Mail thieves

For the indefinite future, the U.S. Postal Service no longer will provide home delivery to many of its customers, including me, due to mail thievery. Now I'm required to go to the local post office and wait in line for 1/2, 1, or more hours to obtain my mail. :banghead

Markpierce

You can have you mail delivered to a private postal box address and never have to wait in line.

Bigsfish said:

Markpierce

You can have you mail delivered to a private postal box address and never have to wait in line.

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That's what I did. My motivation was to be able to easily forward my mail wherever I go. You could also get a box at the post office so that you don't have to stand in line.

Ted

Bigsfish said:

Markpierce

You can have you mail delivered to a private postal box address and never have to wait in line.

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Yes, and I could pay the monthly fee and notify everyone of the change of address, assuming mailboxes are available. There are hundreds (anyone with a locked mailbox as used for apartments and condominiums) in my area affected.

If you go with either a USPS box in the same post office, or a private mail box, can't you just give the USPS a change of address form and rather than having to contact everybody yourself? Then, when the USPS starts delivering to your own mailbox again, just file another form with them to change it back.

Either way, what a hassle!

Best,
Oldersalt

markpierce said:

Yes, and I could pay the monthly fee and notify
everyone of the change of address, assuming mailboxes are available. There are hundreds (anyone with a locked mailbox as used for apartments and condominiums) in my area affected.

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If the mail is being placed in a lock box how is it being stolen? Are they breaking into the boxes?

I just went into my local PO, opened a PO box. From that point on any mail with my home address automatically redirected to the box.

Lots of possible solutions here but all inconvenient to the postal customer. If it were me, I would be complaining. Complaining loudly. I would be writing my congressional representatives. I would be complaining to the media and on Facebook. I would be naming names.


Install a mailbox that mail can be put into without a key but a key is needed to get the mail out. They would have no excuse not to deliver your mail.


Delivering mail is their job. Their only job. If they choose not to do it, then UPS should be given the job.

johnrupp said:

If the mail is being placed in a lock box how is it being stolen? Are they breaking into the boxes?

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The thieves apparently had copies of the Post Office's master key fitting all the group boxes of condominium and apartment complexes. The PO needs to replace the two locks accessing 31 homes at out complex, and similarly for the other complexes. That will probably take months.

markpierce said:

The thieves apparently had copies of the Post Office's master key fitting all the group boxes of condominium and apartment complexes. The PO needs to replace the two locks accessing 31 homes at out complex, and similarly for the other complexes. That will probably take months.

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Since the employees are not out actually delivering the mail, they should have plenty of time to change the locks.

I would be on their case every day, maybe twice a day. And my congressman would get tired of hearing from me.

WesK said:

And my congressman would get tired of hearing from me.

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He already is.

Really sorry! Just couldn't leave that one alone.

Ted

A real pain to be sure! But in all fairness, I'm not sure what else the PO could do. I'm guessing replacing a bunch of those boxes isn't something that can be done overnight, even by idle mail carriers. There must be some lead time.

I'm still a big fan of the PO. Despite the bureaucracy, congressional meddling, shrinking budgets, shrinking volume, and having the profitable parts of the delivery business cherry-picked away by private companies, they still manage to get my stuff to me, almost always on time, almost always undamaged, usually faster than FedEx or UPS, and always a lot cheaper.

Our postal service makes its money out of parcels, letters runs at a loss in these days of electronic "mail". As a result home mail delivery gets slower, collecting it at a central place might be quicker.
A combination padlock on the mailbox beats having to find and use a key. You need a good one that won`t rust.