How to Send a Certified Letter (and Why You Need It)
This goes for anyone who has come to terms with the fact that a gym they haven’t been to in years will withdraw some money from their checking account every month for the rest of their lives. Many gyms require potential dropouts to cancel their membership by showing up in person or by certified mail, and if you don’t have time to go there or don’t know how to send a certified mail, this is a monthly tribute to the company. The fitness gods may seem like your only option.
Is not! You don’t have to live like this. It is very easy to send a certified letter.
When do you need to send a certified letter?
Certified mail isn’t just for gym cancellations. It can also be used to send tax returns and legal notices, and for all kinds of confidential documents. The advantage of paying for a certified letter is that you will receive a receipt, and for an additional fee, you can get a copy of the recipient’s signature as soon as they receive it. This will help you cover all your bases in situations where you may need to prove that you did send something and the other party did or didn’t receive it.
A registered letter is a form of a certified letter. A certified mail gives the sender a receipt and a record of the whereabouts of the mail, but costs more than a certified mail. Registered mail offers a little more security, so always check which option is more appropriate for your particular situation. Think also about cost-effectiveness: registered mail is insured, while registered mail can be insured for an additional fee. Add up the various fees required for any option to find out which one will suit your needs, keeping safety and cost in mind.
You can send a certified letter from any post office.
Your first option to send a certified letter is old-fashioned: get to your local post office and ask for a certified 3800 Postage Form. You can tell by a green and white barcode sticker that will help you track your package.
Carefully and accurately fill in all the information on the form. You will be writing down the recipient’s name and address, so make sure you spell it correctly and that what you write is legible. After that, pay attention to the green-white sticker again. You have a few more options, but they are clearly laid out for you. All you have to do is check the boxes and write your initials to indicate if you want to use a limited delivery service – which ensures that a specific person receives and signs the mail – or if you want to buy a receipt service so you can receive a copy of the recipient’s letter. signature.
Attach the sticker to the envelope above the recipient’s address, but leave room for stamps on the right side. Add your stamps or postage and then pay the fees by certified mail. This may include $ 3.35 to send a certified letter, as well as a return receipt fee, known as the PS 3811 Form, which will cost $ 2.75, and any other options you choose. (These rates are, of course, quoted at the time of this writing.)
There is a perforated check. You will see this, so don’t worry. You need to keep this. This is the whole point.
How to send a certified letter online
Of course, if you can’t find the time to go to your old gym and cancel your membership, you may not have time to go to the post office either. Don’t worry – we live in the future baby and you can send a certified mail online.
There are several websites that offer this service. They have pretty obvious names like onlinecertifiedmail.com . Labels you can print at home are an option. Again, find them on sites with names like certedmaillabels.com .
As with any website, make sure the one you choose is legal and offers what you need, such as next day USPS tracking and proof of delivery.
Now write your letter in Word or a similar program, or fill out any form you have to submit. If you need to sign it, be sure to do so. There is no point in paying to send a document that you filled out incorrectly! Use DocuSign or a similar program, or even print, sign and scan a physical document. Whatever you do, make sure you dot your I dots and cross out the T metaphorically and literally.
Upload the document to the website of your choice with certified mail, enter your payment details and follow the steps as you would for any online purchase. The letter must be addressed, printed and sent by the service on the same business day that you downloaded it.
Now you just update this tracking page over and over until your little nightmare is over.