Share your USPS bloopers

[tintenfuchs]

Not yet. I'll wait for a another couple of days.

[Suzie L]

My latest USPS misadventure was receiving the envelope of a Christmas card that I had mailed about 2 weeks before Christmas - it was returned to me more than a month after it was sent, in a plastic baggie labeled "WE CARE" in big letters, which went on to say that the item had been damaged in processing and that the USPS processes over 8 million pieces of mail a year in automated machines so sometimes these things happen. On the envelope was written "Received without content" and the envelope had been slit apart on 3 sides - so somewhere between me and my friend, a rather long personal letter in a card with a photo of my family is just floating somewhere. I hope someone had the good decency to at least shred it at least, since it contains personal information. I was so depressed to see this that I could not take a photo for you guys...it took me a few days to even open the plastic baggie and then dispose of the envelope. 

[riana]

Oh my gosh, Suzie! That is so sad I imagine that feels pretty invasive and just icky to know that it's just... out there... somewhere. I am so sorry! Big hug your way...
x
Riana

[schin]

This is not really a USPS blooper, but thought I'd share.. my community shares a mailbox station each with our own keys to our own boxes, and two larger community boxes for packages and the postman leaves the key for those package boxes whenever we get something. Then once we get the packages, we leave the key in the key slot and the postman takes it out for use another time..

Anyway recently someone has been damaging the package box keys, bending it in such a way that the whole lock has to be fixed, and this has happened several times! Finally the postman left a note saying that this should stop as USPS can't afford to keep replacing the locks, and if it keeps happening we'll just have to pick up our packages in the post office, like 10 mins away. It is so maddening, I get packages every other day and would hate to have to do that! Someone else posted a note that we should respect our community and the vandals are childish etc, and the next thing we know the key has been damaged once again, broken in two and one half thrown into the bushes nearby.

Infuriating!!!!

[Milonguera]

Schin, I can't believe that's not illegal!  Check this out:  http://answers.usa.gov/system/templates/selfservice/USAGov/#!portal/1012/article/4338/Report-Mail-Theft-Tampering-or-the-Destruction-of-Mail-or-Mailboxes

[Sarah Foutz]

Time to get out the pitchforks!!! Sounds like someone is jealous of all the P&A packages you're getting....

[schin]

Schin, I can't believe that's not illegal!  Check this out:  http://answers.usa.gov/system/templates/selfservice/USAGov/#!portal/1012/article/4338/Report-Mail-Theft-Tampering-or-the-Destruction-of-Mail-or-Mailboxes

Thanks Debbie! I will send in a form...
I did read somewhere that says mailboxes in neighborhoods are actually not USPS property and is property of the HOA.. but knowing my useless HOA it'll never be fixed.

[Blotbot]

Time for a surveillance camera.

[tintenfuchs]

I can't believe people!

[schin]

It is indeed Friday the 13th!!! Sounds like someone (or a dog??) doesn't want me to have a happy Valentine... check out what I found in my mailbox today:



It was delivered inside this baggie.. it sounds like it's mocking me!



Good thing the actual envelope inside was unharmed...



I'm sorry Erica! But believe me, this will have it's own special page in my scrapbook! Mocking USPS baggie included!

[Suzie L]

Yep, that's the baggie I got!

[Milonguera]

Schin, is that careful placement on your part or did the innards of the envelope arrive unscathed?  I can't imagine what that envelope went through. 

[AmyNeub]

My dog would eat that paper if there was a food smell on it.  Maybe Erica was eating peanut butter and the smell was on it.  No. just kidding. Sorry.

[tintenfuchs]

@Amy: Are you saying the postal workers are dogs?! 

My current mishap: My b-day present to Amy never arrived. I sent it in January.

And Lyndsay got back a letter addressed to me sent 5 months (!!) ago. The address was correct and VERY readable. WTF?

And someone is vandalizing our mailbox! There are like 100 tenants in our building and only ours is being vandalized as far as I can tell – someone keeps tearing down the "no advertising flyers please" sticker.
AND someone used to throw trash into our mailbox. I had a suspicion who that might be and confronted them (the person living below us - once something fell from our balcony into his garden and he was outraged). He said that it wasn't him, but the trash thing stopped.

[Meredith S]

A small annoyance at the post office recently: I had a small package to send, and knew it would need to be put in an official USPS box because mine was small, so I calligraphed a small label myself to tape on. I got there, stuck it in the box, went to tape it at the counter and the lady who was otherwise super friendly, wouldn't tape it to the front and would only accept the address printed on their label. Then she taped mine to the back.
 Meh. Ah well.
I grabbed a couple of the boxes on the way out so I can label them myself next time.