The following letter was sent to the United States Postal Service with copies submitted to Senators Chris Coons, Tom Carper, Representative John Carney and to the Cape Gazette for publication.
I am frustrated.
I moved to my current address in July 2009. Our neighborhood receives mail delivered to cluster box units. I personally have experienced at least six problems with mis-delivery of mail since July 2009. Other people in the neighborhood have also told me of mis-delivery problems they have experienced.
One day last fall, the only mail in my box was addressed to my neighbor. Another neighbor brought all the mail addressed to my address to me from his box the next day. When I called the local Postal Service Distribution Center (302 227-8241), I was told there might have been a substitute carrier that day. The next day, I saw the regular carrier and asked him if he was on the previous day. He said he was. When I told him about the misdeliveries the previous day, he became angry and shouted it was my word against his.
On March 24, a different neighbor, who is a part-time resident, brought me an envelope with a postage meter date of January 18, 2013. The envelope contained a Form 1098, needed for income tax purposes. The envelope sat in the wrong mail box for approximately two months because of sloppy service from a letter carrier.
On March 25, I called the local Postal Service Distribution Center and was given many excuses, including “that's the problem with cluster unit boxes.” The represengtative said “we can't be 100 percent accurate.” After talking to him, I went to the Lewes post office and spoke to the postmaster. He sympathized with the problem but said he had no control over the carriers because they work out of the Rehoboth Beach distribution center. He suggested I call the USPS customer service.
I called USPS Customer Service (800 275-8777) and was told I needed to speak with South Jersey Consumer Affairs (856 933-4459). There was no answer or voice mail at that number when I called.
I called USPS Customer Service again. The representative verified the phone number. She also took a summary of my issues and said she would forward them to South Jersey Consumer Affairs. She also said she would give me a case number, but never did before she hung up. She also said she could not send me a copy of what she was sending to South Jersey Consumer Affairs, but that I should hear from South Jersey Consumer Affairs by close of business, March 26.
I did not hear from South Jersey Consumer Affairs. I called South Jersey Consumer Affairs on March 27 and 28 and left voicemails both times. As of today, I have not received a return phone call.
I would like to know what can and will be done to assure my neighbors and me that we are accurately receiving mail in our neighborhood.
Dana J. Ackerson
Lewes
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