Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

If a certified is thrown in the outgoing mail by human error will it come to the post office the next business day in the dps or in some form back to the post office.

Asked by jvitto almost 11 years ago

I think the letter that was accidentally thrown in the outgoing mail, even if it was a certified letter, would come back the next business day or the day after either via the DPS or the registry clerk. It would rarely be the case that the letter would just disappear. At least that's what I hope would happen.

593 Votes

I buy and sell tickets for a living. If I had tickets shipped to several of my neighbors in random people's names would you be able to retrieve them for me if I gave you advance warning of their delivery or is that illegal?

Asked by mandm about 11 years ago

I am not sure of the legality of this, but I know I would never get involved in such a situation. I wouldn't get mail from one address and give the mail to another person especially if it had a random name. It all sounds too fishy to me. When I'm delivering the mail if I see a name that I'm familiar with but the address is not right I will sometimes deliver it to the correct address. An example that I see but am not comfortable with is one customer gets what looks like beer purchase rebate checks sent to his neighbor's house with a slightly altered last name. If I recognize this mail I will deliver to the person whose name is on the envelope. The customer has never approached me to do this and I would never have any apologies if the rebate check was delivered as addressed (to a neighbor) and disappeared. Again, it's something I would never want to be involved with because it sounds fishy and if I am not working I can't control what happens to an intentionallay misaddrressed or misnamed piece of mail. If you work something out with your neighbor that's another story which I don't need to know about. Thanks for writing.

592 Votes

Dave , I recently sent off some mailed that I marked please forward with the new address to the side but I found out it never reached the person, I was told I didn't cover up the old adress or bar code how can i track this mail or receive it again.

Asked by Annie over 11 years ago

Thanks for your question. Usually, we don't honor handwritten forwarding requests on a piece of mail unless the person requesting it puts on postage in addition to the already "used" postage on the letter when it was originally mailed. It is true that if the original bar code isn't covered up that the mail may not be sent to the "forwarded" address either. The best way for a previous tenant/resident to receive mail via the USPS forwarding system is to submit an official change of address application either online at www.usps.gov or via a paper form available at any Post Office. I know this is a bit lengthy of answer to your original question. The bottom line is that I don't know how you can track the mail or receive it again. It is possible that it was returned to the sender.

591 Votes

It I Leave A Polymailer Bag Inside My Mailbox Will The Mailman Get It ?

Asked by Evette Ponce almost 11 years ago

I am not exactly sure what a polymailer is but as long as there is postage affixed or prepaid postage printed off the internet or a prepaid return shipping label the letter carrier should take it. We do this all the time with home-based business that sell on eBay, etsy, etc. Please just make sure the item to be mailed is visible to the letter carrier.

590 Votes

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I was also wondering...The flag on my mailbox is broken. Is there another way to let the mailman know that there is outgoing mail? Or should I either buy another flag or put a note saying there's out going mail?

Asked by Izzy over 10 years ago

I don't know the answer to this, but if you bought a replacement flag that is able to go up and down, it would certainly help. As long as I'm stopping at a house to deliver mail and there is outgoing mail which is easily visible I will know to take it with me whether or not a flag is raised. The possible confusion comes on a day where there is no mail to be delivered to your address. In that case a letter carrier may not stop if there is no flag to notify of outgoing mail. Where I deliver mail (Long Island, NY) most addresses receive some type of mail daily (a local flyer or gov't mailing, advertising, etc) so this is rarely a problem. In your part of TX, this may not be the case so I can't really comment on the significance of having an operational flag.

590 Votes

Has the mail already been delivered on Stonesboro Rd Ft Washington Maryland today 4/8/2016

Asked by Sophia Woodland over 9 years ago

As I'm writing this reply on April 12, I'm pretty sure that the mail has been delivered on stonesboro rd in ft Washington, MD by now for April 8. ???? This q and a isn't for USPS customer service or any real-time questions. I mostly answer questions about being a letter carrier and possibly make suggestions if someone has a customer service problem that doesn't need immediate attention. With regards to your question, I think that only your local PO would know when and if mail was delivered to your street.

590 Votes

What would happen If a package (that was ordered in the month of November, Delivery was in the month of December) was delivered to an old address. Though you moved to a new place? What would I need to do?

Asked by Brandon about 11 years ago

I don't know that you would actually get the package that was delivered to your old address. Once it is delivered there, it'd probably be up to the recipients to return it to the USPS saying you no longer live there. If you put in a forwarding request for mail to go from your old address to your new address the package should have been forwarded as well. I would contact the sender and ask if you could get a replacement item because the first order went to your old address. I am not sure that you would get a replacement because the item was shipped to the address you gave them.

589 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

If a certified is thrown in the outgoing mail by human error will it come to the post office the next business day in the dps or in some form back to the post office.

I buy and sell tickets for a living. If I had tickets shipped to several of my neighbors in random people's names would you be able to retrieve them for me if I gave you advance warning of their delivery or is that illegal?

Dave , I recently sent off some mailed that I marked please forward with the new address to the side but I found out it never reached the person, I was told I didn't cover up the old adress or bar code how can i track this mail or receive it again.

It I Leave A Polymailer Bag Inside My Mailbox Will The Mailman Get It ?

Also on Jobstr...

I was also wondering...The flag on my mailbox is broken. Is there another way to let the mailman know that there is outgoing mail? Or should I either buy another flag or put a note saying there's out going mail?

Has the mail already been delivered on Stonesboro Rd Ft Washington Maryland today 4/8/2016

What would happen If a package (that was ordered in the month of November, Delivery was in the month of December) was delivered to an old address. Though you moved to a new place? What would I need to do?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

If a certified is thrown in the outgoing mail by human error will it come to the post office the next business day in the dps or in some form back to the post office.

I buy and sell tickets for a living. If I had tickets shipped to several of my neighbors in random people's names would you be able to retrieve them for me if I gave you advance warning of their delivery or is that illegal?

Dave , I recently sent off some mailed that I marked please forward with the new address to the side but I found out it never reached the person, I was told I didn't cover up the old adress or bar code how can i track this mail or receive it again.

It I Leave A Polymailer Bag Inside My Mailbox Will The Mailman Get It ?

Also on Jobstr...

I was also wondering...The flag on my mailbox is broken. Is there another way to let the mailman know that there is outgoing mail? Or should I either buy another flag or put a note saying there's out going mail?

Has the mail already been delivered on Stonesboro Rd Ft Washington Maryland today 4/8/2016

What would happen If a package (that was ordered in the month of November, Delivery was in the month of December) was delivered to an old address. Though you moved to a new place? What would I need to do?

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