Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

Last year someone was told by a member of staff at Girne Post Office that unless cards etc were stamped as airmail they were being thrown away. Is it just a coincidence that again this year the only cards we have received have been sent by airmail, despite the fact that both Christmas and birthday cards have been posted by ordinary mail several weeks ago in the UK but have not yet arrived. If this is the case then it is not acceptable and whoever allows it to carry on must be brought to account. I will be contacting the powers that be about this but don't expect to get anywhere.

We have been here 9yrs and sick to death of losing post. Two years ago we rented a P.O.Box on the South side, fantastic, no problems. Every single card, package, post has arrived on time, not lost a thing.

For 40 Euros a year its well worth it!

I get a fair bit of business post from the UK without too much trouble.

Hi Elizabeth, if you are a member of the BRS it may be worth mentioning to them. They did an in depth investigation a few years ago.

Johnnie,
How do you get delivered to you. I have had so much go missing lately?

Mollie-the-cat,
How did you get a po box in the south?

Very easy.

If you know how to get to the main post office.

Basically if you go along Ledra street towards Starbucks/McDonalds on your right, keep walking to the junction at the top of the street. Turn left you will see the post office on the right.

Once inside an English speaking lady will give you a form to complete, they don't give a hoot if you are from the North. Fill in the form pay the fee, bingo. You get the key a week later it's all yours.

When they ask your address they recommend you say you live in Lefkosa as apposed to your actual village.

What I just can't understand is:- are they so bl**dy idle that they can't be bothered to work or what. What difference does it make to this end whether an envelope has a blue Air Mail sticker on it or not? An envelope is an envelope is an envelope!! I doubt very much that less than two percent of my mail ever has a sticker on. We have dozy friend in the UK who can't be bothered or maybe is too old to realize that airmail letters cost more than inland UK letters and cards. He just wanders into his little village PO (there are some left!!) asks for 20 x 2nd class stamps and then posts them. We've told him year after year that his cards get here end February or March, but he never changes. He does the same with letters during the year.

The role of the postal service is to deliver the mail, whether it is airmail or snail mail, it must take longer to sort out and throw away than it would to just send it on to the local post offices, what is the point of it. I get really annoyed, people have gone to the trouble and expense of sending cards yet someone here sees fit to disregard that, strange but my TC neighbour always gets his mail, wherever it's from or however it's sent, yet more discrimination I think.

Now that the Air mail bit has been mentioned I will keep a look out. Got 3 pieces today all with Air mail on them.

Two cards today, both with airmail stickers

I have been getting mail here for over ten years, both to a PO Box and later to home addess, (including parcels of books and clothes) and very little has gone astray (though quite a lot has been delayed). Of that which has gone astray I have been able to prove that 90% was the fault of the sender or Royal Mail, either incorrect addressing or postage. One dozy office worker invariably put stamps on my mail for UK postage and it arrived two or three months later with a sticker from Royal Mail that because of incorrect postage it was send by a slower route! Ive often wondered what route - pigeon post? Got so fed up with elderly aunts and a dizzy friend getting the address wrong (though usually I still got the mail eventually) that I gpt a lot of labels with my name and address and sent them to correspondents.

And PLEASE dont ivolve the BRS. Last time all they achieved was to persuade several UK companies that mail to N. Cyprus was not safe, and it cost me a fortune in courier services.!

Also very few people in the UK seem to remember they need to post overseas mail earlier than the Christmas cards they are sending to the UK,
and dont forget that they dont celebrate Christmas here, and they arent geared up for the avalanch of mail fromm the UK.

Also for those who give a home address - las ttime this subject was raised on a phorum it turned out the postman just did not know the roads names onthe new Estate! Oddly enough I had a similar experience with mail not delivered on a new Estate in the UK

Under the Worldwide Directory for Parcelforce in UK this is a small extract for information on how to send mail for "Cyprus" (I don't know how to pick & choose copying & pasting so picked out certain information)

Welcome to our Worldwide Directory
Cyprus
Zone 9 EU

Please make sure you read our country specification carefully, taking note of weights, dimensions and use of PO boxes. When sending the parcel, be sure to include the recipient’s full contact name and telephone number. The delivery speeds shown are for non-dutiable parcels or documents; remember that the added time for Customs clearance overseas will vary depending on the country, type of goods, and whether the recipient has queries about any element of the duties and taxes raised. For further information and guidance please see our section on Customs.

The Global Express transit times and delivery commitments shown below may vary depending on origin and destination post codes. Please contact our customer service team on 08448 004466 for further delivery speed details by destination.

In addition for items sent from KW15-17, ZE, HS, PA20-75 and PH33-50 will take one additional day, to the quoted delivery speeds on all services to all destinations.

Additional Information
Non Working Days
Sunday
Customs and Prohibitions

EU member - mainly unrestricted movement of goods. It is essential you check our general international prohibitions and restrictions before shipping
This is for information only and should not be considered to have legal basis. Where doubt exists appropriate legal advice should be sought.

Comments

Always include a recipient telephone number clearly marked on the parcel. Parcels to Northern Cyprus are delivered through Turkey. All parcels should have "MERSIN 10" as the postcode and "Turkey" as the country of destination

I think this has been mentioned before but also a customs declaration slip should always be made out with parcels.

This is under the heading of "Turkey"

Comments

Always include a recipient telephone number clearly marked on the parcel. If for any reason a parcel is not released by the Turkish customs authority for delivery, it will not be returned to sender. It is crucial to check all relevant customs paperwork is complete and all regulations met before shipping. Parcels to Northern Cyprus are delivered through Turkey - parcels should have "MERSIN 10" as the postcode and "Turkey" as the country of destination

The mail that has been sent several weeks ago from both UK and Australia but not arrived was addressed correctly, including the postcode, and stamped according to weight and paid correct rate. Despite that the only mail we have received were the one sent by airmail, coincidence ????

I have found the Post Office in Turkey very helpful -- on one occasion they put a parcel that had been very badly packed and split open, in a plastic folder and sent it on with an explanatory note (in English!)

However someof the people in the Turkish couriers offices are not so clued up. I once had a phone call (fortunately the sender had put my phone number ) from a very confused man who didnt know where Mersin10 is! As his English was just about as limited as my Turkish it took a lot of explaining! but I did get the parcel eventually. Since then when using courier service I have put "K.K.T.C."in brackets after "Mersin 10" hoping it will mean something to Turks but not to anone ill intentioned,, It seems to work.

Btw we presumably still have a post code. I think Soner put a list on here somewhere. Is anyone using it, and have they checked if it works?

PS Just checked. You will find your postcode in the Business Directory here under "Postcodes"!