Serious Post Office delivery issues

May 18, 2020, 10:16 PM

Beancooker

Serious Post Office delivery issues - Need Help Please

quote:
Originally posted by ranger312:
My daughter continually has random first class mail returned to sender. This has happened about 10 times over the last several months. Her bank, 2 credit card companies, mortgage company and her 401K provider have all had mail returned. Maybe others also. She finds out about it when she gets another letter or an email from them saying "have you moved?"

She has talked to the Post Office many times. We are in a city of 60,000 people so its not a little backwater PO. She is about to come unglued over this. She has signed up for some program with the Post Office that scans her mail and emails her a picture of every 1st class letter. Last week she had a greeting card from someone in the next town over. She got an email with a picture of the envelope, the address was correct but just had her first name - not her last name. It showed as delivered, but she never got it. She does NOT get scans of the RETURNED mail though, which makes me think this is happening BEFORE the mail gets to the local Post Office. This is happening so regularly that something has got to be seriously wrong. Her 401k provider was talking about "abandoned property" in their letter, so there are probably more statements that have not gotten to her.

My daughter is single and has the same last name as ours and the same first initial as my wife. We are in the same city and on the same postal route. She lived with us for 4 months in 2017 while she was building a new house. After she moved in we had a forwarding issue that took months to resolve, but that was over in 2018. The Post Office likes to blame the carrier, saying that he gets confused because she and my wife have the same last name and first initial! What a crock. Like the carriers memorize the address of every "Smith" and "Jones" in a city of 60,000. Besides, we have had multiple carriers since then. And the carrier shouldn't look at the name on the letter, just the address.

Anybody with knowledge of the PO inner workings? What can she do? Who is next up the food chain? The Postmaster must have a boss somewhere. Do we contact the Post Office Inspector General? Seems like they are more fraud than mis-delivery issues. Thanks for any advice!

Get a PO Box. Issues magically resolve. Seriously.

May 19, 2020, 08:01 AM

ranger312

Thanks for the suggestions.

I would love to see an actual returned letter, but calling banks/credit card companies and getting someone to find the returned letter, scan it and email it to her, sounds like a fools errand.

All of the senders that she has trouble with are using the 9 digit zip codes

While a PO Box is easy enough to try, I still think that since the returned mail is not getting scanned, the problem happens BEFORE the scanner. If that is true, then a PO Box will not help, and the carrier is not the issue. We need to find out where and when the scanning occurs. That seems to be the one constant - delivered mail gets scanned returned mail does not.

May 19, 2020, 08:13 AM

redleg2/9

New Orleans is the main distribution for our area. I have mail rerouted everywhere before finally making to me thirty miles north of New Orleans.
USPS has been trying for years to relocate the center, but the move has always been blocked by the Congressional Black Caucus because of the +90% work force of the center.

What I am saying is the fault might not be with the local P.O., but the distribution center and a PO Box would not make a difference.

My wife pays everything on line and I ship everything from a local package and mail shop - usually FedEx of UPS.

.

May 19, 2020, 08:19 AM

V-Tail

quote:
Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

The PO box is not particularly expensive, my mail is usually dry and is secure. I have had a PO box for 40 years. I still get mail at my house and office, but the important stuff goes to the box. It is easier than trying to solve the problem. I can access it 24 hours per day. It is less than a mile from my office and home. Vtail has a Box at UPS and it works for him.

I have an account at The UPS Store (formerly Mail Boxes Etc.) for two reasons:

Package delivery. Most days, there is nobody home at my house, so if there were a delivery there, it would either be left for the Porch Pirates to grab, or we would find a sticker on the door. If the package is delivered to The UPS Store, it is signed for and held securely until it is convenient for me to stop in on my way home from the hangar. The UPS Store sends me an email and / or text notification (my choice) when they receive mail or packages for us.
Personal security. My wife is a mental health care provider. A small percentage of the people she sees are potentially dangerous. Very small percentage, but it only takes one. In the event that either one of us has a wallet or (in her case) a purse stolen, any ID with address is the address of The UPS Store, not our residence. Sure, somebody with internet access can find our residence address, but why should we make it easy for a Bad Guy by having the address on ID in our wallets?

May 19, 2020, 10:10 AM

OKCGene

I'd be curious to try sending myself some mail.

Over a period of several days or a week, just sent yourself some envelopes with regular stamps, and as well send a couple of with tracking numbers.

What I mean is for you, or your daughter, to send some mail as I described above to her address.
.

May 19, 2020, 03:33 PM

bubbatime

quote:
Originally posted by GWbiker:
For a couple of years, I had one - an excellent mail carrier, IMO, who got a case of Beer from me each Christmas.

I had someone give me alcohol for Christmas once. I was livid!! Infuriating. Foaming at the mouth, throwing shit around mad.

Know your audience, before you give alcohol as gifts. Any moron that gives me alcohol as a gift again will get it throw at them or dumped over their head.

May 19, 2020, 03:46 PM

cas

Family business had a PO box for about 35+ years.

Maybe every other week for most of those years, we got mail for David and Nancy Weeks, People who had a PO box with the same box number in the next town over.
PO Box doesn't solve everything.

May 19, 2020, 03:55 PM

DaBigBR

quote:
Originally posted by bubbatime:
quote:
Originally posted by GWbiker:
For a couple of years, I had one - an excellent mail carrier, IMO, who got a case of Beer from me each Christmas.

I had someone give me alcohol for Christmas once. I was livid!! Infuriating. Foaming at the mouth, throwing shit around mad.

Know your audience, before you give alcohol as gifts. Any moron that gives me alcohol as a gift again will get it throw at them or dumped over their head.

Sounds like it's best that you don't drink...

May 21, 2020, 06:04 PM

GWbiker

quote:
Originally posted by bubbatime:
quote:
Originally posted by GWbiker:
For a couple of years, I had one - an excellent mail carrier, IMO, who got a case of Beer from me each Christmas.

I had someone give me alcohol for Christmas once. I was livid!! Infuriating. Foaming at the mouth, throwing shit around mad.

Know your audience, before you give alcohol as gifts. Any moron that gives me alcohol as a gift again will get it throw at them or dumped over their head.

Do read slowly....

It was the Brand Beer that letter carrier wanted, be said. The Beer that he usually drank. It was thru a $25 Albertson's gift card in case he changed his mind.

I second that prior suggestion that you don't drink alcohol.

May 21, 2020, 06:15 PM

ZSMICHAEL

This is Nancy Weeks. We have mail from some guy named cas. Some of it looks like it could objectionable material. It is kind of sketchy stuff if you know what I mean.

May 21, 2020, 07:59 PM

wcb6092

quote:
Originally posted by bubbatime:
quote:
Originally posted by GWbiker:
For a couple of years, I had one - an excellent mail carrier, IMO, who got a case of Beer from me each Christmas.

I had someone give me alcohol for Christmas once. I was livid!! Infuriating. Foaming at the mouth, throwing shit around mad.

Know your audience, before you give alcohol as gifts. Any moron that gives me alcohol as a gift again will get it throw at them or dumped over their head.

WOW!