Online Certified Mail | LetterStream Blog

Towing Companies Send Certified Mail, Too

tow truck

If you’re not in the towing business, this post might not be for you… unless of course your vehicle has recently been impounded, in which case you might want to know a few things.

Many states require towing companies to notify owners, via USPS Certified Mail with Return Receipt, that their car has been towed within 3 days of towing. Failure to do so may result in the inability to charge the car’s owner for towing fees and/or storage. (Be sure to check your state laws to determine what is required.)

We’ve found that our online certified mail solutions are a tremendous benefit to those in the towing business for two reasons. First, LetterStream helps towing companies send their certified letters on time–each and every time–allowing all fees to be collected. Secondly, we maintain the mailing records online for easy access to comply with document retention rules.

Check out how we help towing companies comply with their specific state statutes:

Colorado

Public Tow Requirements:

“If the responsible law enforcement agency does not use an operator to store the motor vehicle, the responsible law enforcement agency must notify the owner(s) and lienholder(s) by certified mail, return receipt requested” and “Tow Operator- Notice to the owner(s) and lienholder(s) must be sent within 3 calendar days after the receipt of the completed record search from the Department. a) The tow operator shall retain proof of notification on file for 3 years. b) Notices sent by a tow operator must be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested.”

South Carolina

Guidelines for Businesses for Tow/Repair Vehicles Section 56-5-5620-5670:

“Storage charges to begin on the first day if certified return receipt notices to the owners and lien holders are mailed within 5 days of determining their identities. Otherwise no storage charges accrue until the notices are mailed.”

Connecticut

State Law Title 14 Sec. 14-145:

“If vehicle is not claimed within 48 hours, the tower must complete the DMV form “Motor Vehicle Notice of Tow” (form H-114) and shall mail, by certified mail, copies of the completed form to the owner and to all lien holders of record.”

California

Section 14602.6 Vehicle Impoundment:

“The impounding agency, within two working days of impoundment, shall send a notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the legal owner of the vehicle, at the address obtained from the department, informing the owner that the vehicle as been impounded. Failure to notify the legal owner within two working days shall prohibit the impounding agency from charging for more than 15 days’ impoundment when the legal owner redeems the impounded vehicle.”

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We haven’t looked at every state’s statutes on towing and impounding, but the above is the result of a quick google search.

If you want to speed up the time to get your certified mail sent, and want to learn how to keep great records of your mailings for years to come, contact us today.

How Do You Organize Certified Mail Return Receipts?

certified mail green card

These slippery little green cards have a way of getting lost. For you mailroom folks, you probably know them as a PS Form 3811, but the rest of us simply call them green cards. Obviously “Certified Mail Return Receipt” is a more complete term, but it is probably not the term we use when trying to find the one we lost.

So the big question is, how do you keep track of green cards? They are small and get mixed in with empty envelopes that you put in the trash, they fall out of file folders even while in a filing cabinet, they get piled up waiting for a rainy day for someone else to file. Let’s face it, they are hard to file and they are hard to find. There’s nothing like the attorney calling and saying, “We are headed to court, what happened to the green card?”

Here’s a better way to organize your PS Form 3811 receipts… skip the entire paper process altogether and keep your electronic signatures organized online–always available, always filed correctly, always filed instantly, and best of all, never lost.

Wondering how?

The best way to get your certified mail receipt electronically filed is to create your certified mail online. When you use LetterStream or OnlineCertifiedMail.com to create your certified letter, your PS Form 3811 as well as all of the related USPS tracking scans will be available online for you to access when you need then.

The online process of making real Certified Mail is fast and easy, with no forms to fill out, no envelopes to seal, and no trips to the post office. We take care of all that so you can focus on other pressing issues. Oh, and one more benefit… you won’t need to type in that 20-digit certified mail tracking number–you can look up information about your certified letter by searching on the job name or the recipient’s name.

Stop searching for green cards. Use our online tools and let us organize them for you.

Now where did I put that green card?

If you send Certified Mail, you know what sort of pain it is when the attorney asks for the green card (PS Form 3811) and it can’t be found.

green card - certified mail receipt

I know, I know….we all like to put our highest paid employees on the task of filing the green cards so they are always where they need to be. Well, ok…..that’s not exactly true. In reality, they stack up on the receptionist’s desk, then they get moved to the mail room, then they may make it back to the collections department, with each department attempting to file a few whenever they get an idle moment.

Sound familiar?

Wish there was a better way?

Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t need to worry about hanging on to those pesky green cards? Instead, what if the green cards were electronically delivered to us with the name and address of the recipient and the signature of the person who received the certified letter. Then, what if the signature was instantly and accurately filed, just the way we like.

While we are dreaming, let’s make it one better. What if, when the green card is needed — even if it’s years down the road — all we need to do is type in the name or the address of the person who was sent the letter and we’d immediately see the certified letter, the tracking information and the signature, all available to be printed and handed over to the person who needs it. Now that would be ideal!

And it would also be an explanation of how our Certified Mail process works.

Don’t file green cards, use LetterStream.

Cancelling Gym Memberships Via Certified Mail

Don’t you hate it when gyms keep charging your credit card even after you cancel your membership?

One good way to get the charges to stop is to send a cancellation letter via USPS Certified Mail.

Google “gym cancelation letters” and you’ll find numerous articles relating to how to stop gyms from charging your credit card on a monthly basis, and they almost all have one thing in common… they state that your letter should be sent via Certifed Mail.

We’ve mailed scores of cancellation letters via LetterStream.com, as well as our partner site, OnlineCertifiedMail.com. Once you create your letter, send it Certified Mail online without a costly trip to the post office.