Roberto Lie (24) from Indonesia is a Master student of Computer Science and Engineering at the Department of Mathematics & Computer Science. He wonders whether you can rent a post office box as a private person. Roberto has lived in the Netherlands for six months and is amazed at the amount of post still being sent here. “I believe in these 6 months in the Netherlands I have received more letters than I had in more than 20 years in Indonesia! So I reckon it would be convenient to rent a PO Box, so that when I move to a different address, I don’t have to change my postal address.”

The answer is simple: yes, you can. You can simply apply for a post office box online via www.tntpost.nl. A post office box will automatically be assigned to you at the location nearest to you that has vacant boxes. You can receive all sizes of post that you want, and bulky packages will be kept for you at a separate place. You pay 130 euro per year, plus a one-off amount of 38 euro upon concluding the agreement. Both amounts are exclusive of VAT.

Most locations are open as early as 7.30 a.m., so early birds may also find PO Boxes very handy. (HB)