Has anyone else had problems with the USPS?

[cynsaun]

I tell you, over the past year or so, the USPS has lost or damaged most packages and cards we have sent! I know this has happened with one of my girlfriends as well.

Is this happening to anyone else? What's going on?

 

[monkeyboy]

yes...but I do not DARE complain

 

[Planogirl]

Our postal service is awful. So bad that the local postal authorities have gotten involved. It hasn't helped though as far as anyone can tell.

We constantly receive other people's mail and don't receive things we're waiting for. I drive to the next town to mail things now but I can't do much about delivery.

 

[cynsaun]

yes...but I do not DARE complain

NEWMAN!

Planogirl--that's terrible!

We had problems with the post office in Cary, NC, but thought it was just because it was so overcrowded (so many addresses and users for such a small place.) We are having the same problems here. I can't understand how we mail something "priority" and a week later it's still not been delievered! And, the worst part is that we sent it certified!

 

[Laurajean1014]

I am very lucky we have two post offices for a town of less than 50,000 people. My mail and packages arrive safely.

However, at my previous job, I would have things delivered to me (eBay stuff). My job was in a neighboring town and they lost about 30% of the packages I won.

I hear that if no-one claims USPS stuff, they get to sell it on eBay. Is that true?

Well, if it is they have my Buzz Lightyear Comforter!

 

[kaylajr]

YES
it has been horrible

first there was an employee at our localone who was charging for priority and shipping media

they seem lose everything or at least have a substantial delay


hope it gets better soon

 

[LuvN~Travel]

I would like to recommend that anyone having problems with mailing stuff, keep detailed records please! I get many complaints from my customers about anything and everything. However, sometimes we can't pinpoint the problem if we can't see visible evidence of it. Anytime you get a package that is damaged, take pictures if possible. Be sure to read what proper packaging guidelines are, i.e. scotch tape and masking tape, don't get it for wrapping purposes and torn up newspapers don't make any kind of proper filler for boxes. Also, be sure to write down dates and times. If you are asked to provide a copy or the original of a letter you had problems with, please do so. One of the biggest problems we have around here is companies mixing the first five numbers of a zip from one address and the last four with another address. And, it's a pain in the patootie let me tell you! My station is box section and window only. But some of our customers tell me that they haven't gotten some mail that was sent to them. Quite often it's because the sender mixed up their box address and street address zip codes! And, we don't see it because it goes directly to another post office and never makes it here.
Above, all document. We can't help you by guessing at the problem.
As for the poster with the crooked clerk, sending priority mail by media, shame on that clerk! And, please be prepared to complain to the PROPER authorithies. If you have a problem with your carrier, don't come to me at another station, complain, then when I tell you which person or station that should handle your complaint, don't say, 'But, I don't want to get my carrier in trouble!' Sheesh!
Here's hoping you guys have better luck.
Kim

 

[barbeml]

Oh let me count the ways!

1. My magazines sometimes arrive in slit open plastic, coffee rings on their covers.

2. Best friend had trouble with mail carrier, complained, then witnessed carrier toss his mail down the sewer drain while he knew friend was watching. Friend had to get a PO box.

3. Mom had trouble with magazines never arriving. This happened with multiple magazines. Must have been lots of complaints, because PO was investigated and a room was found stacked floor to ceiling with undelivered mail going back more than a year. Guess the postmaster had to be in on that one.

To be fair, my carrier has been great and I tip her at the holidays. When she is on vacation, we have lots of problems.

 

[Aidensmom]

Where should I begin......

About a year and a half ago our mailbox, we have the rural type, was stolen twice (yes twice!!!). Because we were worried about things like credit card bills getting into the wrong hands, we got a PO Box, and put in a forwarding order to forward everything from the street address to the PO Box. (We had also personally told our carrier what we were doing and why. He knew we were not moving.) I changed addresses with everyone I expect mail from, but the forwarding order was to catch anything that may still have the old address. Well, our carrier would not forward anything, kept putting it in our home mailbox, so after about 2 months I went to the post office and complained. Well, then SOME stuff got forwarded, some got returned to sender with "addressee unknown" (one of these was a $3000 check from insurance company to reimburse us for out of pocket payments we made when a tree came through our roof, which we very desperately needed), and we no longer received any of the junk mail that does not get forwarded. We did, however, still receive all the mail for the people that lived in the house before us!

Fast forward to a couple of months ago, when the forwarding order expired. Most mail still goes to the PO Box, but we were still getting no mail that was addressed to our home address came, it all got returned as "addressee unknown". The carrier knows we live there, and our name is bright as day on the side of the mailbox. I went to the post office last week and asked them to kindly tell our carrier to give us our mail. They looked at me like I was out of my mind, even after I explained the whole story, but I actually got some junk mail yesterday LOL!

By the way, never had delivery problems with the PO Box, anyone with delivery problems may want to try that!

 

[Disney Doll]

I'll be very honest with you...I have always had excellent luck with the USPS.

When my DMIL died, we ended up shipping quite a few things out to my SIL in St.Louis...much of it quite fragile. Out of about 16 boxes total that was shipped, one teacup handle broke...that was it.

I find their service efficient, fairly cost-effective, and I absolutely LOVE their new automated package mailing thing that lets you mail certain size packages...they can't be too huge...without having to wait on the long line. At Christmas time, the line was out the door, no one was using the automated hting, and I was in & out in about 10 minutes, and I mailed 4 or 5 packages!!!!!

 

[puffkin]

We are the first house on our street in a new development. For some reason, the post office has our street name as STREET, instead of ROAD. All of our documentation from the buidlers, our Deed, mortgage, everything says ROAD.

We couldn't get our drivers licenses changed. Most systems that internet sites and companies use is tied to the USPS. So, when our address is typed in as Road, it overrides it with Street.

Half our mail was getting delivered, the other half was going back as address unknown. We were told to have the township send a letter stating that the name was Road, not Street. In the mean time, our carrier was instructed to deliver both Road and Street addressed stuff.

It has been almost 6 months, and it is still not completely fixed in their system. We have spent a lot of time and aggravation trying to get this fixed. Our mail does seem to be arriving now though without problems, regardless of how it is addressed. We still haven't been able to get our Driver's Licenses changed though.

 

[babar]

aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

i'm going thru this right now!!! we always get other people's mail, i'm assuming they get ours!! my dad insisted on mailing me something last week, it's still not here!! And we both live in Chicago!!!

i've complained numerous times, my neighbor has complained. today i'm sitting outside and waiting for my mailman and asking him if he delivered my mail to someone else this week. i've not gotten one letter this whole week!!

 

[simpilotswife]

I can't complain about our mail carriers.

Our old one moved to an inside job recently due to health issues. He was out quite a bit near the end and the subs were okay but not the service we were used to.

The new guy is really good. Most days our mail is here by noon which I really like.

 

[barbeml]

Also, a package that was shipped USPS from Amazon on May 27 arrived in NJ on May 28 (according to tracking site), and I still don't have it today, June 9.

 

[4greatboys]

Between Dec and April our post office has lost 2 items I sent--and one was a priority mail package

 

[Stitchfans]

I feel guilty since my dad retired from the USPS, (sorry dad) but yep the service is the pits. Our mail carrier is so nice, but lately he hasn't been around and the female who has been taking his place is making all sorts of mistakes. At first I was giving her the benefit of the doubt cause she was new, but she has taken over enough now that she should know what she is doing.

 

[wdw4us2]

I've said it before on this board, and I'll say it again - If you have constant problems with your mail, write to your U.S. Congressman or Senator and detail your complaints.

Since the USPS is still considered a government agency (even though they are independently run) they are required to respond to a Congressional Inquiry. This is done through the USPS liason in Washington, D.C. so that by the time it reaches your local post office, many people above local management have been alerted to the problem(s).

I make the above suggestion after being a Congressional Aide for 5 years and a Letter Carrier for 14 years. In some cases, it's the only way to resolve problems.

 

[DisMN]

Well......considering how much mail goes through the USPS I feel they do a pretty darn good job.
Could be better of course, and we've had torn magazines, crushed letters, late packages, but again, I think with the high volume mail they move daily they do pretty good.

That reminds me, I have to pass along a wrongly delivered card that belongs to the pastor down the street.

Yeah, the USPS could be a little better, but I'll deal. LOL

 

[LuvN~Travel]

I'd also like to point out that part of the letter problem, not the package problem is caused by one: automation and two: lack of full time carriers for a route. I've noticed that automation gives carriers fits quite a bit, because it isn't infallible like management would like to think. However, in any business that automates so much (including other business, not just ours) management has to convince themselves, the public, the employees that automation is the best thing out there. However, what many don't know in our case, is that the carrier doesn't see most of the mail before he hits the street with it. The machines are 'supposed' to have it already sorted. However, it isn't always sorted right. But, the carrier doesn't know it until he is walking the route. They may find lots of letters in the wrong order. And, sometimes if they assume that the handful they pick up is correct, i.e. the first and last letters in the bundle are correct, then the middle letters are too. Unfortunately, this isn't always true. Which is a pain for everyone concerned.
Something I also didn't think to add earlier, remember the package you send first class or priority is 'round trip' postage. The package you send parcel post, including media and bound printed matter, is just 'one way' postage! If you get the address wrong, say wrong street, wrong number, wrong zip, wrong city, that package will most likely NOT come back to you. Some older employees will try to return it to you postage due, but with more retiring these days, and management telling the new people to 'File 13' it, lots of packages risk that. You could not believe how many bad addresses we see. I had one lady last year who had been sending letters to her nephew in a nearby city for a couple of years. What the fellow neglected to tell her is that he lived in an apartment building. Well apparently the carrier who had been delivering it anyway, realizing who he was, must have retired or gone into another position. The new carrier sent it back as 'unknown' and 'insufficient address'. But, that carrier was right! It needed an apartment number on it. The lady was highly unhappy, but all I could do was let her know she needed to talk with her nephew and find out what his apartment number was.
Also, many, many, many people NEVER doublecheck their addresses when they send items. I'm lucky these days, we went under the new POS system last year. If the zip doesn't exist, the computer won't let me input a customers package. I then know to look up the correct zip. For the unfortunate clerks who are under old systems, well they have to take YOUR word that the zip or address is correct.
For magazines and such, yes we do have the occasional carrier or clerk who reads when they shouldn't. Take the magazine in, let the superviser see it.
WDW4us has the right message here. Do complain to the proper people. Most employees, clerk and carriers do care what happens! Unfortunately, in a small town of maybe one or two employees, if they are all bad or such, I do say upfront I'm sorry! It does happen. Just keep going up the ladder!
And before I forget, remember we don't always have full possession of your package or letter these days. Like SO many agencies and businesses, we have other outside companies handling as well. We have private contractors between cities, we have airline personnel, and even other carriers helping these days. In most union member's opinions, that does not make us happy! But, management makes those decisions. Not us!
Kim