| Author | Message | ||
     Scott_in_nh |
I live in a small town that does not have mail delivery on my street even though I am very close to the P.O. When I moved here 4 years ago, they assigned me a P.O. Box that was free of charge because they did not deliver on my street. Last year they opened a new larger P.O. and said that now that they were a "X" size office, that I would not be getting a free box anymore even though they still don't deliver on my street. I paid it, but did not like it in principal. This year they put a bill for $28 in my box and I did not pay it. Now they are holding my mail hostage until I do pay it. Are they correct, can they force me to pay to get mail delivery? Just doesn't seem right.....If not, how can I prove it to them? Thanks | ||
| Diablobrian |
That sounds wrong. Sounds like business as usual for a government agency though.  Now we know why the post office is the only govt. agency to operate at a profit.  | ||
| Swampy |
Pay the fee, Mine was never free. I have been paying for over 20 years, I don't have a mail box out on the street that gets hit by the plow truck, and I get to go hang out at the post office Saturday mornings and listen to the gossip. I get to find out about whats happening in the community(Funerals, births, what the cops were doing in town and the like) Occasionally I bump into Gomez and Morticia, the transitional lady-man, Screwy Louie, and the folks from the wee home up the street. My lifesucks! | ||
| Scott_in_nh |
Having a PO box is great, not having a choice and having your mail held until you pay is bull IMO. If they tell me I have a choice of home delivery or the box at $28 I might take the the box, but I might not. So sure, paying them and moving on is a possible choice, but if they are wrong they are wrong and it isn't just me getting BS'd into paying. | ||
| Ulywife |
I don't work for the postal service, but like you we live in a very small town. We are probably about 1/4 mile from the post office. When we first moved here, we had no street delivery for our mail and had to have a PO Box. Within the last year, something changed and we can have street delivery if we put up a mailbox. We have chosen to stay with the box because of all the junk credit card apps that would then be available to anyone opening my unattended box. We pay $28 a year for our box rental. The fact that you've had a free box in the past, I'm sure you're not the only one in town feeling like you shouldn't have to pay. I found this on the USPS website: Post Office™ Box (PO Box) Rental / Access Information: Post Office box service is a premium service offered for a fee to anyone who requires more than free home delivery or general delivery. Note: It may be available for no fee, in specific situations, for those who are not eligible for home delivery. You can also call the USPS at 800-275-8777, 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. M-F and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, eastern time. I'd say it's worth a call to have them tell you why some get the service for free and others have to pay when in the same circumstance. Good luck! | ||
| Scott_in_nh |
Thanks Uly, just to be clear, everyone who was not offered home delivery got a free box until they built a larger P.O. just down the street, now everybody has to pay. Nothing else has changed- they still do not deliver on my street 1/3 mile away (it was less than a 1/4 mile before). $28 is not a lot, but you know that feeling you get when someone in a position of power is telling you something that, in your heart, you know is not true? That flush feeling that works it way up? It is one of those.... She is a nice enough lady and I am not interested in a pissing contest. That is why I just want to calmly present the facts and move on...I think I will try calling that number but am expecting to not have enough time to hold until I get someone. | ||
| Ulywife |
I understand what you're saying and the feeling of being backed into a corner just because they changed something and you've changed nothing. My question is how does everyone else in the town feel about having to pay for something that has been free up until they built the new PO? I would still call the 800 number and ask what the "specific situations" are that warrant a free box. I know it's not the $$, it's the principal of the matter that you don't agree with. | ||
| Scott_in_nh |
Note: It may be available for no fee, in specific situations, for those who are not eligible for home delivery. I called them and got through fairly easily, but the above statement seems to some it up. I was told it was at their discretion and was offered a phone number for consumer services if I wanted to work the issue (which I do not).... If it weren't for my Cycle World subscription I'd probably let them keep everything else and let them figure out what to do with it! I pay all my bills online, so it is just junk mail and credit card offers....Now if I have the magazine sent to work...Hmmmm....  | ||
| Lake_bueller |
I twice lived in areas that don't offer home delivery. Both placed required me to pay for my PO box. I never really thought twice about getting it for free. | ||
| Pwnzor |
What a load of sh1t. Once again Uncle Sam is screwing his citizens. I'm disgusted. Are they trying to assert that the USPS is somehow cost-effective? Give me a break. I used to haul mail until diesel hit about $1.50 a gallon. After that, it cost me more to move it than they would pay me. Not even worth a backhaul because the time wasted waiting for them to load me, I could get 3 runs off a local truckstop job board and make 5 times what they offered. I've made more money hauling FILL DIRT. Welcome to Amerika. | ||
| Pwnzor |
AND ANOTHER THING How can they charge you to hold your mail? When I go out of town the post office stops and holds my mail for FREE every time. I just fill out this little yellow slip and it's a done deal. So how is it that they can charge you but not me??? | ||
| Loki |
Not charging for the hold. The hold(hostage taking)is for the back rent owed. PO boxes are nice to have....Getting one is now a big pain in the you know what. A box at a MBE or the likes is even better. No junk mail and they receive packages from UPS/FedEx/DHL. Nothing delivered to the residence except the water and cable bills. | ||
| Rubberdown |
When I lived in an area where there was no existing delivery I simply called the local post office and asked them to deliver. Within the week the post man was delivering mail to my new mailbox.  | ||
| Aesquire |
1. The USPS does NOT operate at a profit. By Law. Any extra made is taken by congress & added to the general fund. It is a non-profit agency operated under government control. So, postal workers do not get Federal pensions anymore. ( the older guys still get one, but they are phasing them out as they retire & die ) Yet your mail lady is forbidden to run for dog catcher. Go figure. I won't get into the $24,000 bonuses management gets when the worker bee's do their job well. ( I got a glass coffee cup 7 years ago, it cracked the first time I microwaved water in it. That was the last "worker" bonus. ) I won't comment on the $14,000,000 retirement bonus that the guy who was postmaster when I was hired got, either. You should be able to get delivery to a legal mail box in front of, or on your house. If delivery is not practicable, you should get a P.O. Box. It used to be free, but the Fracking bean counters that make my life unfettered joy have moved on to charging customers for stuff they never did before. I'm guessing they came from IBM, who decided customer service was too expensive, and this PC thing just won't be profitable enough, so why bother? Anyone remember IBM? So, call the 1-800 number. Describe your issue. Be nice, because if you start off mad & unreasonable, you won't get the results you want. This applies to getting your Buell fixed as well. Follow the recommendations on this board for hints on how to wheedle customer service. The question I have is, do you want delivery to a box at the curb? Or, a free P.O. box? | ||
| Toona |
Just for kicks and giggles, I would put up a mailbox at the curb and then file a change of address card at the P.O. stating your new address. Use your 911 service given address, just don't "make one up". I run a business out of a small town (2,000 pop.) The snailman "sometimes" doesn't deliver my mail or pick up my mail when my flag is up. I guess it is to exhausting to walk across a main street to my mailbox some days, there are 3 mailboxes on my side of the dead end street. I won't even go into the 3 weeks to get a letter (that had a payment check in it)from PA to TX last December or the 18 days to get another business letter from PA to NJ this past May.....(yeah, yeah, I know I just did - had to vent) I just send all my special delivery "mail" thru FedEx Express. It's only a buck or 2 more, but it's there, with a signed receipt for proof, in a day or 2, even to Cali. I ship my products thru FedEx Ground, so FedEx stops everyday anyway. My driver drops my letters off at the Express terminal for me. | ||
| Scott_in_nh |
I was nice on the phone and was even encouraged to take it further- all the above are good ideas, but for $28 bucks the bastards win.....It's called "picking your battles" and I am not going to pick this one as long as what they are doing isn't technically illegal- and I found, to my surprise, that it isn't! To answer a question- I would be happy with either delivery to my house (my apt. is in a house) or a free P.O. box. I do not believe that charging people to receive mail that someone else already paid to send is ethical. Thanks for the input everyone! | ||
| Blake |
Pretty sure that if folks sending you mail list your residence in the address instead of the PO Box, the USPS must see that you receive it. I'm the stubborn type. I'd have some fun with this and do the change of address and also have all bills and subscriptions changed to address of residence, the same as is used by the 911 folks. You'd need to put up a mailbox first of course. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
You need to move to a civilised country where the mail is delivered to all. I live in the sticks & the facteur or factrice delivers to my mailbox by my gate. nearest neighbour is about a 1/4 mile by road. Good reliable service. We have alternative ripoffs though, see Energy report thread! | ||
| Swampy |
Don't use US Postale Service money orders, they are more expensive, and there is no way for you to track it yourself to find out if it has been cashed, a request has to go through the postmaster, and then only after 30 days or more has passed since the money order was drawn. | ||
| Naustin |
Also, many Banks won't accept Postal Service Money Orders because of the Postal Service's policy regarding returns on them. They are not Certified Funds like Bank Money orders. The postal service reserves the right to refuse payment on their money orders up to one year after the instrument was cashed, meaning whoever cashes the money order (a bank or a business) can get screwed over it for up to a year later if the Postal Service decides to for whatever reason... | ||
| Aka_dark_lord |
I wouldn't accept a Postal Service Money Order either. . . since we are operating billions in the red. I can see the end of the USPS in the next decade or so, the only thing keeping it alive is junk mail.  | ||
| Blake |
"You need to move to a civilised country where the mail is delivered to all." I'd much rather be uncivilized.  | ||
| Fullpower |
The Post Office Box here in Homer Alaska is billed at the rate of $100.00 PER ANNUM. Now that I own a Lot in town, I have abandoned my PO box, and have all my mail delivered to my shop address. (which is free) |
