I am not receiving my USPS mail reliably. What should I do?

Question

In the past 5 months, 3 of my paychecks have been lost in the mail. Medical bills and other important documents have also been lost. In the 5 years prior to this, I have never had a single paycheck or bill lost (no late fees).

I suspect the mail man (mail woman) is the problem. She used to throw all the paid advertisements she is supposed to put in the individual mailboxes into the discard bin under the mailboxes. Lately she hasn't even been doing that -- it has been MONTHS since I have received a flier in the mail. While I'm not a big fan of spam, I like to be the one who decides what is spam and what is not. Given that I live in a rather large city (4,000,000+), I'm pretty sure businesses still send spam via US Mail.

I want to complain, but the post office seems like the type of operation that upon entering a complaint online would send a notice to my mail man saying "Resident Josh Jones at 3321 XYZ Apt 5 thinks you are not delivering his mail properly. Please do better."... and then she'd be all cheesed off and I wouldn't receive any mail reliably.

What can I do? I don't want to get anyone fired, but I need to receive my mail on time -- late fees are not cheap and cancelling lost paychecks is a PITA!

HELP!

Answer 1

I had this same problem just a few months ago. I called my local post office and demanded to speak to the supervisor. I got the run-a-round, but I kept on until I got the supervisor in person. My mail was being mis-delivered and I was getting other people's mail. One way that I finally got to speak with the supervisor was when I went to the local district office and complained above her head. You will have to look up these phone numbers in www.yellowpages.com or by dropping by your local post office and telling them that you want the phone numbers. Once I had the supervisor's attention, she put my mail on notice and every morning she reviewed all mail addressed to my house and then if I missed some mail or got someone else's mail I would call her and tell her and she would compare what I got or didn't get with what she counted and listed for me each morning. Finally, the delivery person learned that I was going to make such a stink and worry his boss so much that he started paying close attention to giving me the correct mail.



SIDE NOTES: Do not listen to Jam's answer that it would be a bad idea to privatize the postal service. He is a pinko liberal who thinks the private sector is always the problem. Think about this? Who delivers packages more efficiently without hassles? Is it the US Postal Service or is it Fed Ex, UPS, and other private delivery services? Who makes a profit and doesn't need financial bailouts all the time? Is the the US Postal Service or is it Fed, UPS, and other private delivery services? Also, I'm not saying to privatize the US Postal Service, BUT rather to allow Fed Ex, UPS, and other private services to deliver envelope mail and I guarantee that we will see the US Postal Service provide better service. Liberals do not believe in competition as they imagine a global unrealistic "paradise" where there are no winners and there are no losers, which is crazy.



But you can straighten out your mail situation by demanding to speak to the top supervisor at the post office that is directly responsible for your mail. You should not have to buy a PO box.

Answer 2

Not Receiving Mail Usps

Answer 3

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RE:

I am not receiving my USPS mail reliably. What should I do?

In the past 5 months, 3 of my paychecks have been lost in the mail. Medical bills and other important documents have also been lost. In the 5 years prior to this, I have never had a single paycheck or bill lost (no late fees).



I suspect the mail man (mail woman) is the problem. She used to...

Answer 4

Not Receiving Mail

Answer 5

Have you considered changing your mailing address to a P.O. box right at the post office?



We once moved into a house where the mail slot was just a tiny flap on the side of the house, where there was no shelter from the wind and weather. If there was a lot of mail that day, it stuck out where anybody could have grabbed it, or it would get wet or blow away. A P.O. box was the only solution.



Once in a while we get mail for somebody else's P.O. box number, so I imagine it could occasionally happen the other way around. In your case, could it be that whatever other tenant receives your first-class mail by mistake lacks the courtesy to see that it gets to you?



Be aware that there's a time limit on how long they'll forward your mail to a P.O. box. People have failed to receive their W-2 forms, tax refunds, or other important mail that arrives after a few months, because they changed their addresses too long before. So find out what the time limit is, and plan accordingly.



If you decide to complain, ask the postmaster what their policy is about delivering advertising mail to apartment mail boxes. It sounds to me as though that mail lady is disobeying post office regulations by discarding ads instead of delivering them, and being careless about sorting out the first-class mail. Are the mailboxes too small to hold a day's mail? At our post office, they put a yellow card in our small P.O. box to notify us that there's more mail to be picked up at the counter.



"I don't to get anyone fired," you write. I suspect that in a quasi-government operation like the Post Office, it would take a long time in any case to go through all the stages of warnings, etc. So, bottom line, I recommend removing her from the situation from your end.

Answer 6

My mail has been tampered with for way too long. Two of my regular bill payments have not arrived at the company I deal with. One was cashed and the other not cashed. I have contacted the Postal Supervisor and he wants to see the "signature". I am disgusted. No one seems to care. It will cost me $30 to get this information. What has happened to this country? It is a federal offense to tamper with the mail, is it not?

Answer 7

No one wants their mail lost. It's happened to me many times. The culprit can be narrowed down to three mailmen. I did what I was forced to do. I looked up the phone number for the USPS & called & nicely, complained about my poor mail service. I didn't have lost checks like you, but I wasn't getting my monthly bills on time & I wasn't getting my magazines either. I spoke to the person in charge & was told that he'd check into it. Well, he called me back & told me that he had spoken to all three of the carriers who deliver to my subdivision. All went well for a while, then one of the three carriers began putting other people's mail in my box. It was so obvious that these carriers could care less what they do with the mail. I was on the phone again & complained again & again. I asked to speak to his boss & I told his boss that I wasn't going to tolerate anyone messing with my mail. I'm getting my mail on time & I still get someone else's mail once in a while. When it happens, I call the USPS immediately. If I was employed & wasn't doing my job right, I'd be fired. Why your carrier can't deliver your mail as she should, tells me that she could care less. Since she obviously doesn't care, then please don't feel badly about calling & turning her in. You have every right to complain about less than satisfactory mail delivery. Keep calling, until your mail is delivered safely to you.



Is there any chance of having your checks deposited directly into your checking account? I chose that option some years ago & it gives me peace of mind, knowing that my checks will be deposited into my account when they're supposed to be. If you can resort to direct deposit for your checks, then please make arrangements with your bank & the parties who send you checks, that you're setting up direct deposit.



Don't try to deal with your carrier on your own. Let the USPS deal with her. If she keeps screwing up......KEEP CALLING USPS....You have every right to have your mail delivered on time & without missing mail.

Answer 8

I don t know what planet you people are living on but I m NOT getting my mail. When I CALL the post office, they don t even answer the phone. No voice mail, NOTHING... They don t give a S%$#T what people think

Answer 9

My advice to you is to go to the post office and speak with the postmaster of your post office. They are very nice and will help you figure out the situation. And then on top of that don't vote for Republicans because they want to privatize the post office so enjoy your postage going up if this is allowed to happen....thus their bill passed in Republican controlled congress in 2006 to have the post office pay up front all of the employees pensions for the next 75 years. Otherwise the post office would be doing just fine!! Save the Post Office from the RepubliCONS!! Anyways the postmaster should be able to assist you just fine. Good Luck!