Terrible mail situation!

[katesorad]

I currently live in an apartment in an urban area. It's a fairly nice apartment complex and you'd think that the high prices would keep the "riff raff" out, but I guess it doesn't.. anywho, I've had some serious problems with mail delivery since living here. I've had packages delivered to the wrong mailbox from the USPS and have never received some, as the person who received it decided they liked it. We have a different mail carrier almost daily, so it's hard to be able to chat with them to tell them our constant problem.

We also recently started a new checking account and had our debit cards come in the mail. DH got his today, but I didn't get mine. Okay.. so I called our bank and they told us that they were both mailed on the same day and mine should've been there as well. But it could have just been mixed in a different mail bag and could possibly come tomorrow.

My worry is that it was just another one of those items of mail that was delivered to the wrong mailbox and I will never see it. To activate DH's card, they didn't ask for any real information.. just what was on the card. So I'm worried that some of the people who live here that have that problem with integrity will end up using my card. Who knows.

Am I worrying about nothing, or should I be as worried as I am? Has anyone had a problem like this? What should I do?

Thanks everyone.. I know there is a great mix of people here from all different places and all different ages, so I'm hoping I can get some good advice from people with experience in bad mail situations.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I would suggest getting a post office box. I'm sure this is not all a 'plot' on the part of the USPS to sell more PO boxes and reduce both the need for carriers and the number of complaints but I don't have the same sunny view of my neighbors/neighborhood that you do - and we have problems, too.

The debit card surprises me, in that they weren't simply both in the same envelope - unless you have separate accounts at the same bank. If you do, then yes, it's possible your card will arrive shortly.

We have locked mailboxes so the actual mail isn't usually a problem, since it's sorted at the post office and just placed in the boxes by - as you experience - a different carrier every day now that our regular carrier retired. But packages were a big problem. If I don't know how something is being shipped, I have it sent somewhere else. Packages left in the lobby have a tendency to walk away on their own - although I came home from vacation to find a (handwritten) note over the mail table directing delivery persons to either deliver packages TO the apartments, or to leave a delivery notice but not to leave anything in the lobby.

So:
Can your apartment management provide you all with locked mailboxes?
Can/will they accept and hold packages that won't fit in the boxes?
Could you have packages sent to you or your husband at work, or to someone else?
Are you willing to get a PO box if all else fails?

 

[cassiez76]

our mail is horrible too. we live in a regular ole neighborhood and never have the same mail person and never the same delivery time of mail.

the post office by us has "lost" mail in their own office. my mom dropped off a stack of newsletters (all the right postage, etc...) and nobody received them. she went to the post office and sure enough, they never put them out to be mailed. it's horrible.

at least we get catalogues and magazines, it took a long time to get that back after katrina.

 

[Seahunt]

It sounds like I'd be worried about mail theft also. Do you have a UPS store close to you? They have mail boxes available there for about $12 a month. Here's some of the info from their website:

At every location of The UPS Store, you can get a mailbox with a real street address and secure 24-hour access* to mail and package deliveries. Additional services include mail forwarding**, fax receiving and the ability to call in and check for new mail. We can even text or email you when a package arrives. You'll also find most of the postal products and services you need right at your neighborhood The UPS Store location.

When you use mailbox services at The UPS Store, you get convenience, security, professionalism and other services to help run your business (or your personal life) more efficiently.

A street address, not a P.O. Box number
A street address can provide a professional image for your business.
24-hour access*
Pick up your mail when it’s convenient for you. Your mail and packages stay-safe and confidential.
Package acceptance from all shipping carriers
We accept packages from all carriers, so you’ll never miss a delivery. Package receipt notification
We can text or e-mail you when your packages arrive.
Mail notification*
Mail holding and forwarding**
We’ll hold your packages in a secure location for pick-up at your convenience or forward them to you, wherever you are.
Call-in MailCheck®
Save time. Save a trip. Call us to find out if you have mail.

It might pay to do something like this just for peace of mind.

 

[katesorad]

I would suggest getting a post office box. I'm sure this is not all a 'plot' on the part of the USPS to sell more PO boxes and reduce both the need for carriers and the number of complaints but I don't have the same sunny view of my neighbors/neighborhood that you do - and we have problems, too.

The debit card surprises me, in that they weren't simply both in the same envelope - unless you have separate accounts at the same bank. If you do, then yes, it's possible your card will arrive shortly.

We have locked mailboxes so the actual mail isn't usually a problem, since it's sorted at the post office and just placed in the boxes by - as you experience - a different carrier every day now that our regular carrier retired. But packages were a big problem. If I don't know how something is being shipped, I have it sent somewhere else. Packages left in the lobby have a tendency to walk away on their own - although I came home from vacation to find a (handwritten) note over the mail table directing delivery persons to either deliver packages TO the apartments, or to leave a delivery notice but not to leave anything in the lobby.

So:
Can your apartment management provide you all with locked mailboxes?
Can/will they accept and hold packages that won't fit in the boxes?
Could you have packages sent to you or your husband at work, or to someone else?
Are you willing to get a PO box if all else fails?

Thanks for your response/advice! We do have locked mailboxes, but the problem is that the mailman puts them in the wrong box.. it's really strange. They won't deliver packages to our apartment, but if they don't deliver it, they'll stick a note in our mailbox telling us to go to the post office, which is fine.. but they have actually put small packages in other peoples' mailboxes before. It is so strange!

The PO box is actually a really good idea, though.. thank you! I think we may have to do that from now on, because this is getting obnoxious! DH and I do have the same bank account, but I guess for some reason they put our cards in separate envelopes.. so weird. I hope it comes. If not, I'm definitely scared!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I will have to tell my sister about the UPS address.

 

[katesorad]

The UPS thing sounds great. I think I'm going to have to check that out! We are moving in April, but I'm pretty sick of the USPS and their issues with residential delivery. It's driving me nuts! I'm so afraid that one of the buffoons in our complex is going to get a hold of my card.

 

[flamingglobessigmund]

Thanks for your response/advice! We do have locked mailboxes, but the problem is that the mailman puts them in the wrong box.. it's really strange. They won't deliver packages to our apartment, but if they don't deliver it, they'll stick a note in our mailbox telling us to go to the post office, which is fine.. but they have actually put small packages in other peoples' mailboxes before. It is so strange!

The PO box is actually a really good idea, though.. thank you! I think we may have to do that from now on, because this is getting obnoxious! DH and I do have the same bank account, but I guess for some reason they put our cards in separate envelopes.. so weird. I hope it comes. If not, I'm definitely scared!

DH and I have the same bank account and our debit cards come separately. He has his name on his card, and my name is on mine.

You could make a complaint at the post office about the wayward mail and how it shows up in others' boxes. However, it may just be easiest to get a PO box, or a UPS Store mail box.

 

[minniecarousel]

Hopefully, yours will come in tomorrow's mail. It can't be used without a PIN, can it?

When we came back from our 10 day October vacation, DH picked up our mail and a neighbor's mail-order meds were in our bin. He just took it to them. My sis has been hassling about her last mailed meds & has to assume that a neighbor has them.

Mail service has been deteriorating for some time now.

 

[MnMomtoboys]

We have always gotten our debit cards seperately. As for enabling them didn't he have to call from home? Ours have always been set up so we call from home to activate. I guess I've always assume they use caller id to verify that the number matches the account.

As for packages that is a problem you might want to check into a UPS box.

 

[SookieStackhouse]

My guess is to get a PO box. I haven't seen one of those UPS mailbox things, because I live in the middle of nowhere.

It can be a pain to have to go the PO to get your mail (once lived somewhere they didn't even bring the mail to your house, you HAD to have a PO box), but it is better than not getting your mail at all. Also, there are some things that won't ship to a PO. Other than that, it sounds like the best solution.

 

[Boots]

I live in a very small town but we actually have a mail center that has mail boxes like a post office. Of course you have to pick up your mail when they are open. I really like them because when I want to mail a package they will weigh your options between the usps, ups, and fed ex. That might be an option also and they will take packages etc that you might receive in the mail. The mail actually goes to their address and then it is placed in boxes. Hope you get things worked out.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

DH and I have the same bank account and our debit cards come separately. He has his name on his card, and my name is on mine.

You could make a complaint at the post office about the wayward mail and how it shows up in others' boxes. However, it may just be easiest to get a PO box, or a UPS Store mail box.

Our debit cards for the same account have always arrived separately. Since DH has lost his card a few times, we are now on different cycles, but in the past they came separately with the same expiration.

Definitely make the call to your Postmaster. I believe it is the carrier's responsibility to sort their mail for delivery, so they usually have each address separated. I don't see any reason why the postal carrier should be dropping mail that is properly addressed into the wrong box. How difficult is it to match an envelop or package to a mailbox with the same address?

If this was happening so often with my mail delivery I would opt for the PO and have everything mailed there. You would probably have fewer disruptions because there would be less handling (I think).

 

[golfgal]

I agree, our debit cards always arrive in separate envelopes and you have to activate them from your HOME phone number or at the ATM with your PIN.

Can you have packages delivered to your work vs home?

 

[msmayor]

Thanks for your response/advice! We do have locked mailboxes, but the problem is that the mailman puts them in the wrong box.. it's really strange. They won't deliver packages to our apartment, but if they don't deliver it, they'll stick a note in our mailbox telling us to go to the post office, which is fine.. but they have actually put small packages in other peoples' mailboxes before. It is so strange!

The PO box is actually a really good idea, though.. thank you! I think we may have to do that from now on, because this is getting obnoxious! DH and I do have the same bank account, but I guess for some reason they put our cards in separate envelopes.. so weird. I hope it comes. If not, I'm definitely scared!

I have to ask...if the problem is that the mailman is putting the items in the wrong box, what makes you thing a PO box solves that problem? You'll STILL have a mailman putting things in your box and there is STILL a chance it goes into the wrong one.

While I agree it shouldn't be going in the wrong box to begin with, the problem is also with the folks who are getting the wrong mail and what they are doing with it.

A PO box doesn't suddenly make people more honest in turning in mail that doesn't belong to them.

 

[SaraJayne]

Thanks for your response/advice! We do have locked mailboxes, but the problem is that the mailman puts them in the wrong box.. it's really strange. They won't deliver packages to our apartment, but if they don't deliver it, they'll stick a note in our mailbox telling us to go to the post office, which is fine.. but they have actually put small packages in other peoples' mailboxes before. It is so strange!

The PO box is actually a really good idea, though.. thank you! I think we may have to do that from now on, because this is getting obnoxious! DH and I do have the same bank account, but I guess for some reason they put our cards in separate envelopes.. so weird. I hope it comes. If not, I'm definitely scared!

DH and I have the same account and recently got new debit cards that came in separate envelopes. Each financial institution does it different, so I wouldn't be too worried about that. Mine came three days after his, even though I assume they were mailed on the same day.

As far as activating the card, you need to call from the phone number they have on file for your account. So not just anyone can call and activate them.

 

[deegack]

our mail is horrible too. we live in a regular ole neighborhood and never have the same mail person and never the same delivery time of mail.

the post office by us has "lost" mail in their own office. my mom dropped off a stack of newsletters (all the right postage, etc...) and nobody received them. she went to the post office and sure enough, they never put them out to be mailed. it's horrible.

at least we get catalogues and magazines, it took a long time to get that back after katrina.

Nola had the worst mail delivery I have ever encountered. Our mailman would just not deliver our mail and then deliver it all to the wrong houses. One year multiple checks disappeared from my mailbox and my invite to a Mardi Gras ball. When I complained to the postmaster I was told to get a PO box. My friend would get mail delivery once a week.

 

[kaytieeldr]

DH and I have the same bank account and our debit cards come separately. He has his name on his card, and my name is on mine.

You could make a complaint at the post office about the wayward mail and how it shows up in others' boxes. However, it may just be easiest to get a PO box, or a UPS Store mail box.

Agreed; the package thing has been an ongoing problem here (although usually if people get the wrong mail in their box, they'll just leave it on the table).

I was waiting for some mail-order prescriptions a few years ago. I got home fairly late one night - around 7:30, long after the mail was delivered - and they hadn't arrived. Oddly enough, when I left for work early the next morning... there was my package on the mail table. Fine, right? Except it had been opened and taped closed before the "considerate" person realized their - ahem - error ! There were no controlled substances in the package!

After work that day, I went right to the post office, and encountered one of my neighbors and his son. Apparently, they had permanently lost a package. We were all told there was nothing they could do about it, and given some of the options I listed above: ship elsewhere, PO box...

 

[WDSearcher]

I currently live in an apartment in an urban area. It's a fairly nice apartment complex and you'd think that the high prices would keep the "riff raff" out, but I guess it doesn't.. anywho, I've had some serious problems with mail delivery since living here. I've had packages delivered to the wrong mailbox from the USPS and have never received some, as the person who received it decided they liked it. We have a different mail carrier almost daily, so it's hard to be able to chat with them to tell them our constant problem.

We also recently started a new checking account and had our debit cards come in the mail. DH got his today, but I didn't get mine. Okay.. so I called our bank and they told us that they were both mailed on the same day and mine should've been there as well. But it could have just been mixed in a different mail bag and could possibly come tomorrow.

My worry is that it was just another one of those items of mail that was delivered to the wrong mailbox and I will never see it. To activate DH's card, they didn't ask for any real information.. just what was on the card. So I'm worried that some of the people who live here that have that problem with integrity will end up using my card. Who knows.

Am I worrying about nothing, or should I be as worried as I am? Has anyone had a problem like this? What should I do?

Thanks everyone.. I know there is a great mix of people here from all different places and all different ages, so I'm hoping I can get some good advice from people with experience in bad mail situations.

You started your post talking about the "riff raff" in your building, but none of this seems to be the fault of the other folks in the building. It's the fault of the Post Office for sending a postal worker who is apparently not doing a proper or thorough job!

I live in a large apartment complex and mail appears in my mailbox that doesn't belong to me. I always write "return to sender - not at this address" on it and send it back. Whether it eventually gets to the recipient or not, I don't know. But if it doesn't, it's certainly not my fault -- it's the mail carrier's fault for putting it in the wrong place. So ... don't blame the person who got it by mistake!

Same with the package that you assumed was kept by whoever got it. Maybe they did keep it. But chances are they sent it back or left it for the mail carrier the next day. If any of the packages you were expecting were mail orders via catalogs, then they're all traceable and it's easy to find out where and when they were delivered, and in many cases you can even find out who signed for it. For anything that someone is sending you, all they have to do is require that the box be signed for, and then it will be at the Post Office for you. But I wouldn't automatically assume that someone else kept your stuff unless you've seen it in their apartment.

I do think that the PO box is your best option here, since the delivery in your building is clearly not up to par. But don't blame the people you live around. Likely they're getting mail that doesn't belong to them, they don't know who you are, and so they either return it unopened or toss it. I don't know that it's fair to label them as "riff raff."

 

[LindaG4458]

At our Post Office a PO Box will not solve your problem. We have had a PO Box for about 10 years. We regularly get mail in our box for either the box above or below ours. I assume they get mine, too, since some things have been marked "Not Ours" when I received them.

We had no other choice for mail delivery -- our condo association would not allow mail boxes in the complex although the road belonged to the town not the complex. It's too long a story to tell here.

Two years ago we finally won the argument for onsite mail delivery. We can now have individual boxes in front of the house and the mailman delivers packages to the door! He got a large tip for Christmas.

We still have the PO Box until all the addresses for tax documents for 2010 have been changed. We will probably discontinue it this summer when we get home from FL.