Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

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.

626 Votes

If i put money in the letter and sent it by mailing to my neighborhood would the postman see the money that is inside and still it

Asked by shien hwee over 11 years ago

It is generally not a great idea to send cash through the US Mail but I think it is highly unlikely that a letter carrier would be the one to steal anything out of the mail. Most of us don't even think twice about what is inside an envelope as we get probably a couple of thousand envelopes each day to deliver. It is also unlikely for a letter to get stolen at all. If you are concerned about this and still want to send cash in an envelope I would wrap the money in a sheet of paper so it can't be seen through an envelope. If it is inside a greeting card we wouldn't be able to see it.

625 Votes

I mailed a check to the wrong address and placed it in my building's mailbox for pickup by the mailman, once the mailman comes for pick up will he be able to allow me to retrieve my mail?

Asked by Kimberlee over 10 years ago

I am not sure if the mailman will allow this since many of us act differently than others and we are rarely told of any rules (if any exist) regarding this situation. If I were your letter carrier and I knew you (or you could positively ID who you were) and the mail was easy to find in the outgoing mailbox I'd have no problem allowing you to retrieve that mail. I don't know how full your building mailbox gets. Some buildings just have a few pieces of mail left for pickup. Others are overflowing with outgoing mail. As I answer with many questions on this question board, "It depends". The consistency within the USPS is quite inconsistent.

624 Votes

What steps should I take if a postal carrier overlooked my mail

Asked by shakita almost 11 years ago

Shakita, I'm not sure what you mean by the postal carrier overlooked the mail. Do you mean that they looked inside it when they shouldn't have? If you know this for sure, I'd call or visit your nearby PO and speak with a delivery supervisor. It would seem hard to prove though I don't know the details in your case. If you meant that the postal carrier overlooked an outgoing piece of mail and forgot to take it, I'd recommend making it very visible to them next time and if it becomes a problem, please leave a note saying "please take outgoing mail. Thank you". I hope I have answered your question whichever way you intended it.

624 Votes

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If mailman/lady does not have a key to apartment building residence for whatever when they should. After ringing bell how long are they allowed to wait until someone lets them in before leaving and not delivering mail?

Asked by Sam almost 11 years ago

Sam, I don't know the answer to this but the letter carrier should have access to the building or mailboxes somehow without having to ring doorbells. Maybe in this case it was a one-time occurrence but even then they should have returned with some means of access or called the PO to advise them why they couldn't make a delivery to a building. I don't know of any specific time frame they'd have to wait before moving on to their next delivery. I think a couple of minutes is sufficient, especially if they are ringing multiple doorbells and getting zero response.

623 Votes

can you leave the street you are delivering mail on to use the rest room at a public business then return to deliver mail on the street you left

Asked by Deborah Sala about 10 years ago

Definitely. It's never been an issue as far as I know to take a bathroom break as needed even if it means leaving the street you are delivering mail on to go use a lavatory at a public business. That's what I usually do. I'll leave my route and go to a gas station or the public library that are near my route as needed.

622 Votes

If you go to deliver mail but see there is a For Sale sign out by the mailbox will you keep the mail or still deliver it to the mailbox?

Asked by G-hoard about 11 years ago

When a house is for sale, I will continue to deliver mail there unless the current owner/occupant has moved out and I don't see a new name on incoming mail. In this case, I mark any incoming "resident" mail as "vacant" and either discard it or return it to the sender depending on the class of mail. Once I see a new name on incoming mail, I commence delivery to that house. I don't know if this is the correct procedure, but it seems to work out fine. Thanks for writing.

621 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

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.

If i put money in the letter and sent it by mailing to my neighborhood would the postman see the money that is inside and still it

I mailed a check to the wrong address and placed it in my building's mailbox for pickup by the mailman, once the mailman comes for pick up will he be able to allow me to retrieve my mail?

What steps should I take if a postal carrier overlooked my mail

Also on Jobstr...

If mailman/lady does not have a key to apartment building residence for whatever when they should. After ringing bell how long are they allowed to wait until someone lets them in before leaving and not delivering mail?

can you leave the street you are delivering mail on to use the rest room at a public business then return to deliver mail on the street you left

If you go to deliver mail but see there is a For Sale sign out by the mailbox will you keep the mail or still deliver it to the mailbox?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

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.

If i put money in the letter and sent it by mailing to my neighborhood would the postman see the money that is inside and still it

I mailed a check to the wrong address and placed it in my building's mailbox for pickup by the mailman, once the mailman comes for pick up will he be able to allow me to retrieve my mail?

What steps should I take if a postal carrier overlooked my mail

Also on Jobstr...

If mailman/lady does not have a key to apartment building residence for whatever when they should. After ringing bell how long are they allowed to wait until someone lets them in before leaving and not delivering mail?

can you leave the street you are delivering mail on to use the rest room at a public business then return to deliver mail on the street you left

If you go to deliver mail but see there is a For Sale sign out by the mailbox will you keep the mail or still deliver it to the mailbox?

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