Reading Your Paper Mail Online with RemoteControlMail
March 23rd, 2007 (12:00pm) Chris Gilmer 10 CommentsTweet This
Now you can read your paper mail online with RemoteControlMail. RemoteControlMail is an online service that was launched last year in Portland and is expanding to 18 additional cities. The service receives and scans all of your postal mail for you then provides it in an easy to browse online account. It will even ship out mail that you request after seeing online. It’s similar to Paytrust, who will review, pay and organize your bills for you online.
As for security, the CEO of RemoteControlMail has said that the individuals that open and scan mail are disabled veterans with Department of Defense security clearances. They work in a clean room with no pockets in their uniforms. Every piece of mail is supposedly videotaped. The video recording can be watched at anytime by users interested in seeing a certain letter being opened.
If the security part hasn’t made you too wary, let’s look at the other benefits. RemoteControlMail is a green friendly company who recycles and shreds the contents of mail after opening, scanning and archiving occurs. Pricing starts at $9.95 a month for a personal account, but if you choose one of the higher plans you receive more storage for electronic archiving and additional credits for mail forwarding.
It sounds like an interesting way to get your mail on the go; however, I know most people are just not digging the fact that someone else is opening their private mail. Think I will stick to the traditional methods for now.
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IMHO this would be great for nomadic knowledge worker types like myself – I was moving annually for a while, and changing a million and one addresses each time was a PITA. Having one address that stays constant wherever you happen to live is a big selling feature for me.
I also agree with you that I don’t like knowing that someone else has seen my mail.
People that lazy to walk to their mailbox haha.
Remote control mail? Cool huh!
What happens when you get a check in the mail?
I think that it is important to realise that Financial Information is considered the most taboo subject in America. And, paranoia surrounds it.
At least in this company, they are giving disabled vets, with security clearances, jobs, and I would feel a lot more comfortable with them seeing my mail, than people who already have “access” to my / our personal financial information (credit card and credit-reporting companies, banks, creditors,.landlords, tax “preparers” [not CPAs or Tax Attorneys] and all of their staffs etc.)
There are many people who could benefit from this service — those who travel; sight-impaired people who do not want to have to depend on lowly-paid “helpers” when no family is close-by or no family at all; mentally-impaired people – same deal etc.
I hope that the company thrives for those who need it.
Best to all — Em
PS Please come visit my blog:
http://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com
“Everyone knows someone who needs this information!” (TM)
Use it for Prevention and for sharing.
I’m a longtime Paytrust user (8 years) and after Intuit bought it I was hopeful that it would get even better. That never happened. Since the buyout the copyright year on the sites footer still reads 2005! Thats scary to me! I’m not sure if the big credit companies are playing hard ball with Paytrust but some won’t send my bill to them anymore, same with my insurance provider. Over the years services like these seemed good but missing bills and getting bills late has me dropping the idea of using a service that had such potential in streamlining the mundane things of life. RemoteControlMail will face the same hurdles.
Nica idea, but simply seems to be a remake of services like http://www.paper2mail.de over there in europe – nevertheless I´d give them a chance
I use Mail Boxes Etc. for this type of service. They don’t scan the mail, but they throw away junk mail and forward it wherever you are. I had my mail forwarded to one of the European countries on a monthly basis. I am back in the U.S., but have decided to keep my Mail Boxes Etc. address, as it’s so convinient (no need to update a long list of companies and services with my new address every time I move).
Remote Control Mail is very useful for Americans who now live abroad but still receive mail here. For my tenure abroad I did not have this option. I would have absolutely taken advantage of this if I had known about it.
In addition this service is convenient for any person, or business that is constantly moving. This simplifies the whole changing addresses situation.