These Postal Terms form part of the Terms & Conditions. They describe exactly what happens to an item from the moment it arrives at your address, what we will and will not accept, and what each action costs.
1. Receiving
- We accept letters, documents and small parcels addressed to the name(s) on your account at your assigned address and box number. Items addressed to other names are refused or returned.
- A named member of staff at each location signs for and logs each item on the working day it is received. Working days follow local business days and public holidays in each city.
- We accept parcels up to 5 kg and 60 × 40 × 40 cm. Larger, heavier, or bulk deliveries are refused unless agreed in advance in writing.
- We do not accept, and will refuse or return: cash, cheques over local reporting thresholds, precious metals, weapons, controlled substances, hazardous or flammable goods, perishable goods, live animals or plants, items requiring a licence to receive, or items we reasonably believe to be unlawful.
2. Photograph on arrival
The exterior of every item is photographed and appears in your digital mailbox the working day it arrives, with a notification by email and, if you have enabled it, WhatsApp. Nothing is opened at this stage.
3. Your instructions
From your mailbox you may instruct us, per item, to:
- Open and scan — the contents are opened, scanned at 300 dpi and uploaded as a PDF within one working day of your request. Charged per item beyond your plan's included allowance.
- Forward — the unopened item is dispatched to any address you specify by tracked post or courier. A handling fee applies plus postage at cost, shown to you before you confirm.
- Hold — the item is stored securely at the location for collection or later instruction.
- Shred / destroy — the item is securely destroyed and a confirmation logged.
We act only on your instruction, except where section 6 applies. Instructions cannot be reversed once acted on.
4. Charges
- Open and scan: $1.50 per item beyond your included allowance.
- Forwarding: $3.00 per item handling, plus postage or courier charges at cost. Consolidated forwarding of several items in one shipment is charged once.
- Storage: free for 30 days from arrival. Thereafter $0.50 per item per week for letters and $2.00 per item per week for parcels.
- Collection in person by a named account holder: free, by appointment, with photo ID.
- Charges are billed to your card on file when you confirm the action, or monthly in arrears for storage. All charges are shown before you confirm.
5. Timescales
Scanning is completed within one working day of instruction. Forwarding is dispatched within one working day of instruction and payment; delivery times depend on the carrier. Items that arrive after local close of business are logged the next working day.
6. Uninstructed and abandoned items
Items with no instruction after 30 days continue in paid storage. Items with no instruction 90 days after arrival, or 30 days after your account closes, are securely destroyed and this is logged. We will send at least two reminders first.
7. Legal and regulatory handling
We may open, inspect, withhold, return or hand over an item where required by law, court order, a postal authority, customs, or law enforcement, or where we reasonably believe it contains a prohibited item. Where the law allows we will tell you. Local postal regulations apply in each city and may require you to complete local forms before mail can be received or forwarded; we will tell you which apply.
8. Confidentiality and security
Items are stored in locked areas accessible only to authorised staff. Scans are stored encrypted and deleted from our systems 12 months after your account closes, or sooner on request. Staff handling your mail are bound by confidentiality obligations.
9. Loss or damage
We take reasonable care of items in our custody. Our liability for loss or damage to any item while in our custody is limited to $50 per item. We are not liable for items lost or damaged before receipt at the premises or after dispatch to a carrier; forwarded items are sent tracked and any carrier claim will be pursued on your behalf.
10. Contact
Mail handling queries: hello@alalem.ai, or the support option in your mailbox dashboard.