I thought by now most of those type of companies / funds would also register your online details like email address and send important 'mails' through ALL available channels.

Certainly the D W P in the U K are indeed firmly entrenched in the carrier pigeon, snail mail age.

They use a bulk mail forwarding company, said contractor is based in France. Well the result is that often mail from the D W P can and does take anytime from 3 to 5 weeks to arrive if in fact it is actually posted. U K Royal Mail service average 4 days delivery time no problems.


If contacted by Email a 10 working day response is advised,much the same as all government departments, telephone contact as far as my experiences goes very good, security questions and a real human being in the relevant department to speak to not somewhere in Mumbai, excellent call back service too if required.

Email contact is not acceptable for change of bank details, change of address or change of circumstances, the reason given is being such systems are open to fraud according to the D W P rules, however, a typed or hand written letter with what may purport to be your signature etc is regarded as the infallible truth, forgery is it sends unknown or recognised!!!

My other pension providers operate within a 21st century framework, electronic mail is acceptable, progress it seems is a revolutionary and dangerous option for the civil service. mandarins and their underlings.

No problems with the Thai postal service even up country in the back of the back of beyond .

In all the years I've been here I've only lost one letter plus one that came to me after some 3 weeks delay plastered with''over carried to New Zealand'' stickers, I presume the wrong air mail bags were transferred in that case to the wrong aircraft.