Mail Delivery Problem

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ZeeOSix

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So lately I know I haven't gotten some mail I was expecting, so I mailed a letter to myself from the next city over with a good return address (not mine).

Well, I never got this 'test letter', but then 8 days later it shows up at the return address with a yellow sticker on the envelope that said:

Return To Sender
Not Deliverable as Addressed
Unable to Forward


I used an envelope with a see through window and purposely made the print-out of my address very clear and easy to read. The address is 100% correct.

So does anyone know how mail is sorted at the Post Office? Is this the result of a machine sorting problem? Anyone here work or have worked at a Post Office that could tell me what possibly happened?

Any ideas/suggestions would be helpful. Obviously I need to talk to the Post Office, and this is probably why I haven't gotten other mail lately.
 
Just a wild guess here, but is the driver maybe new, and has some issue locating your mailbox?

I don't have issues with USPS or FedEx at my address, but UPS cannot figure it out at all. I live in a neighborhood where most houses are visible from the street, but mine is not. The mailbox is at the street, but the house and driveway are hidden by trees, and the two entrances to the driveway are not immediately next to the mailbox...the mailbox is between the two entrances. Hard to explain, but USPS has it figured out and so does FexEx. Simply does not compute for UPS though. They always deliver packages to a house down the street that has the same numbers in the address, but in a different order.
 
We have problems in Alpine NJ also and several other towns have the same problems it was in the paper and mentioned on the news mail delivery is not what it used to be for sure!
 
Complain. That's the long and short of it. I like to get along with everyone and hate to get people in trouble, but the quickest solution to your problem is to complain. Take the letter you mailed to yourself to your local post office and ask to speak to the person in charge. Explain to them what has happened and how you "tested" the system. Be kind and professional but firm. Mail is important. Some mail carriers fail to recognize this or simply do not care. Until you become the "squeaky wheel," no grease will be applied.
 
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Just a wild guess here, but is the driver maybe new, and has some issue locating your mailbox?


The same mailman has been delivering mail to my place for years, but sometimes I think he's incompetent and he definitely has the "going postal" attitude when you ask him a simple question on why my mail sometimes gets delivered to some other houses in the neighborhood. Also, I've been at this same house/address for 10 years.

I'm thinking a machine must read the address for initial sorting and for some reason it didn't recognize it?

Seems very strange to me. I don't think it even got to my city's post office or my mailman. This letter goes to a large post office for sorting and that's where it looks like it failed. So it was mailed from small city A, then went to big city B to be sorted, and then was supposed to be sent to city C to be delivered by the mailman. The postmark is from big city B. So I guess it's possible that city C post office had the failure, as I'm thinking it got post marked at city B and did get sent to city C post office.

I really don't understand how sorting and delivering mail can turn into utter rocket science.
crazy.gif
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Have they recently "consolidated" sorting centers for your area? Folks around here started having similar issues a few years back, when they closed the local sorting plant(built in late 90s, closed in 2009), and all our mail went to Toledo to be sorted.(even if sending local, like to my neighbors, or my self) some people had mail taking weeks to get to them, but that largely sorted itself out within a couple months.

Since then, they have also "consolidated" the toledo plant to Columbus, which might now be sorting mail for the whole state as far as i know....
 
Have you should check what your right mailing address should be?
Maybe enter in zip+4?

USPS has a checker/verifier here (most if not all internet businesses use the same free service)

https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action
 
My daughter is a Postie in town - we got a wrong letter (correct address, wrong name) the other day. That means she wasn't on our run that day...or she had a day off. (she had a day off)
 
The following is what I do and I haven't had anything lost/delayed for years:

If you know the ZIP+4 use it, and make sure anyone sending to you uses it.

Make sure the street address is absolutely correct (e.g. GARY PL NW, not GARY ST NW or GARY AVE). If you don't know, don't guess.

Print or write everything in BLOCK CAPITAL LETTERS. NEVER USE CURSIVE. I don't care how beautiful you think your handwriting is.

Parcels: Use the adhesive label the PO provides for free and cover it with clear tape so the address doesn't get smudged. Seal all parcels with fiber tape covered by clear tape.

Buy pre-printed return labels for yourself and use them on everything.

Any IMPORTANT LETTER SHOULD NOT be mailed from your home or put in a night drop because too many things can go wrong. TAKE IT TO THE PO, walk it through the door and DROP IT IN THE MAIL SLOT. Now you know that if anything goes wrong, it is the fault of the PO and they can't blame anyone else because no one else had their hands on it.
 
We live in a rural area and our mailbox is 1000' from our house. Our postal carrier, who also seems a little bi-polar, apparently detests having to go down our driveway to deliver things too large for the mailbox. She goes out of her way to overstuff our mailbox and a few times, has knocked things out of the back of the box to be blown about by the wind. Way too many magazines have been destroyed and packages mutilated beyond recognition. On the rare occasions she DOES deliver down the driveway to our house, it's apparent she simply flings stuff out her window. In case you're wondering, there is PLENTY of room to turn around at the bottom of our driveway, we give her cards and giftcards for all holidays and, although I have to grin and bear it, have offered her bottled water (which she always takes) whenever I've met her at the house.

When I went into the PO to complain once, guess who is also the postmaster?

A PO Box is the answer for certain things.

Our mail delivery is akin to the movie Funny Farm.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
The post office is a joke.


I agree. They are very incompetent.. as you can clearly see.
 
For those who think the PO is a joke, for the number of pieces they handle on a daily basis if you think you could do better, have at it!
 
I think they have the capabilities to do a good job and I think most of their work is good. However, as with most large entities, the workers are only as good as their supervisors and I think the supervisory abilities/attitudes are sorely lacking.......not surprisingly, something that is rampant throughout most government businesses....local and federal.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Fleetmon
We live in a rural area and our mailbox is 1000' from our house. Our postal carrier, who also seems a little bi-polar, apparently detests having to go down our driveway to deliver things too large for the mailbox. She goes out of her way to overstuff our mailbox and a few times, has knocked things out of the back of the box to be blown about by the wind. Way too many magazines have been destroyed and packages mutilated beyond recognition. On the rare occasions she DOES deliver down the driveway to our house, it's apparent she simply flings stuff out her window. In case you're wondering, there is PLENTY of room to turn around at the bottom of our driveway, we give her cards and giftcards for all holidays and, although I have to grin and bear it, have offered her bottled water (which she always takes) whenever I've met her at the house.

When I went into the PO to complain once, guess who is also the postmaster?

A PO Box is the answer for certain things.

Our mail delivery is akin to the movie Funny Farm.


Sounds like you need to give the postal inspectors a call.
 
Originally Posted By: jcwit
For those who think the PO is a joke, for the number of pieces they handle on a daily basis if you think you could do better, have at it!


Can't...it is a crime.
 
Originally Posted By: jcwit
For those who think the PO is a joke, for the number of pieces they handle on a daily basis if you think you could do better, have at it!


Sub par service isn't acceptable IMO.

Have you started to work for every company/ service you've ever complained about? I personally just avoid them. I pay extra for shipping for FedEx/ UPS, pay bills online etc.
 
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