Never trust the U.S. Post Office

[barretcreek]

Sent a certified letter to the largest employer in a small town. Tracking said it got to the PO but never signed for. Next one went registered. So they ended up flying their lawyer from Podunk to Cowtown to sit in the back of the courtroom to watch their local rep explain how come my signature was misspelled on the work order I supposedly approved.
He closed up and left town over the weekend.

[holdover]

sent a priority mail package of documents to a law firm in Rhode Island earlier in the month. Kept checking the tracking numbers for 5 days, no record of delivery. Filed with the USPO a request of where my package was , got a canned reply that it was in transit, 8 days after mailing, emailed the Law firm if they got the package, they called me and said they did. PO DID NOT scan the package when delivered. About an hour after the lawyers called someone from the PO called, speaking with a foreign accent I could barely understand, called and apologized for the delay of delivery and they were trying to track down the package, I said that the law firm called and said it was delivered over 5 days ago, and for them to stop their search and fire the postman who didn't know their job! A pretty incompetent group of people that I paid extra to track my package.

[Vern Humphrey]

sent a priority mail package of documents to a law firm in Rhode Island earlier in the month. Kept checking the tracking numbers for 5 days, no record of delivery. Filed with the USPO a request of where my package was , got a canned reply that it was in transit, 8 days after mailing, emailed the Law firm if they got the package, they called me and said they did. PO DID NOT scan the package when delivered. About an hour after the lawyers called someone from the PO called, speaking with a foreign accent I could barely understand, called and apologized for the delay of delivery and they were trying to track down the package, I said that the law firm called and said it was delivered over 5 days ago, and for them to stop their search and fire the postman who didn't know their job! A pretty incompetent group of people that I paid extra to track my package.

When I was in the Army, we had to deal with Federal employees all the time. WE called them "missiles" -- they don't work and you can't fire them.

[barretcreek]

A few years ago I had to provide an original birth certificate to a federal agency. Not trusting them with one, I mailed registered letter to myself general delivery at the P.O. with their zip code. Turns out that P.O. was in the federal building and ONLY federal mail could be accepted for that zip code. Which didn't seem phase the USPS computer when I mailed the envelope. So I had to trudge many blocks through downtown Oakland to the main P.O. The can't be fired at the general delivery window was jonesing so badly she could barely speak. After forty five minutes of wandering around there trying to find someone else to help me a Korean immigrant employee found my registered letter in about 90 seconds.

Oh, there was a message waiting on my answering machine when I got home. Federal agency lost the copy of my b/c but since they'd seen the original I could just send them a notarized copy.

[Major Tom]

Used to be that you could set your watch when your mail was delivered. Not anymore! We get mail anytime between 9am and 10pm! We get neighbor's mail, they get ours. No steady mail carrier; we see 3-4 different carriers per week.

[Vern Humphrey]

Used to be that you could set your watch when your mail was delivered. Not anymore! We get mail anytime between 9am and 10pm! We get neighbor's mail, they get ours. No steady mail carrier; we see 3-4 different carriers per week.

And that's dangerous -- if someone else is getting your mail, no telling the damage they can do.

About 25 years ago, there was a TV program on a scam where someone would put in a change of address for ONE family member, route their mail to a collection box, and use the information to drain their bank accounts and so on.

[Gun Smoke]

And that's dangerous -- if someone else is getting your mail, no telling the damage they can do.

About 25 years ago, there was a TV program on a scam where someone would put in a change of address for ONE family member, route their mail to a collection box, and use the information to drain their bank accounts and so on.

Like I stated before, there is NO accountability. Misdirected mail is almost as bad as stolen mail. Usually you will get your letters if delivered to someone else but you are at their mercy. Some mail is confidential and may be opened and read by others before they realize the letter wasn't intended for them.

Human error is going to happen. A few years back our carriers knew everyone. Now, they know no one and no one knows the carrier. The PO needs to come up with a better, more secure form of tracking. Perhaps one day we will have a scanner on our mail box?

[Vern Humphrey]

Like I stated before, there is NO accountability. Misdirected mail is almost as bad as stolen mail. Usually you will get your letters if delivered to someone else but you are at their mercy. Some mail is confidential and may be opened and read by others before they realize the letter wasn't intended for them.

Human error is going to happen. A few years back our carriers knew everyone. Now, they know no one and no one knows the carrier. The PO needs to come up with a better, more secure form of tracking. Perhaps one day we will have a scanner on our mail box?

Either that or go completely to electronic secure mail and bypass the Post Office entirely.

[Gun Smoke]

Either that or go completely to electronic secure mail and bypass the Post Office entirely.

Email has done most of that already but there is still the case of packages. In my area sending something by UPS is a real pain. The office is only open Mon--Fri @ 4:00pm till 6:00pm. Also, it is in another town with only one office in the entire county. The "UPS Store" (no affiliation with the real UPS) will ship for you but charge for this service and they prefer to package the items. In fact, it may be a requirement because there are many things they won't ship, like guns.

FedEx has no offices in my county. The closest one being 30 miles away.

The PO has flat rate boxes that can be used in many cases. You know in advance what the charge will be. With FedEx and UPS you haven't a clue.

I for one still have to use the USPS. Just wish they would become more responsible.

[Vern Humphrey]

In my opinion, there will be an alternative for packages soon -- Amazon, for example, has a real aggressive program to handle packages.