MailmanDave
17 Years Experience
Long Island, NY
Male, 43
I am a City Letter Carrier for the US Postal Service in NY. I've been a city letter carrier for over 17 years and it is the best job I've ever had. I mostly work 5 days per week (sometimes includes a Saturday) and often have the opportunity for overtime, which is usually voluntary. The route I deliver has about 350 homes and I walk to each of their doors to deliver the mail. Please keep in mind that I don't have authority to speak for the USPS, so all opinions are solely mine, not my employer.
If I can find a safe place nearby like near a garage door or by the front door of the house I would rubber band the mail and put it there. If it is mail addressed to an apt building and I can't gain access I would likely bring it back to the Post Office, notify a supervisor, and likely attempt delivery the next day. Fortunately, this doesn't happen very often on the route where I deliver the mail. It is inconvenient to have to bring the mail back to the PO and try again the next day.
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It is fine not to put a return address on anything you mail. The issue that could come about is if the item you sent is "undeliverable as addressed" meaning that you didn't put on the correct destination address. In this case, the letter would likely be sent to the "nixie" or "dead letter" office. I don't know what it is called nowadays and I don't know what would happen to the letter, but you wouldn't get it back unless somebody opened it and your address was found on the inside. I don't even know if that is legal to do or if it is even done. Again, as long as you put the proper destination address on the letter, don't worry at all about not putting on the return address. Thanks for your inquiry.
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I am not sure how the mail got delivered to your new address unless it was maybe in the same town and somehow the letter carriers coordinated internally to deliver it to the new address, though this is unlikely. Usually, you would need to fill out a change of address card (by mail or online) to have mail from a previous address sent to a new address.
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I don't believe that UPS or FEDEX do any type of stamping on their envelopes or parcels like the USPS does when processing the mail. I do know that both companies have very good tracking services for each item so the recipient can tell what facilities the item went through before being delivered to them. When they receive what you sent to them, they can likely go online with the item tracking # and find out how the item traveled from you to them. Thanks for writing.
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I Dont know why they would ask for an email address. Is there any type of customs declaration form that is filled out when you mail papers to Canada? That form usually includes what is being sent. I don't know that it's obligatory to provide this information. Sometimes USPS will send out surveys or possibly email them to find out about your retail customer experience. If you call the USPS customer service phone number, maybe they could provide more insight. The phone number is 800-275-8777.
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I don't know why a letter carrier would approach your house with mail in hand and then decide to not deliver it unless there was some safety issue in completing the delivery. Next time you see the letter carrier you could ask her why she does that or you may call your post office and mention it to the delivery supervisor. It's a problem if there is First Class or Priority Mail which is being curtailed for no apparent reason. Those classes of mail should be delivered the day that they are received at your local post office. As to whether it's a problem or not, part of it is up to you if you if it bothers you that your mail is being delayed for no reason and you'd like to make an issue of it. For some people, especially younger people, the US Mail is really not that important to them so if it comes a few days later than it should it may not make a difference. I'm not trying to say that it's correct/legal for mail to be delayed for no reason. I'm only implying that it's not too important to some recipients when they receive their US Mail.
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Jordan, first of all, thank you for writing in to this Q and A board. I don't know the rules as far as sending back mail because you haven't emptied your box for a week or two and your box is not full. If I were the letter carrier, I would just continue to deliver mail until the box is full and then probably return any future mail endorsed "box full" to the senders (or discard the mail if it is unendorsed Standard Class mail.) I don't recall ever coming across this situation in my postal career, but if it came about I'd probably ask my supervisor for direction. It is not in my nature to leave any notes (esp. threatening ones) for the most part.
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