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How much did it cost to open a P.O. box. I found on another thread the cost of starting a 1-800#.
We've adopted/or in the process of adopting 3 kids...from different families through fostercare. One is a closed adoptions, one is a semi-open adoption Bmom already has our phone # but not address, and I have the phone number for our sons bio-grandma but still haven't called her yet.
What is your experience with 1-800#s or p.o.boxes......over time. Are they inexpensive to keep open? What if we move.....can I keep the same number or p.o. box even if a I move out of state?
Is there anyway for the bfamily to track where we live through using one of these? I've heard that if someone has your phone number all they have to do is look you up on line and they will give you directions to your house? Is this true? How do you put a block on it so they can't find you?
I want to keep a semi-open adoption with bfamilies yet still have the security of knowing they can't locate us and stalk our kids or kidnap them. I know that may sound very disrespectful to all those wonderful bfamilies out there that that thought would even come into my mind, but our kids are from fostercare..and depending on which child you are talking about.....too much contact info may not be too safe for our family.
Have you used either ....and which one did you prefer? I've also heard of opening a website for your child...that only certian people have access to. Has anyone used that? Any problems? Which one do you like better?
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Jessica, I can only address your question about PO Boxes. We have a small PO Box and it costs us $44 per year. I think the costs vary based on size and I am not sure if they vary from PO to PO or if they are any cheaper if you go to a place like Mailboxes etc.We live in a small town and they do not deliver mail to our house so we have to have a PO box. I do not think that the PO will give out your home address due to privacy laws. Here is a site that talks about being able to look up a person by their phone number. Hopes this helps.[url="http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/google.asp"]http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/google.asp[/url]
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Jessica:
We also have a PO box in case our daughter's bmom wants to send anything. It is in a different town than where we live. It's the smallest one and costs $48/year plus a $1 deposit for each key. When we set it up I asked about privacy and they said they're not allowed to give anyone your information, but I assume there could be ways around it if you know the right people. I don't know if the post office would forward mail from the PO box to anywhere - we never asked. Usually forwarding orders (like when you move) are only good for about 6 months.
As long as your telephone number is not unlisted, people can do a reverse lookup on several websites and get your name and address. Removing yourself from the google lookup capability won't remove you from the other sites. If you don't want people to be able track you by your phone number, you would have to ask your phone company for an unlisted number. Even then, people can find out in what area you live by the area code and the following 3 digits - depending on how populated your area is, this could pinpoint you down to a several mile radius of the phone company switching office. The only real "fool proof" way is to get an unlisted 800#, but there is a monthly charge for that. How much per month depends on what company you get it from.
Hope this helps!
Sandy
Thank you for your help, sorry it took me so long to respond.
We finally opened a p.o. box, because we are moving and didn't want to give out our new info. It cost us $19 for 6 months and $1 for the key.
When we move we are making our number unlisted, but we are still considering doing the 1-800 number.
I also found a a disturbing thing from someone on these boards.
Since we are fosterparents..all our information is open on a public website. So really anyone can find us that way and know anything about us. If they just know the right place to look.
That is very scary, especially for those fosterparents who take in Gang babies, or deal with very dangerous biological families. You'd think the rights of foster parents privacy would be more protected and safegaurded, but it's not.
My guess is that would probably be true for all adoptive homes through the state as well...since you have to go through the procedures of fostering your adoptive child the first 6 months before you can finalize.
Yes, thanks for the invite, I got busy and forgot all about it, but I just visited it and have registered (just under a different name)I'm sure you'll see me there. I tried to e-mail/pm you with my new user name but it wouldn't let me...on this site...I'll have to try on the other site. Thanks again!!!
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