Green Letterbox - your post delivered electronically

Elessar

Has anyone heard of Green Letterbox? Seems to be a new Irish startup. I caught wind of it through an ad while browsing boards on my phone earlier.

Basically you sign up and any post you normally receive (bills etc.) will all come through your "green letterbox". Essentially it's cloud storage of all your bills, correspondence, tax letters etc. so that they're all in the same place and you can pay your bills through the service aswell. It's 100% free.

I think it's a really neat idea. Sure many companies offer their own online service where you can log on and see/pay bills but this brings them all into the one site (and hopefully catches a few who wouldn't normally). Plus less letters coming through the door. They don't have a list up of what companies have signed up yet thats the only thing.

Pretty cool anyway I think. I've signed up.

*I am not affiliated with this company at all!

Valetta

Do they do pizza menus?

Duggy747

When it comes to bills, I still prefer the fireplace.

Elessar

If only!

_Kaiser_

Link to their site

It does sound interesting alright, but I get/pay most of my bills electronically as it is. As for letters from the bank etc, it's not the end of the world usually if it takes a day or two for them to arrive.

The only other post I get is deliveries from online shopping and they can't exactly send those to an iPad

Security would also concern me. I'd want a lot more info on that. Also what happens if you move?

UCDVet

No disrespect to the company offering it; it's not a bad idea.

But how depressing is it that this is even a thing? It's been forty years since the first 'e-mail' was sent. It's virtually free, near infinitely faster....and you have to basically fight to get companies to use the obviously better option.

Dravokivich

UCDVet wrote: »

No disrespect to the company offering it; it's not a bad idea.

But how depressing is it that this is even a thing? It's been forty years since the first 'e-mail' was sent. It's virtually free, near infinitely faster....and you have to basically fight to get companies to use the obviously better option.

They'd have to pay out a lot to get a messaging solution set up, along with maintenance.

+plus, I spend enough time in front of a computer in work. if I'm looking over my bills, I don't want to do it concentrating on another screen when at home.

Skylinehead

Electronic mail? Burn the witch!

kneemos

Is it green because it doesn't use paper or because it's Irish?

stoneill

Deadly - one more step toward a totally hermit lifestyle.

marshbaboon

So it's like email.... But.... It's exactly like email.

What a true revolution of modern times.

Turtyturd

Screw that...if I am being charged extortionatte prices for utilities and stuff like motor tax it makes it slightly less annoying if I know they have to spend the time and small cost of sending me physical letters.

anncoates

What will people use to make coke wraps or roaches?

Cunning Stunt

Am living in Denmark, where they have a free e-Boks service which does pretty much the same. You can select which post you want to receive electronically - - for example, I get post from my bank, revenue etc. I also get my payslips into my e-Boks account. You select a company from the list and you receive their post in electronic form from then on. ((Of course, it's up to the company themselves to comply with the service. There are over 22000 companies on the Danish one.))

It's really handy. I think most people use it here - I recommend it.

hardCopy

I think I'd probably sign up for this. I don't want my post going to my old address after I move, notifying every company you deal with every time you move is a PITA and An Post charge stupid money for mail forwarding. I'd still have to notify the companies at first but never again.

OU812

Irony:

A unique security code has been posted to your house to verify that you do live at the address provided during registration. This verification is necessary for security purposes. Once you receive this code, log back into your green letterbox account, enter the code, and your digital postbox is fully active!

Sh1tbag OToole

For normal letter stuff.. why don't the "offending" companies not just send an email then?

Will I be able to download all 180 AA NiMH rechargeable batteries I'm about to order? What do I put in as my address on ebay?

NuckingFacker

The NSA thought they'd taken a shyte and dropped a gold log when they heard this was gonna catch on.

OU812

@greenletterbox

Will I be able to download a PDF of the "mail" I receive from my creditor to save or print, (eg ESB), or can I only view it online? I couldn't find that on your site

BabyGorilla

What about my copy of 'Alive' ?

gctest50

GreenLetterbox wrote: »

GreenLetterbox.com is about more than just bills though. You can receive all kinds of post that may not have been available online before (hospital appointments, payslips, school reports, you name it)

Noble idea, but it's only prolonging the "misery"

What gets to me is someone is sitting at a computer anyway to
-print out a letter
-print an envelope
-stamp it/ get it franked

Just email it since you are sitting there anyway ? its free more or less ?

AlanS181824

It is such an interesting idea and I like it. However, maybe it's just me but I much prefer to actually have the bill in my hand and can look at it rather than staring blankly at a monitor, just my opinion though.

Guy:Incognito

I already have paperless billing from the likes of sky and vodafone plus not recieving paper bank statements. Whats the difference here? Instead of coming straight to me or staying in my account online to view they get sent to this crowd who forward thsm? So they are basically an email ( yes I see the thing above where its not actually sent in an email) forwarding system?

Morortax email reminders now too.

Seems to be just pointlessly adding a middle man that I just took out ( the postal service)

Occam

GreenLetterbox wrote: »

GreenLetterbox.com is about more than just bills though. You can receive all kinds of post that may not have been available online before (hospital appointments, payslips, school reports

Is the system currently processing any of these types of letter? How many schools and hospitals are signed up? If the answer is none, it makes the whole thing pointless.

Re. Tax letters, I simply don't believe that Revenue have/will participate in this. Are you claiming that they have have? Big issues around the legal implications of demands being posted I would have thought. Not to mention the risk of redirecting mail without even a ppsn as validation

gctest50

Nice phishing scam ?

Could be anyone

The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .EDU domains and
Registrars.
Domain Name: GREENLETTERBOX.COM
Registrar URL: http://www.godaddy.com
Updated Date: 2013-03-06 04:40:14
Creation Date: 2011-12-12 14:25:05
Registrar Expiration Date: 2014-12-12 14:25:05
Registrar: GoDaddy.com, LLC
Registrant Name: Registration Private
Registrant Organization: Domains By Proxy, LLC
Registrant Street: DomainsByProxy.com
Registrant Street: 14747 N Northsight Blvd Suite 111, PMB 309
Registrant City: Scottsdale
Registrant State/Province: Arizona
Registrant Postal Code: 85260
Registrant Country: United States
Admin Name: Registration Private
Admin Organization: Domains By Proxy, LLC
Admin Street: DomainsByProxy.com
Admin Street: 14747 N Northsight Blvd Suite 111, PMB 309
Admin City: Scottsdale
Admin State/Province: Arizona
Admin Postal Code: 85260
Admin Country: United States
Admin Phone: (480) 624-2599
Admin Fax: (480) 624-2598
Admin Email: GREENLETTERBOX.COM@domainsbyproxy.com
Tech Name: Registration Private
Tech Organization: Domains By Proxy, LLC
Tech Street: DomainsByProxy.com
Tech Street: 14747 N Northsight Blvd Suite 111, PMB 309
Tech City: Scottsdale
Tech State/Province: Arizona
Tech Postal Code: 85260
Tech Country: United States
Tech Phone: (480) 624-2599
Tech Fax: (480) 624-2598
Tech Email: GREENLETTERBOX.COM@domainsbyproxy.com
Name Server: NS-1626.AWSDNS-11.CO.UK
Name Server: NS-1359.AWSDNS-41.ORG
Name Server: NS-212.AWSDNS-26.COM
Name Server: NS-923.AWSDNS-51.NET

AlanS181824

gctest50 wrote: »

Nice phishing scam ?

Could be anyone

Woah! Just when you thought a company was legit... They're probably just an Irish NSA type thing... Sigh

gctest50

AlanS181824 wrote: »

Woah! Just when you thought a company was legit... They're probably just an Irish NSA type thing... Sigh

or maybe a coincidence ........

https://twitter.com/mjernas



% Do not remove this notice

domain: greenletterbox.ie
descr: POSTIT DIRECT LIMITED <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ( Spotted by Occam , just below this post )
descr: Body Corporate (Ltd,PLC,Company)
descr: Discretionary Name
admin-c: AQK059-IEDR
tech-c: ABG704-IEDR
registration: 20-February-2013
renewal: 20-February-2014
status: Active
nserver: ns-1025.awsdns-00.org
nserver: ns-1699.awsdns-20.co.uk
nserver: ns-283.awsdns-35.com
nserver: ns-982.awsdns-58.net
source: IEDR

person: Marcin Jernas
nic-hdl: AQK059-IEDR
source: IEDR

person: Lets Host Domain Services
nic-hdl: ABG704-IEDR
source: IEDR

Occam

gctest50 wrote: »

% Do not remove this notice

domain: greenletterbox.ie
descr: POSTIT DIRECT LIMITED

So this is actually a direct / junk mail company asking the public to fill their names and addresses into their database , without any indication of any companies they will receive communication from? Why the secrecy about the companies signed up?

Nice way to build a list of names, addresses and emails if you are a junk mail company tho .....

gctest50

You're damn sharp

MadsL

I configured a fax machine and a Bulletin Board system (days before the internet) to print emails as they were received (them being rare as hell) in 1987

Still the most useful damn way of dealing with emails, no checking, just an electronic postbox that posted a physical letter onto your office desk within minutes of it being sent.

I should have marketed it.

gctest50

MadsL wrote: »

I should have marketed it.

For sure, the amount of businesses that would have loved that to bits back then

Interesting to take guesses at how much you probably held up "progress" by not doing so

MadsL

gctest50 wrote: »

For sure, the amount of businesses that would have loved that to bits back then

Interesting to take guesses at how much you probably held up "progress" by not doing so

They would, it was basically like this.
Check email...no email
Check email...no email
Check email...no email
Check email...no email
Check email...no email
Leave it 3 days...read email that arrived one minute after you last checked it.
Fuck.

Ultimately though it was unsustainable since unless you were using a US BB phone calls (the fax calls) were not free.

gctest50

or a board and an old thermal printer

Phoebas

These services seem to be catching on all over Europe. In Norway this is going to be the default way Norwegians get their official correspondence from next year.

http://postandparcel.info/52140/news/it/norwegian-consumers-to-choose-digital-mailbox-providers/

gctest50

I don't see the point of it , just as easy send email to gc@wherever.com as gc@OrangeMailbox.com

Junk-mail companies involved though so you never can tell

Hownowcow

But what will dogs bark at?

gctest50

Bit like if you have no TV - what do you poin tthe furniture at ?

OU812

This should be an opt out government scheme for all official communications.

Obviously there's a percentage of the community who have no access to email/Internet and who never will but that number will fall signigigentlybover the next decade as the population adjusts.

It would be extremely easy over the space if two years to see who reads communication issued to them in this manner, and eliminate the print & post version of that for them. If it's not read then they continue to get P&P.

It would save a fortune.

Unfortunately I can't see the banks signing up to it as much as people would like them to.

Utility companies, yes. There's definite savings to be made & the information isn't sensitive enough to demand bank security.

It would be useful to get the likes of school communication or extra curricular information through it. Can't always trust the kids to pass it on.

Their business plan probably incorporates a payment gateway also down the line which would enable you to pay the bills you receive through it.

I'd hazard a guess there's no companies sighed up to it yet as they need a critical mass of the public signed up to prove concept. Hopefully in January or so companies will start to come online.

Would be a much bigger deal in the US where people still use PO boxes due to moving around so much.

This is a missed opportunity for an post. They really should have included something like this in their my bills.ie relaunch. But even they can't get all the utility companies on board which is a PITA.

Occam

OU812 wrote: »

I'd hazard a guess there's no companies sighed up to it yet

Would tend to agree. Not much point in divulging information to a marketing company unless there is some immediate benefit.

OU812 wrote: »

This is a missed opportunity for an post.

I'm not sure that it is, can't really see demand for it from the public and from a the companies point of view I can't see the motivation. I would imagine their preference would be to just get everyone on Direct Debit and just use e billing as a way to bring customers to their own platform where they could offer recontract\up sell etc.

OU812

For some reason they're refusing to answer a question I've asked via here, FaceBook & Twitter "Is it possible to download a PDF of the file to my local machine or does it have to live on their server. Which makes me think it's not possible which means the service is useless to me.

Phoebas

OU812 wrote: »

For some reason they're refusing to answer a question I've asked via here, FaceBook & Twitter "Is it possible to download a PDF of the file to my local machine or does it have to live on their server. Which makes me think it's not possible which means the service is useless to me.

This could be one of those very early stage companies that haven't actually built any infrastructure yet and are simply marketing for sign-ups. They don't seem to have any business on board yet.

OU812

I hadn't expected them to have anyone fully signed up yet. I expect they've proposed the idea to many companies & have been asked to have milestone signups & that's what they're currently doing. I've no problem with that.

The functionality of the site indicates that it should be possible to download (or print) a file received, however when I tried it with the welcome message, nothing happened.

It appears that they've chosen to ignore my question & possibly delete it from their Facebook page (I can't find it there). & I have a huge problem with this as if the functionality is not possible, then the site is useless & I don't want my stuff going there.

Annasopra

Elessar wrote: »

Has anyone heard of Green Letterbox? Seems to be a new Irish startup. I caught wind of it through an ad while browsing boards on my phone earlier.

Basically you sign up and any post you normally receive (bills etc.) will all come through your "green letterbox". Essentially it's cloud storage of all your bills, correspondence, tax letters etc. so that they're all in the same place and you can pay your bills through the service aswell. It's 100% free.

I think it's a really neat idea. Sure many companies offer their own online service where you can log on and see/pay bills but this brings them all into the one site (and hopefully catches a few who wouldn't normally). Plus less letters coming through the door. They don't have a list up of what companies have signed up yet thats the only thing.

Pretty cool anyway I think. I've signed up.

*I am not affiliated with this company at all!

Yeah but then you need copies of all that stuff to open bank accounts, set up new bills, prove stuff to social welfare

irishgeo

OU812 wrote: »

I hadn't expected them to have anyone fully signed up yet. I expect they've proposed the idea to many companies & have been asked to have milestone signups & that's what they're currently doing. I've no problem with that.

The functionality of the site indicates that it should be possible to download (or print) a file received, however when I tried it with the welcome message, nothing happened.

It appears that they've chosen to ignore my question & possibly delete it from their Facebook page (I can't find it there). & I have a huge problem with this as if the functionality is not possible, then the site is useless & I don't want my stuff going there.

Can I get a hard copy of the documents in my digital post-box?
Yes. Any document in your digital post-box can be easily printed on your home or work PC. They will look exactly like the document you would have previously received as traditional post.

gctest50

irishgeo wrote: »

Can I get a hard copy of the documents in my digital post-box?
Yes. Any document in your digital post-box can be easily printed on your home or work PC. They will look exactly like the document you would have previously received as traditional post.

Still don't see the point of passing your data through a spam mail company

Macers

Now that a few months have passed I'm wondering if anyone actually signed up or is currently using this?

OU812

I signed up & am waiting. It's all gone a bit too quiet. I think they probably haven't achieved the critical mass to persuade utility companies that they need to switch over to using them.

On the 6th January they answered someone on Facebook saying "<snip>We will be sending a letter out to all GreenLetterbox users later today to give a quick status update and to let you know where we are with regards to rolling out digital mail across Ireland. It is a slow process and can take some time.<snip>".

The irony of them sending a letter out doesn't escape me. If so many people signed up, why not just issue a message through their digital mailbox? At least it would be a communication.

I fear that it's not going to work as a concept & really it should be something a company with deep pockets like An Post should have implemented.

To get to critical mass, they had to launch (I'm guessing) without any utility companies on board. The public doesn't appear to have got behind it (their advertising is online only), which means that utility companies will not come...

Phoebas

They're in a chicken and egg situation here; consumers won't sign up without utility companies on board, utility companies won't sign up without a customer base.

It is the future 'though; some EU governments have plans in place to have all government communications delivered through digital mailboxes, but maybe it needs An Post or a big telco behind it here. Maybe Green Letterbox's strategy is to be acquired.

Don't see the appeal, I prefer to the physical copy of my bills, statements etc in the post. I'm not a big fan of all this paperless billing.

fortwilliam

Elessar wrote: »

It's 100% free.

When a service is "100% Free" the product is usually........ you.

Daqster

"I'm sorry but you need to have a fixed abode in order to sign on, Anto".

"Ah that's all sorted as I can get me letters from the cloud now so I can mrs"