scan and view

have your letters scanned for instant access

If you are constantly travelling and have no fixed point of contact for forwarding,  or just must have the contents of that important letter today,  Scan & View is perfect for you!   It's also the most ecological option because scanning a letter creates just 1/50th of the Carbon compared to posting within the UK,  rising to 1/500th if the letter is being forwarded abroad!

Set the standing instructions in your account control panel to 'Open & scan my mail on arrival'.   Whilst this option is active,  every postal item delivered to your mailbox is opened and a single page is scanned,  then uploaded to your secure viewer.

your scan viewer

Open your Viewer and you'll be presented with thumbnails of your scans,  organised in date order.   When you mouse over or tap on a thumbnail,  a red 'VIEW' button will appear,  as illustrated below.

Secure letter scan viewer visual from expatpost

using the controls

Clicking VIEW on a thumbnail will bring up a readable preview in a new window,  with five simple one-click controls.

ADD TO DESPATCH:
This control allows you to select a single item to be forwarded. . .  one click and the letter you are previewing will be added to a Demand despatch,  using the settings that are current in your control panel.

SCAN ALL PAGES / REVEAL PIN:
On the rare occasion when you might want all remaining pages of a letter scanning,  you should use this dual-purpose control.

PLUS:   We only scan the front of a payment card initially and,  with a PIN notification letter,  we leave the PIN concealed.   Clicking this same control will tell the mailroom to scan the back of the card  (revealing the CVV number),  or to rescan the notification letter with your PIN uncovered. . .  simples!

DOWNLOAD:
This one does exactly what it says on the tin. . .  click,  and the high resolution image will automatically download to your device.

DELETE SCAN:
Click on;  'DELETE SCAN',  and this will remove both the preview image and its thumbnail from the Viewer,  but the physical letter will stay in your mailbox.

DESTROY:
Clicking on 'DESTROY' will instruct the mailroom to shred the associated letter,  but will leave the image in your viewer  ( marked as 'DESTROYED' )  until you decide to DELETE it.   Please remember,  however,  that once you 'DELETE' an image,  you will no longer be able to request its destruction!

When you first log in to your secure control panel after registering,  you will notice that one 'unread scan' is already showing in your viewer,  so you can try out the feature and controls for yourself!  :o)

scan existing mail

If you decide that you want to read letters or documents that are already in your mailbox,  no problem!   In the scanning section of your Control Panel you will find 'scan old mail'.   Simply click the 'SCAN OLD MAIL NOW' button,  and all previously unscanned items will be processed and uploaded to your Viewer.

If you only need a specific item of old mail scanning,  please contact Support with as accurate a description of the letter as possible and,  if the mailroom are able to identify it with confidence,  they will scan it for you.   A word of caution;  without opening mail there is little chance of identifying the sender,  especially so for official letters,  which are deliberately anonymised to help prevent identity theft,  and the search will result in a small manual handling surcharge.

Destroying and recycling scanned letters

destroying mail

Method:   In keeping with our Eco Policy,  letter mail cross shredded,  unopened,  and then recycled as bio-mass fuel.   Non-paper items may be opened to ensure that a safe,  legal and ecologically compatible destruction method is employed.

Timescales:   If you request a scanned item be DESTROYED,  we will wait 24 hours before shredding.   Any unforwarded mail  ( including both scanned and unscanned items )  in a 'Closed' mailbox will be archived for 60 days after the account expiry date before being destroyed.


your questions answered

How many images would be needed for one item?
The scan size is A4,  large enough to capture one full side of all standard UK documents including bank statements,  bills or legal communications,  and possibly two sheets of hand written note paper.  To avoid unnecessary charges to you,  we only scan the first page of a letter initially.

What happens to my mail after it has been scanned?
Each item is resealed with a label showing the date and time of processing,  and the scan reference,  then returned to your mailbox.  Your standing instructions still apply,  so the mail will be forwarded or stored according to your chosen despatch intervals.

Can I read my scans on a smart phone?
Yes.  Our unique scan viewer is compatible with all computer platforms,  browsers and smart phones.

I selected DESTROY in error,  what can I do?
Email support@expost.uk as soon as you notice your mistake,  but don't panic!  Although we remove the physical letter from your mailbox,  we wait at least 24 hours before shredding  ( for exactly this reason ), and it is possible to recover the item during this period.

Please note that a manual handling Surcharge will be applied to search for,  identify and recover the item or items.