# Credit card quest/pit. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 29, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-quest-pit/337610 "2005-12-29T18:59:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-quest-pit/337610/21 "2005-12-30T07:04:45Z")
:smack: That was original, wasn’t it? (Grrr, hamsters–it would have been at least a simulpost)… ---
**Author:** ![indecisive1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/41988e/32.png) [@indecisive1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/indecisive1)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-quest-pit/337610/22 "2005-12-30T12:57:54Z")
How about using both your house address _and_ PO box as your address? 123 Snow Nightmare Lane, PO BX 123 ColdCity, Burr 12345 This company has caused you enough trouble already. Don’t give them your business. You should also try to get the name of a higher-up and let them know about it. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-quest-pit/337610/23 "2005-12-30T14:36:17Z")
> [@Hilarity N Suze](#): > > You could try this: go to the PO and fill out a change of address card. Put down your actual address, change it to the PO box. (I am assuming that your zip code, if you had one, would be the same as the one at the PO box). Now that’s pretty clever. > [@zipperJJ](#): > > I wonder if that would work, or if they would look at you funny because 123 Main Street is not in their database - since that address doesn’t get mail. I’m 99.9% sure that the (or any) post office does not keep a database of addresses. > [@zipperJJ](#): > > Is there a way to forward mail from your home address to your PO box? Like tell the USPO “hey if any mail comes here for 123 Main Street, put it in box 12”? > Now that I think of it, I am kind of surprised that this isn’t how it works by default for towns with no home mail service. It works in some small towns, like in featherlous case, but I wouldn’t count on it here. We are talking about 10 of thousands of addresses and businesses. > [@indecisive1](#): > > How about using both your house address _and_ PO box as your address? > > 123 Snow Nightmare Lane, PO BX 123 > ColdCity, Burr 12345 > > This company has caused you enough trouble already. Don’t give them your business. You should also try to get the name of a higher-up and let them know about it. That’s probably the best idea. I’ve even thought I coud do something like - 1234 Pob St. Sometown 12345-1234 The Post office would figure that out. But, I really don’t want to give these idiots at ‘we say yes’ the satisfaction of any more business. Things get a little more complicated sometimes since I live in a different county than where I get my mail. And I don’t live within any town limits. And to further complicate things, the town that I do associate my physical address with is not the town where My PO box is. I’m not really suprised that this gums up their works. However, I’m stunned that the people I have been talking to can’t understand the problem. I feel like shaking them and then speaking really slow to see if I can get a glimmer of understanding out of them. They usually respond to my emails at this time of day. In my last email I told them that we would not be doing business with them because they “cannot resolve this simple issue”. I wonder if they will get back to me again. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-quest-pit/337610/24 "2005-12-30T16:23:26Z")
Wow, just wow. I got another email from them. The said to call customer service to change the address on my existing account. That’s the second person that does not understand that this has nothing to do with an existing account. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-quest-pit/337610/25 "2005-12-30T17:50:18Z")
I’m wondering if they need the physical address for a reason other than mailing, perhaps as part of the data set they use to submit information to the credit reporting agencies. That might be a valid reason, and one that the customer service people probably won’t understand - all they know is that they need the physical address without knowing ‘why’. **enipla** , have you looked at your credit reports? What address is listed on them? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-quest-pit/337610/26 "2005-12-30T17:53:48Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > That’s probably the best idea. I’ve even thought I coud do something like - > > 1234 Pob St. > Sometown 12345-1234 > > The Post office would figure that out. But, I really don’t want to give these idiots at ‘we say yes’ the satisfaction of any more business. Probably won’t work. Unless there is a Pob Street in Sometown, the address will fail verification and “conforming” that’s usually done to addresses. (Conformins is when they take your “123 North Third Avenue West” and change it into the USPS-preferred “123 N 3rd Av W” (And yes, I have seen nutjob addresses like that) I think **indecicive1’s** idea of adding the PO Box to the useless street address is best. Just do it on a second line like you would an apartment. PO Box 1234 1234 Mailmen Fear To Tread Street Yourtown But in the end, you’re right that they don’t deserve your business and the opportunity to lop about 50 points off your FICO with their shady business practices. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-quest-pit/337610/27 "2005-12-30T18:27:45Z")
> [@Dag Otto](#): > > I’m wondering if they need the physical address for a reason other than mailing, perhaps as part of the data set they use to submit information to the credit reporting agencies. That might be a valid reason, and one that the customer service people probably won’t understand - all they know is that they need the physical address without knowing ‘why’. And I’m perfectly happy to give them a physical address. Just can’t do it online and get the better deal. > [@](#): > > **enipla** , have you looked at your credit reports? What address is listed on them? Not sure. > [@gotpasswords](#): > > But in the end, you’re right that they don’t deserve your business and the opportunity to lop about 50 points off your FICO with their shady business practices. Yeah, I’m gonna dump them. So they lost me and my Wife. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-quest-pit/337610/28 "2005-12-30T19:46:46Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I’m 99.9% sure that the (or any) post office does not keep a database of addresses. Just in the interest of fighting ignorance: Yes, the PO has a database of valid addresses, and each has a code associated with it called DPV, for Delivery Point Validation. You can even purchase it from third-party companies. The company I work for has one. It allows us to take other mailing lists and compare them, so that we can cull out undeliverable entries. I don’t think they maintain a database of addresses than are **not** deliverable, though. I suspect, then, that the otherwise clever tactic of a change-of-address form would not work, because the physical address does not exist to them. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-quest-pit/337610/29 "2005-12-30T19:53:05Z")
i think we’re ignoring the :dubious: obvious :dubious: solution here. Move down out of the mountains \ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-quest-pit/337610/30 "2005-12-30T20:07:29Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > Just in the interest of fighting ignorance: Yes, the PO has a database of valid addresses, and each has a code associated with it called DPV, for Delivery Point Validation. You can even purchase it from third-party companies. The company I work for has one. It allows us to take other mailing lists and compare them, so that we can cull out undeliverable entries. > > I don’t think they maintain a database of addresses than are **not** deliverable, though. I suspect, then, that the otherwise clever tactic of a change-of-address form would not work, because the physical address does not exist to them. I think we are talking two different things. You are talking mailing address. I’m talking physical address. Where I live, they are two different things. The PO’s around here would have to the the physical addresses from me or my department (GIS). We assign them. In the 13 years I’ve worked here, we have never been asked for that information. We notify emegency services and such of new addresses but there is no need to notify the PO since they don’t deliver. So they probably have a list of valid PO boxes. But not physical addresses. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-quest-pit/337610/31 "2005-12-30T23:56:57Z")
Just some more info. Re: addresses and databases. I bet some people think that the post office assigns addresses. That’s not the case. At least here. I really doubt it is anywhere since the Post Office is not involved in the development planning process. It is in the planning stage that streets are named. In our case, the developer will recommend or ask for street names. We can approve it or not. This is to prevent duplicate street names in a certain area(in theory anyway, it still happens). Duplicate street names are the bane of emergency service workers, and I suppose pizza drivers. Since the county is the taxing entity, we keep the databases of all this information. We maintain both mailing and physical addresses. Gotta get those tax bills out. We also try to keep the cities in line with their planning processes. Then, as the development is approved, we assign addresses. The PO has nothing to do with it. We do follow the PO’s guidelines as far as suffixes and stuff goes, and the rural mile mark addressing system, but that’s pretty much it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-quest-pit/337610.md?page=1)