The Post Box

Security of your mail is very important, especially when documents containing your personal information are sent through the post and delivered through your letter box. There is a growing number of cases of identity theft when mail has been fished out of letter boxes and information used to access bank accounts, apply for credit cards and even apply for passports. There are anti arson letter boxes available which are designed to extinguish any fire started in the letter box and also prevent the documents from reigniting. Lockable letter boxes may deter all but the most determined criminal, and there are guards available can be installed on the letter box so that the perpetrator cannot see much when they look inside. With a traditional letter box which is a slot in the door, the mail will fall on the floor, so a would-be thief will not be able to retrieve your mail by hand. Use only good quality letter boxes which are not easily removable from their fixings,

There are various other ways to protect your mail, such as ensuring that the incoming mail does not stay in the letter box for very long. This is easy to monitor if you are at home all day, but the postman will inevitably call when you are at work, so the documents will remain in the letter box all day, giving a potential thief an opportunity to steal them.

If you are expecting important documents from the bank, for example, you can arrange to have it delivered by registered post to your place of work. If this is not possible, then you can ask the post office to hold any registered mail so that you can collect it. Having a lockable letter box or an anti arson letter box will go some way to protect mail delivered to your letter box and give you peace of mind that your mail is less likely to be tampered with.

You should report any instances of suspected mail theft, tampering with your letter box, destruction of your mail or attempts at arson to the Royal Mail. If you are going on holiday, you can ask the Royal Mail to hold your letters for a specific period. If you are expecting a bank statement or cheque book and it does not arrive, contact your bank.

The growing trend of identify theft is very worrying and you should take as many precautions as possible to prevent your mail from being stolen from your letter box. In remote areas letter boxes may be situated at the end of long drives and cannot be seen from the house giving a potential thief a further opportunity to steal your mail. Familiarise yourself with the postman’s routine and delivery times and retrieve the mail as soon as possible after delivery so that your mail does not remain in the letter box for long. Make it as difficult as possible for a potential thief to retrieve the mail from your letter box by having a lockable mail box and from being destroyed by fire by having an anti arson letter box.

Letter boxes are part of life, and are often something we take for granted. They are, however, one of the ways we communicate with the outside world, as mail delivered to our property can be important – though a lot of junk mail is delivered as well!

We do not often give a thought about our letter box, what it is made of or what style or colour it is. All we think about is receiving our mail. However, there is a wide range of colours of letter boxes on the market and if the letter box is fixed to your front door, you might want to consider how aesthetically pleasing it is. When developers are building new properties, they will not often consider the style of letter box required, but install a standard front door with a slot design. In new buildings, the letter box will be of a colour to complement the colour of the front door. This can of course be changed at a later date.

There are four basic designs of letter boxes - a simple slot in the door, a box attached directly on to your house, a Post Box on the street and a unit which is designed for multi occupancy buildings which provides letter boxes for individual residents. The letter Boxes can be made from stainless steel, aluminium, cast iron, uPVC and even plastic. Within the basic four designs, there are different styles of letter boxes to suit the style of your home.

The simple slot in the door design of letter box is generally a standard size of 30cm by 5cm (12 inches by 2 inches) to accept the standard A4 envelope. These letter boxes are available in uPVC, steel and aluminium to suit the style of your front door. There are also different colours of letter boxes. A slot design of Letterbox is often pre-fitted into a new door, whether it is uPVC or of timber construction. However, you may at some stage want to change the letter box, due to it becoming damaged or has started to rattle. It is relatively easy to amend the size of a timber door, should the new letter box be slightly larger, but it is not so easy to resize a uPVC door, and you may need to call in a professional to get his advice.

Letter boxes which are attached to the wall beside the door can be of many styles and colours and you will have more choice. There is also a wider range of materials used in constructing the letter box and of course it will be much easier to change. There are letter boxes available with newspaper holders built in, large capacity newspaper letter boxes, letter boxes which are more stylish made from non corrosive plastic, and letter boxes made from decorative cast aluminium which is more suitable for an older style property.

All letter boxes should be weather proof. If you live by the coast you may want to consider a letter box made from non corrosive materials so that your letter box does not rust and allow water in which will damage your mail.

Even with the advent and growth of electronic data communications and on line shopping, many organisations use the regular postal service, or snail mail, as a method of keeping in touch with their clients, and updating them on products and services available. There is, then, still a requirement for a postal system and letter boxes. Some firms cut their direct mailing budget, but research has found that some people still prefer the traditional method of communicating by post and to receive reminders about some products through their letter box. Despite the wide usage of e-cards which can be sent at birthdays and Christmas, people still prefer to receive a traditional card. At Christmas millions of cards and parcels are sent, and a letter box is required for receiving them. Goods ordered on line has also meant that many more parcels pass through the postal system and letter boxes are still required to deliver notifications if no one is at home.

Direct mail was traditionally used to keep in direct contact with customers who were interested in the company’s products, reducing advertising costs. Catalogues and fliers were sent to the known customers and delivered directly to their door through the letter box. Nowadays, products are often listed on a web site and can be ordered on line, but there is still the need for a letter box in the event of no one being in to receive the parcels so that the postman can leave a note. Some people still prefer to receive a hard copy of a catalogue or brochure through the post box along with the price list.

Traditional greetings cards are habitually sent, regardless of the electronic versions available on the internet. It seems more personal somehow. Technophobes still prefer to receive communications via snail mail. For the elderly, receiving a card through the letter box which they can hold and read is often far preferable to receiving an email or e-card.

Another reason for receiving mail through traditional sources through the letter box is that there is so much spam and junk emails sent, that many people tend to ignore emails which are sent from unknown sources. The sender may be missing the opportunity of making a sale if the customer deletes the email without reading it. It may be company policy therefore to have a mixture of methods of communicating with clients, some through the postal system and others by email. Some clients may prefer to receive mail by traditional methods.

Important documents which must be in hard copy, such as legal documents and bank correspondence, are still sent by traditional methods through the postal system. Security of your letter box is therefore very important and you should ensure that unauthorised persons are not able to access your mail.

Checking the letter box for incoming mail is part of the daily routine, both at home and at the office. Letter boxes are just an important part of life as they were before the technological revolution. Regardless of the growth of electronic methods of communication, the letter box is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

There are many styles of Letter Boxes on the market, and it will depend on whether you live in a house which is an individual dwelling or a multi occupancy building as to which type of Letter Box suits your requirements. Multi occupancy buildings such as apartments and office blocks will often have a Mail Box with individual compartments either inside or outside the building. This will make the postman’s job much easier, as he will not have to visit every individual apartment or office in the building to distribute the post, unless he has to deliver a package which must be signed for.

As with Post Boxes for individual residences and businesses, there are many styles and designs of multi occupancy Mail Boxes on the market. These can be horizontal or vertical, mounted on supports or fixed to a wall inside or outside the building. When a new apartment or office block is commissioned, the style and location of the multi occupancy Mail Box will often have been decided by the developer. Security of the mail should be taken into account, and each individual Mail Box will have a key so that the recipient can retrieve the delivered mail. Each box will be labelled with the name of the person or the office or apartment number to ensure that the mail goes to the correct addressee. The Mail Boxes are usually made of stainless steel or steel and are fire resistant.

The sizes of the Mail Boxes will depend on whether the building is a residential or commercial premises, and there are multi occupancy Mail Boxes which are of a larger capacity than the standard A4 and will accept bigger C4 mail without bending as well as more post.

Communal Mail Boxes in large apartment blocks are often the target of vandals, so they must be fire proof so that a fire started in a Post Box will not spread to other parts of the building. Some Mail Boxes are specifically designed to extinguish fires and are fitted with fire extinguishers which detects the fire and puts it out before it can spread to other parts of the building. It is always important to protect the important documents which are delivered to your premises, so investing in a Mail Box with the additional feature of being anti arson is money well spent. If you are moving to new premises which already has a multi occupancy Mail Box you can ask whether it is fireproof, and if it does not have this feature, it would be worth lobbying the other occupants of the building to agree to a new Mail Box for the building. If the building is still under development and are considering a lease for an apartment or office within the block, you can request the management company to negotiate with the builders to agree the style of the multi occupancy Mail Box which is fire proof. Often these details are overlooked in the rush to finalise and commission a building.

The General Post Office encouraged standard Letter boxes as a slot in the front door as early as 1849. They made it easier for the postman if the Letter box was in a consistent place where possible, making the work of the postman easier and quicker. The standard design of Post Boxes for outgoing mail were first made available at post offices so that people could deposit their mail without having to go into the post office. Roadside Post boxes were not introduced in the United Kingdom until 1852, although they had been used on the continent for some years. This meant that people in rural areas did not have to wait for the post office messenger to arrive as they could deposit their mail in the post box.

The first pillar boxes were introduced into St. Helier, Jersey, in 1952, and at Botchergate, Carlisle, in 1953. London’s first pillar box was placed at the at the junction of Fleet Street and Farringdon Street in 1855. The main instigator of the British post box was the novelist Anthony Trollope who worked at the Post Office as the Surveyor’s Clerk. The idea of roadside post boxes was not new and had first been suggested by Roland Hill in 1840, but was not taken up. Roadside wall post boxes were introduced generally in 1857 as they were cheaper to manufacture than the pillar boxes.

As the use of post boxes grew, the basic design remained the same so as to be easily recognisable, but had some variations, some being hexagonal and others cylindrical. The distinctive red cylindrical pillar boxes and post boxes are a British institution and were designed in 1879 although some of the early Victorian models were green. The cylindrical post boxes were of type “A” (large) and type “B” which was smaller. The type “C” post boxes were oval in shape and had separate openings for town mail and country mail and were first introduced in London in 1899. When post boxes are installed, it is traditional for them to have a plaque with the Latin initials of the reigning monarch, VR for Victoria Regina and GR for George Rex

The General Post Office as a government department ceased to exist in 1969 and services were transferred to a statutory corporation known as the Royal Mail. Services were expanded, but the distinctive red post boxes remain in situ, joined by the red telephone box, some of which had stamp dispensers. Post boxes are still very important, even in today’s electronic world of emails and i-phones. Legal documents and statutory notices are still sent by the Royal Mail, often known as snail mail. Post boxes are still required, especially in rural areas, and the postal service is just as important as it was when it was first conceived. There is now a wide range of designs of letter boxes available to suit individual and business requirements, but the basic design of the post box has not changed since Victorian times.

In the UK, the red Post Box has been part of life since it was developed by the novelist Anthony Trollope in 1852. It was a hundred years before the pillar box was standardised and you will also see red fascia Post Boxes affixed into walls. The standard Post Box is a pillar type with an aperture in which to drop your outgoing mail. The only disadvantage is that the slot is quite small and does not allow larger items to be put in the Post Box. On the other hand, you can rest assured that your mail will be safe and cannot be retrieved by any unauthorised person. The postman has a key which he carries on his rounds and he is not allowed to return letters to you which have been put in the Post Box in error.

Outgoing Mail Boxes in the US are of an entirely different design, but no less distinctive if you have lived in or visited the US. In cities and towns in the US, the mail boxes are designed to accept larger letters and even packages which cannot be retrieved except by the postman. As in the UK, you will have to ensure that you have paid the correct postage. With the regulations in the UK which govern the weight as well as the dimensions of letters, it is not feasible to use large US style mail boxes in the UK, unless you have a method of determining the cost for outgoing mail. Some companies offer franking machines and methods of determining the cost at home or office before putting the package in the Post Box. However, you may still need to visit the post office as your package will not fit in the standard UK style Post Box.

For incoming mail, US style Mail Boxes for individual properties are becoming more common in the UK. This type of mail box can be mounted on a post, fixed to a wall or be standalone. There can be problems with Post Boxes which are fixed in front doors, as they can have strong springs which cause difficulties when the postman wants to deliver letters. Ease of use for both the consumer and the postman should be taken into consideration when selecting a style of Post Box. There are many styles and designs of Post Boxes on the market and you will need to do your research to decide which is the easiest and the best for your situation. Making life easy for the postman will ensure a more efficient delivery service. For example, if you live at the end of a long road in a remote area and are the only resident, put a Post Box at the end of the drive and empty it regularly. This will save the postman time and money when delivering your mail. If this is not feasible, make sure that the Post Box is easily accessible and that the postman does not have to deal with aggressive dogs or even geese!

If you’re one of those “lucky” people who work from home (the jury’s still out on how beneficial it is to have a sofa and flatscreen TV tempting you daily from just a few doors away!), you’ll be familiar with the idea of boundaries between work and home life. As with all the elements of your business, making sure the right components and resources are readily available as and when you need them is essential.

Although we’ve cross-referenced our postbox collection to be accessed under both “Domestic” and “Commercial” headings, the home office tends to cover a little of both. So, what’s the best postbox for your home business hub?

Normal Use
For some, the home office mail needs only slightly elevate above that of the normal home. In such cases you can afford to scale back on the commercial search and look instead to secure domestic postboxes. These are designs like wall mounted lockable steel postboxes that store your mail inside until you’re ready to access it (so no pet accidents or child scribbles to worry about!) We stock lots of designs in a variety of colours.

High Capacity
Extra large domestic postboxes are ideal for the home businessperson who expects a high volume of mail. Some of our domestic large capacity designs go up to a massive forty-eight litres, and come in a great variety of colours.

If you’d like more information, please get in touch on 01943 463998 to chat things through with one of our advisors.

Www.mailboxmania.co.uk is the premium purveyors of post boxes and mailboxes in the United Kingdom. We stock every kind of post-boxes imaginable in classic, contemporary and modern designs but some of our most stylish, popular and prestigious products are our steel mailboxes.

For example, our Avon steel postbox is a simple yet durable design available in a range of great colours. It is constructed from tough steel and has a top opening covered posting slot and is great value for money.

Another fantastic model from our premium selection of steel mailboxes is the Humber Steel post box, which is a stylish classically curved design with a fully covered front-opening mail slot. Designed to hold general mail and magazines, it is perfectly capable of holding A4 sized mail safely and securely.

Alternatively, fans of Americana will no doubt appreciate our iconic US steel/aluminium post-boxes, which will be familiar to anyone with knowledge of suburban and rural America and feature a little flag which indicated when the postman or post-woman has placed mail inside the box. Available in white or black steel models or white, black or silver aluminium models, these beautiful boxes are aesthetically attractive yet perfectly practical.

For extra strength and durability, we have an amazing selection of stainless steel post-boxes which will stand the twin tests of time and the harsh and changeable United Kingdom climate.

For our full range of brilliant letterboxes for all types of private and business locations, please take time to make yourself a lovely refreshing cup of tea before browsing our website at your leisure.

If you have a dog or cat that’s just a little bit too friendly with the postman—or perhaps unfriendly—and you want to teach them not to bother him or other strangers when they come to your door, here are some tips to help you keep your pet from bothering the postman.

First, if you let your pet outside during the day and he or she is out when the postman comes to the postboxes, warn your postman that you have pets. If you see your postman you can tell him, but if you don’t, you can put up a “beware of dog” sign or some other sign indicating that you have pets. Warning the postman in advance may help a lot because the pet won’t surprise them when he’s putting post in the postboxes.

Next, teach your dog or cat not to bother strangers with loud noises, clawing, biting, etc. You can use books or the internet to find ways of training your pet, or you could take your pet to an obedience class.

If you keep your pet inside but they bother the postman by barking loudly, or perhaps sticking their paws through letterboxes or post slots in the door, you can get letterboxes with slits that open on the outside, or you can get some kind of an insert that will keep your pet from being able to stick its paws through.

The best prevention is to train your pet. And there is no excuse for a misbehaving pet when there are so many resources out there on how to train your animal to be nice and friendly.

If you love crafting and decorating, you’re probably always looking for new ideas. Here’s an idea for a small cupboard or shelf that you can make from a postbox. Decorate it any way you like, and it won’t take you long to come up with some beautiful ideas.

First, find some old postboxes, or buy some new ones. You can get used ones from flats, schools, or other buildings that are remodelling or need to buy new ones and will otherwise just throw the old ones away. You can ask your friends and family to watch out for old ones too, but if you can’t find any, buy a new one from a company like Mailbox Mania.

Now come up with some ideas for decorating your postbox cupboard or shelf. You could decoupage, paint, or eve glue little beads and buttons on it. You could decorate the inside like a little dollhouse and put some ornaments and miniatures inside.

Decide whether you want to keep the door on the box or not. If you decide to remove the door, you can use your postboxes as little shelves to hang on the wall. If you leave the door on, you can make a little cupboard that you could keep on a table or your kitchen counter. You could store tea or biscuits inside.

Decorate your shelf, and when you’re happy with how it looks, let any paint or glue dry before you put things inside or hang it on a wall.