-delivered or an attempt made to steal it - IN UK!

Every parcel sent to me from Denmark or UK to Vietnam has been delivered intact!

When my wife's dear grandmother died, a large number of people came to pay their respects. One showed her respects by stealing three sets of women's clothing off the clothes line.

ralphnhatrang wrote:

When my wife's dear grandmother died, a large number of people came to pay their respects. One showed her respects by stealing three sets of women's clothing off the clothes line.

When we got married my wife's uncle - very senior policeman - brought his wife with him to the reception. She stole several of million dong from the wedding donations (the red envelopes), 🙄

Did you get the money back? Did uncle charge her? Fat chance!

ralphnhatrang wrote:

Did you get the money back? Did uncle charge her? Fat chance!

In fact when challenged by the uncle his wife said words to the effect - you can shut up I know too much about your business ....

Yep, being a high ranking cop is a business.

Getting back to the topic (but who am I to criticize,) I learned the hard way to never use VNPT for anything that matters.  Although I never had anything disappear going VN to US, I have had unacceptable delays.  Package traces said that the items stalled at TSN for as long as two weeks.  Going US to Vietnam by US Postal Service, I have paid for Certified Mail and later been told by the Post Office that going to Vietnam, the trace stops when the plane leaves the US.  The letter in question, to Citibank VN, never was delivered according to the bank.

If you have documents that matter enough to be sending them half the way around the world, ship them by UPS, FEDEX or DHL.  I am not sure but DHL may be better to Europe.  UPS and FEDEX are good for the US and probably Canada.  Trackable letter service is about $30US on VNPT and about $50US on FEDEX.  For that extra $15, FEDEX delivers in a few days and you can print out all tracking info online.

I sent a small package by TNT from Mazar i sharif (afghastlystan) to London just before Christmas. The package was supposed to be delivered in 4 days and according to the tracking website it was delivered within four days.

Only it wasn't.

The intended recipient complained to TNT and the package was delivered a few days later. The package had been opened and the delivery receipt had a forged signature on it.

The delivery driver was obviously a thief. The company did nothing about it.

yes it can take a while. I have lived here for 5 years and eventually I get it. Parcel's take longer because of Customs clearance. Mail is usually pretty good. Always get a tracking number on anything ( letter or parcel ) ALWAYS........................

Maybe 10% chance at best packages have a better chance I have lived here over 2 years when I first got here I received my mail the received little to now none.. Good Luck..

I use Fedex it reliable. Just make sure you have phone numbers on waybills and on package for them to call when they deliver

The Postal Service in Việt Nam! Was hopeless 22 years ago, and little has improved. I have caught the local Post Man dumping mail and would only using DHL or similar, for any important documents.

I have used a P.O. box at the post . It's extreamly cheep to rent a box for the year and reliable . I started to use the box because nothing was getting delivered to my home address. I don't think the postman could be bothered traveling out that far.

I have had a fair bit to do with mail in Vietnam. When you buy stuff on line it is always opened to determine tax some times stuff goes missing. I have never had a document go missing but sometimes it can take a while to receive. I just had some important docs sent from Viet to Australia only took 4 days but sending from Oz can take 2 weeks with express delivery.

VN post works very well with me in Phu Quoc, both sending to and receiving from overseas addresses. And I do mean regular postal services not the courier service offered (which also works well in my experience).

I sent a letter to my accountant in Melbourne from Nha Trang on 15 Dec. He received it 20/Jan some 5 weeks but it actually arrived.

Last week I received a small package - 100 gm - by ordinary mail from Denmark. The package contained some stinking Danish cheese, which was even stinkier when it got here having taken a couple of weeks to arrive.

The package had been opened by customs and I imagine they closed it again quicker than they opened it. It was delivered by a bloke on a motorbike wearing gloves🙂

We must have been lucky then. A 3kg box,paid for at AUST POST in Brisbane at 11-21am 15 jan 18 arrived here late avo 19th Jan and delivered first thing next morning,and yes we did have tracking. We were amazed after hearing so much negativity about the post here. We considered DHL but it was more than 3 times the cost.

@GuestPoster0147 where can you get a post office box in Saigon?

Saigon Central Post Office.

Hello Mr. Jonez,

You have posted on a discussion that was last active in 2018 and @GuestPoster0147 is a deleted profile.

Nonetheless, thank you colinoscapee for the info.

Cheers,

Yoginee

Expat.com team

Hello Mr. Jonez,
You have posted on a discussion that was last active in 2018 and @GuestPoster0147 is a deleted profile.

Nonetheless, thank you colinoscapee for the info.

Cheers,

Yoginee
Expat.com team
-@Yoginee

It should be clear that it works just fine to post to an old thread if ones question is of a broad nature, on topic, and answerable by anyone who chooses to do so.   On the other hand, questions directed at a specific person who posted years ago are obviously problematic.  Hopefully our moderators can distinguish.

Hi everyone.

There are no letter box in front of my apartment here in Hoi An. I asked to a local and he said that, if there is a letter for me, the post office will call me on the phone to tell me to pick up the letter at the post office. So I went there to ask if my address and telephone number need to be register. The answer (but the communication was very difficult) was : no. The sender will receive a a mail number that he should transmit to you and you will know with this number when to pick your letter up. My question is : how does it work for a simple letter with stamp?

Thanks for your help

Dantès

PS : I'm unable to create a new topic on this forum. My words are deleted while I'm writting

Hi everyone.
There are no letter box in front of my apartment here in Hoi An. I asked to a local and he said that, if there is a letter for me, the post office will call me on the phone to tell me to pick up the letter at the post office. So I went there to ask if my address and telephone number need to be register. The answer (but the communication was very difficult) was : no. The sender will receive a a mail number that he should transmit to you and you will know with this number when to pick your letter up. My question is : how does it work for a simple letter with stamp?
Thanks for your help
Dantès
PS : I'm unable to create a new topic on this forum. My words are deleted while I'm writting
-@Dantès

From my experience.........you must ensure that the sender puts your/a contact number on the envelope then you will/might get a call to say there is a letter for you & it will be delivered to your address today. If you are in a flat they will not pass the security gate, you must go to the gate & pick up the letter from the post. Sometimes if you are lucky & say not in they will leave it with the security guard but not always. At my flat we have letter boxes but the post never puts any mail in them as they cant get past security.

@Dantes Hi Welcome to the forum,

As GOB said they will call you, just make sure the sender puts your name address and phone number on the letter/package so they can call you.

If an apartment block they will wait for you to come out and get or if in a house they will wait at the gate.

Some apartment blocks have an area in the basement where vnpost/lazada/shopee sit in the shade with their bikes and sort out the post for that building (all the blocks here do it that way - others don't).

An easy way is to get it delivered to work where you have VN speakers that can help asking where the delivery drivers is etc by giving them your phone.