Terry D EA Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 I know I have good friends here that may or may not have experienced this situation. I have a mailman that apparently cannot take the time to read the name and address on the mail. Now, in his defense, there are two addresses where I live that are the same. One is labeled Lane and the other is Court. The numbers are the same and the street name are the same just Court and Lane. I am at the 'Lane" address. Quite frequently my mail goes to the other address. We have spoken with the Post Master on several occasions and the situation doesn't get any better. Now to add, the neighbor just can't seem to be bothered to give me my mail or return it to the mailman for him to deliver it to me. Recently, we had credit cards and some other important mail not delivered. The companies cancelled the cards and reissued them. Out of frustration, we mailed a letter to the neighbor asking them to give us our mail or give it the mailman and did threaten with legal action for keeping credit cards. Well. that got some attention and the neighbor brings to my house a stack of credit card applications and other mail dated back to last June. Now, I am waiting for documents from one of my clients who fortunately has the smarts to send them to me certified mail. The client informed me the post office has left notices and I have not responded. This is not true and apparently the notice is at the neighbors. What in the world do I do with this? Isn't this mail tampering or in violation of some Federal postal regulations? If anyone has the time to respond I am grateful but if not then that is okay too. Just needed to vent. Seems like I'm doing that a lot lately. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NECPA in NEBRASKA Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Terry, I feel your pain. I have the same problem, but our mail doesn't just end up at one address. Many times it is on the next street over with the same house number, but sometimes our mail goes to unknown places and just shows up in our door or mailbox. I am very much considering getting a PO Box up the street at The mailroom and see if that helps me get my client's mail on time. I have called and called many times to our post office, but all I hear is that they have a lot of subs that don't do their job. We would get our behinds kicked if we were this crappy at doing our jobs. I wish I had an answer for you. The person that gets your mail and keeps it is a jerk. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry D EA Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 I am with you on the "person who keeps my mail is a jerk". While the letter was threatening it did get us a face to face with these folks. This has been going on for at least 10 years. We spoke very nicely to them, explained our concerns and parted ways on what I thought were good terms. We are not perfect, but I have always made sure I took their mail to them as soon as I get it. We are talking less than a quarter mile apart and they have to drive by my house to get in and out of the development. I realize it is really not their responsibility to deliver mail but geez. I can also tell you the UPS guy delivered bank check stock from Santa Barbara bank one year and the neighbor signed for them and the UPS guy insisted they signed my name but he conveniently erased the signature. So maybe a discussion with a lawyer might be in order here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion EA Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 In the meantime, to get you through this tax season, ring their doorbell to tell them that you will be stopping by every Saturday morning at 10 a.m. (pick your date and time here, and be prepared to change it to suit the jerks) to pick up your mail that the PO has mis-delivered each week. Play nice right now; use PO as scapegoat. Maybe even offer a lock box he can dump your mail in on his side walk or someplace for you to pick up and not have to ring his doorbell ever again. Put a lock box on your driveway in case he wants to do a drive by. Then, hire that lawyer after tax season. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elrod Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Here' s an option, Terry https://emailus.usps.com/emailUs/iq/usps/request.do?forward=emailUs Click tab.....Where is my mail Select....Daily mail delivery 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfassett Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Ask Catherine to pay the guy a visit. Or call my other business - 1-800-BreakAKnee. Sometimes all it takes is the threat of brute force to get people to cooperate. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion EA Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Send a friend in uniform, a policeman is good but any uniform really, to pick up your mail. A cop car waiting in front of his house might help. Or a hearse driver that can keep the vehicle parked in front of the guy's house for awhile. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 3 hours ago, rfassett said: Ask Catherine to pay the guy a visit. <snip> Where I would tell them that we are asking the IRS to investigate them for the possibility of tax fraud, identity theft, and fraudulent return filings, since they are purposefully keeping papers that were supposed to be delivered to a *known* tax accountant's office. After they change their pants, they would get much more cooperative! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry D EA Posted February 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 Catherine, that would be great except, and as far as I know at this time, the only thing they've done to this client is keep the notice from the Post Office regarding the certified mail. I have a secure online document service available but for some reason most folks won't use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberts Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 I'd consider a P.O. Box. You are probably losing more money from this than a small P.O. Box would cost. For us a small box is $5.75 per month if you pay for the year. The larger size is $9.20 / month and it's a business expense to boot. If you lose a single bad client you've lost more than the cost. Have you talked with the person in charge of your local post office? The highest person up. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry D EA Posted February 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 Yes, I have talked with the Post Master and will visit him again today. I am considering the PO Box and will discuss that as well. I have to have some sense of security and privacy when my client's are mailing me their documents. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 I don't think you have any reasonable recourse against these people. There are people out there who just won't act responsibly or perhaps they enjoy injecting a little confusion into the process. Especially when someone else makes a mistake, their default is to compound the error rather than do the logical thing or act with dignity and common sense. So I think your only real solution is to get a PO Box. Anything else you try to do is a colossal waste of time and mental energy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richcpaman Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 This is the post office's problem. The Post Office rules state that if something is delivered to your address that you didn't order/request/etc, that you have no further liability. So your neighbors are off the hook. And I am sure that there are other folks in other houses on the "court" and the "lane" that are experiencing the same problem. Everyone who lives on the "court" and the "Lane" would have to get together and address it with the regional postmaster. Meaning, not your local post office, but the folks in charge of ALL the post offices in your area. The folks in the other house may be jerks. And you are a nice guy about giving them their mail, but... Rich 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elrod Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 32 minutes ago, Richcpaman said: This is the post office's problem. The Post Office rules state that if something is delivered to your address that you didn't order/request/etc, that you have no further liability. So your neighbors are off the hook. And I am sure that there are other folks in other houses on the "court" and the "lane" that are experiencing the same problem. Everyone who lives on the "court" and the "Lane" would have to get together and address it with the regional postmaster. Meaning, not your local post office, but the folks in charge of ALL the post offices in your area. The folks in the other house may be jerks. And you are a nice guy about giving them their mail, but... Rich "This is the post office's problem." quoting Rich, Again Terry, My post above has a remedy to email USPS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 1 hour ago, Richcpaman said: This is the post office's problem. The Post Office rules state that if something is delivered to your address that you didn't order/request/etc, that you have no further liability. So your neighbors are off the hook. And I am sure that there are other folks in other houses on the "court" and the "lane" that are experiencing the same problem. Everyone who lives on the "court" and the "Lane" would have to get together and address it with the regional postmaster. Meaning, not your local post office, but the folks in charge of ALL the post offices in your area. The folks in the other house may be jerks. And you are a nice guy about giving them their mail, but... Rich I will add that I would continue to give them their mail, in spite of their infantile behavior. You're wasting your time trying to teach a pig to sing. All you get for your efforts is bad music and a frustrated pig. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfassett Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 I still like my approach! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 Be sure to use Zip+4. Problem instantly goes away. Our office is in a small town that shares a zip code with the neighboring town. We have exact duplicate addresses in both towns. Once we started using +4 and having our clients do the same, the problem evaporated. Zip+4 is more than 20 years old. Don't you think we should get on the bandwagon? With Zip+4, the automated machines even get it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 6 minutes ago, Jack from Ohio said: Be sure to use Zip+4. Problem instantly goes away. Our office is in a small town that shares a zip code with the neighboring town. We have exact duplicate addresses in both towns. Once we started using +4 and having our clients do the same, the problem evaporated. Zip+4 is more than 20 years old. Don't you think we should get on the bandwagon? With Zip+4, the automated machines even get it right. Won't necessarily help, Jack. You are presupposing that the mailman can read, AND takes the time to do that. Back in Worcester, we had one mailman who could read and another who could not. We had a central mailbox setup for the street, and it's a good thing we all knew each other because stuff got stuffed any which way. Currently, I get mail regularly for the same house NUMBER for any of three other STREETS, none of which have anything in common with my street name, and none of which have anything in common with any NAMES; many of which items DO have zip+4 codes. It's rushing at the sorting IN the local office onto trucks, and lack of attention at delivery. Zip+4 won't cure that operator error. PO Box is the cure. I still like the idea of scaring the bozos who won't play nice - but then I have this unpopular, cockamamie idea about individual civic responsibility. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry D EA Posted February 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 You guys are making my day with this thread I did talk with the Post Master today and he did inform me that I really have no recourse and it was his problem to try and correct. Well, I said it hasn't been corrected for the last ten years but I do feel some obligation to let him try. I think my situation is like Catherine's one guy can read and the subs can't. Even the guy at the counter in the PO got an attitude when I told him what I needed and that I needed to pickup a certified envelope (large) that I never received a notice for. He insisted he had written me both the first and second notice with the second notice being written this morning and he guaranteed it. So, I said go ahead and write away on notices. That doesn't mean that your delivery guy can read or that I will ever get them. Then he went and got the Post Master. I know I am old school but what ever happened to people who would do their job, or better yet, what has happened to compassion and common decency and courtesy. I guess now I am living in a fantasy world. Looking real hard at the PO Box. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easytax Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 2 hours ago, Terry D said: I did talk with the Post Master today and he did inform me that I really have no recourse and it was his problem to try and correct. Well, I said it hasn't been corrected for the last ten years but I do feel some obligation to let him try. He insisted he had written me both the first and second notice Then he went and got the Post Master. You have done well to be civil and give everyone a fair chance. It may be the PO box will solve the battle -- this time, maybe. Another way might be to go to the regional post office and discuss the issue with a POSTAL INSPECTOR and ask about the identity theft, wrongful willful delivery (it is there in their regulations) since it is not an error but an on-going concern. Turn up the heat and maybe something good will happen --- do what has always been done --- well, who knows. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 32 minutes ago, easytax said: You have done well to be civil and give everyone a fair chance. It may be the PO box will solve the battle -- this time, maybe. Another way might be to go to the regional post office and discuss the issue with a POSTAL INSPECTOR and ask about the identity theft, wrongful willful delivery (it is there in their regulations) since it is not an error but an on-going concern. Turn up the heat and maybe something good will happen --- do what has always been done --- well, who knows. ...and get that PO BOX right away!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAXMAN Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 I switched to po box about 10 years ago and stopped 95% of this sort of problem. However remember po reads address bottom to top. If street happens to be the line above the town and state it will go to that street address. I found this out the hard way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjenkins Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 On 2/24/2016 at 6:49 PM, Catherine said: Where I would tell them that we are asking the IRS to investigate them for the possibility of tax fraud, identity theft, and fraudulent return filings, since they are purposefully keeping papers that were supposed to be delivered to a *known* tax accountant's office. After they change their pants, they would get much more cooperative! On 2/24/2016 at 6:56 PM, Terry D said: Catherine, that would be great except, and as far as I know at this time, the only thing they've done to this client is keep the notice from the Post Office regarding the certified mail. I have a secure online document service available but for some reason most folks won't use it. Terry, it's not just the one client, it's ALL your personal mail. They don't know whether anything they kept was tax stuff or not, so why not at least scare them a little? And for all they know, that certified mail might have been extremely time sensitive, which is one of the usual reasons for using certified mail. It's worth a try. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 6 hours ago, kcjenkins said: Terry, it's not just the one client, it's ALL your personal mail. They don't know whether anything they kept was tax stuff or not, so why not at least scare them a little? And for all they know, that certified mail might have been extremely time sensitive, which is one of the usual reasons for using certified mail. It's worth a try. I agree. Get the postmaster to go with you and knock on their door again. Have him mention all the penalties and jail time associated with messing with and interfering with the delivery of First Class Mail. Then mention the IRS punishment for interfering with other person's tax information. Make him have to change his underwear when you are finished talking to him. Meanwhile, start changing all your mailing information on everything you have to just the PO Box. All accounts and all tax related items. Use only one address, the PO Box and sorting machines will not confuse them. In addition, if you use Zip+4 for your PO Box, the sorting machines will ignore the written addresses. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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