Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Makes sense to start on a Saturday, but bid states 02/19. Thanks for the insight

Asked by jvitto48 almost 10 years ago

You're welcome. I just always like to state here that I have never read the National Agreement between the USPS and the National Association of Letter Carriers so a lot of what I say is based on what I've seen at my particular PO as well and by attending some local union meetings. I do a little research online but I'm not lawyer and am not dedicated enough to research deeply to see if there are rules on certain issue mentioned in the National Agreement. Congratulations on getting a route assignment.

451 Votes

I've lived in my apartment for five years. Suddenly I'm getting standard (advertising) mail addressed to the previous tenant. This made sense when I first moved in, but why now all of a sudden and is there anything I can do about it?

Asked by Scott about 9 years ago

I'm not sure why you have recently started getting standard mail addressed to a tenant from 5 years ago. It's possible that name and address was on somebody's mailing list which was then sold to other companies/organizations. One option is to put the mail back in the mailstream or mailbox and write "person doesn't live here" on the envelope. A conscientious letter carrier would make note of it and only deliver mail addressed to you (the current tenant). Another option is to just discard/recycle the unwanted mail. Most standard mail doesn't get returned to the sender if unwanted by the recipient. We put it into a big recycle bin at work and I think it gets shipped off to a processing or recycling facility. The rate a mailer pays for standard mail usually doesn't include any type of address or return service to notify them of outdated names on their mailing lists.

450 Votes

if my supervisor ask me to drive a vehicle, can I tell him that I prefer to do some work that doesn't require me to drive?

Asked by David almost 10 years ago

David, you certainly may say you prefer a non-driving delivery assignment, but I don't know if that will be honored. Quite honestly driving a postal vehicle is sometimes a fundamental part of the job, I know you were hired in Manhattan so that driving a postal vehicle may not be as vital. If you don't want to drive a vehicle, you are of more limited use to the organization which relies on the flexibility of the CCA workforce. I don't want to get your hopes up that it will be fine to avoid driving s postal vehicle all of the time. The truth is I don't know how it works in Manhattan, but most communities around the US would likely need you to drive.

450 Votes

Thanks for the reply! And as far as anything illegal,I have been getting there mail every now and then,with a name similar to my dad's?? This person was living in neighborhood, but background indicates another current address,also very close by??

Asked by DwB44 over 9 years ago

That certainly sounds fishy, especially with mail of a similar name to your Dad, and also nearby addresses. I suppose you could alert local law enforcement or USPS Postal Inspection Service but have no idea what their response would be. If mail arrives at your address with dad's name a little bit "off", he could open it and if it's anything like an unpaid bill he could either do nothing about or call the creditor and say that it's not him.

450 Votes

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We have not been receiving any mail in our p o box for over 2 weeks following a couple of overflows. I called the post office
last week and they said our box is open. What could be the reason for 2 and a half weeks with no mail in our box?

Asked by L H almost 9 years ago

I admit it's odd that you haven't received mail in your PO Box for a couple of weeks. One reaction is that maybe there has been no mail for you, but if you've had overflows in the past I guess that scenario is unlikely. Furthermore, I don't even know what happens in a PO Box mail overflow situation. I thought you just may have to pick up the overflow mail from a retail sales and service associate during the retail counter hours but I'm not sure. Has any person or organization you normally receive mail from contacted you to say an item addressed to you has been returned to them? Is there any specific mail you haven't received that you were expecting to receive? In short, since the PO has confirmed that your PO Box is open I don't know why you haven't received any mail in 2.5 weeks. One idea I had was to mail a letter to your own PO Box. It should arrive there in about 2 days if mailed somehwat locally.

450 Votes

I have had an issue with my mail carrier and filed a complaint against her, but she is still delivering mail. So I had my mail fwd to a PO Box. The carrier left a Vacant card in my home mailbox and now stops and checks it all the time. Why?

Asked by Jr over 9 years ago

I can't say why your letter carrier does what you are mentioning. It's unfortunate that you have an issue with her. By saying that she is still delivering mail, I assume you mean that she still is working for the USPS as a letter carrier but not physically delivering mail to your residence because your mail is being forwarded to a PO Box. A vacant card is appropriate to be put in your mailbox so that anybody who is delivering mail on a route that includes your address would know not to leave any mail in it. It's also unfortunate that you have to now go to a PO Box to retrieve your mail plus pay a rental fee. Is it possible that the letter carrier is checking the mailbox to make sure no mail has been accidentally left there by someone else? I doubt that is the case because it seems like you and her were in a conflict and that she probably isn't going out of her way to help you. While I'm only hearing one side of this conflict (yours), I can certainly say there are some bad workers for the USPS and nothing would surprise me about the actions of some letter carriers.

449 Votes

I didnt see any letter come still from 10 days ago. and i miss my payment. so whats wrong?

Asked by zexing cen over 9 years ago

I am not sure what you mean by your question but it sounds like a letter you sent or are expecting to receive for 10 days hasn't arrived. Maybe it was a payment you were looking to have credited. It is likely the item has been lost or misdelivered in the mail stream. I'd give it a few more days to see if the letter shows up, but no guarantee it will. It is important that the letter had proper postage and the correct address whether it was coming to you or wherever you were mailing it to. I can't be sure what is wrong.

448 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Makes sense to start on a Saturday, but bid states 02/19. Thanks for the insight

I've lived in my apartment for five years. Suddenly I'm getting standard (advertising) mail addressed to the previous tenant. This made sense when I first moved in, but why now all of a sudden and is there anything I can do about it?

if my supervisor ask me to drive a vehicle, can I tell him that I prefer to do some work that doesn't require me to drive?

Thanks for the reply! And as far as anything illegal,I have been getting there mail every now and then,with a name similar to my dad's?? This person was living in neighborhood, but background indicates another current address,also very close by??

Also on Jobstr...

We have not been receiving any mail in our p o box for over 2 weeks following a couple of overflows. I called the post office
last week and they said our box is open. What could be the reason for 2 and a half weeks with no mail in our box?

I have had an issue with my mail carrier and filed a complaint against her, but she is still delivering mail. So I had my mail fwd to a PO Box. The carrier left a Vacant card in my home mailbox and now stops and checks it all the time. Why?

I didnt see any letter come still from 10 days ago. and i miss my payment. so whats wrong?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Makes sense to start on a Saturday, but bid states 02/19. Thanks for the insight

I've lived in my apartment for five years. Suddenly I'm getting standard (advertising) mail addressed to the previous tenant. This made sense when I first moved in, but why now all of a sudden and is there anything I can do about it?

if my supervisor ask me to drive a vehicle, can I tell him that I prefer to do some work that doesn't require me to drive?

Thanks for the reply! And as far as anything illegal,I have been getting there mail every now and then,with a name similar to my dad's?? This person was living in neighborhood, but background indicates another current address,also very close by??

Also on Jobstr...

We have not been receiving any mail in our p o box for over 2 weeks following a couple of overflows. I called the post office last week and they said our box is open. What could be the reason for 2 and a half weeks with no mail in our box?

I have had an issue with my mail carrier and filed a complaint against her, but she is still delivering mail. So I had my mail fwd to a PO Box. The carrier left a Vacant card in my home mailbox and now stops and checks it all the time. Why?

I didnt see any letter come still from 10 days ago. and i miss my payment. so whats wrong?

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We have not been receiving any mail in our p o box for over 2 weeks following a couple of overflows. I called the post office
last week and they said our box is open. What could be the reason for 2 and a half weeks with no mail in our box?